Comparison Of Prufrock And The Great Gatsby

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“The Great Gatsby” and “The Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock” are two pieces of writing written in the 1920’s. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S Elliot were able to express the overwhelming force of the most powerful human emotion. Although the two eponymous characters seem vastly different from each other in, it can be seen when analyzed in greater depth that the two hold more similarities than differences. Both Prufrock and Gatsby live more in their own minds than the actual world. This causes them to become isolated from other people and become captives by their own illusions. Both men will eventually allow love and fear to corrupt their lives and lead them to make decisions which will ultimately bring about their demise. James Gatz was …show more content…

Instead of approaching Daisy, Gatsby passively watches the green light at the end of her dock, for he fears she will not love him back. Instead of letting her go when he realized she was not the same, he kept pursuing her. Prufrock succumbs to a life of loneliness and depression, for fear if tries to fit in, he will be rejected. Both men had the chance to be happy, but were blinded by their own respective cognitive distortions on life and relationships. Gatsby’s dreams and life were corrupted because of his obsession with Daisy and what she represents for him. His love for her leads to him dedicating his life to try and win here back. Even when he undoubtedly knows he could never be with her he still stretched his arms toward his tainted love, “stretched his arms toward the dark water…” (p. 20) Prufrock’s wise ideologic beliefs about life are meaningless due to his fear of rejection from society. Each own’s sense of reason is tainted and they are mislead by their own overbearing emotions. Instead of living lives of happiness which could have been achieved by following their own sense of reason, they are only led to death and despair. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (p.180) “Till human voices wake us, and we drown.” (line

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