Differences And Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Willy Loman

Willy Loman is a poor salesman. Jay Gatsby is a rich partier. While there may not be a lot of seeming similarities on the outside, when you delve deeper into the stories and the characters you discover they actually are similar in some ways.

First of all, they both hoped for the American Dream. They wanted to be successful in their own right and be prosperous. Unfortunately they failed. Willy wanted to be known as successful and provide for his family. He wanted his sons to succeed and make a decent living for themselves. Jay already had the good life, but he wanted to marry Daisy to complete his version of the ideal life.

Both characters were over-idealistic about what they wanted and therefore disappointed by what they had or what they got. Willy wanted to die the death of a salesman, in his house wearing his fancy velvet slippers. He wanted to be successful and provide for his family. He also wanted his sons to be able to provide for themselves. Jay wanted Daisy to divorce Tom and marry him. Jay figured Daisy would be willing to drop her marriage for him and when she couldn’t, he was disappointed.

Both characters don’t live in reality. Willy hallucinates and just chooses to remember the good things about the old days. He reenacts them like they are happening right now and he dreams up all this success his sons have. Jay had his

mind with him but he didn’t necessarily live in reality. He daydreamed all the time about his life with Daisy and planned what their life would be after she divorced Tom.
Even though both characters were surrounded by people all the time, they felt lonely. Willy felt lonely in the fact that he felt Charley was his only friend. The funny thing is that they didn’t even like each other. Willy was lonely mainly because he lived in his own brain, in his hallucinations. Jay felt lonely because even though he had parties the person he really wanted to see wasn’t there. He wanted to see Daisy but she never came to the parties. He also felt lonely because he didn’t personally know anyone or them, him.
Both characters have some sort of a hero. For Willy it was Ben, his dead older brother. Ben represented everything Willy couldn’t be. Ben was smart, rich all the way through life, and did what he loved to get there. Willy tried to get rich by selling, something he thought he was phenomenal at but really wasn’t. Willy wanted so much to be like Ben he did anything as long as it would impress him. Jay Gatsby had multiple heros including Dan Cody and Daisy. Dan Cody was a father figure to Jay and helped lead him to being prosperous. Daisy was Gatsby’s hero because she helped keep him from being lonely. Gatsby always tried to impress her, whether it was by his parties or the silkiness of his shirts.
Both characters were prideful.

Willy is prideful in the fact that he won’t take a job from Charley. I think he feels like if he took a job from Charley it would be like he was admitting he was a failure and couldn’t keep a job by himself. It would be a sign of his craziness, his hallucinations that led to his failure. Jay is prideful in the fact that he absolutely refuses to ask Daisy to tea, but her really wants to have tea with her. I think he’s scared that she will refuse him and then his hope of their perfect future together would go down the drain. He might also be a little scared that Daisy has changed since he last knew

her.
Both characters have anger problems. Willy’s anger problems are more out in the open than Jay’s are. Willy gets angry from his hallucinations, that he feels are happening in real life. People can tell when Willy is getting angry. He gets angry over everything, from Biff’s failures to his wife talking to try to calm them down. Jay’s anger issues are more silent and subtle. The only time he really errupts is when Tom tells everyone what a liar Jay is and how Jay made his money from stealing from people. Jay breaks his usual, gentlemen mold and gets angry enough to almost punch Tom.
Both characters hide parts of themselves. Willy hides his affair in Boston, which makes him angry all the time, about the stupidest things, like when he got mad at his wife for hemming her stockings. He hides parts of himself because he knows it would disappoint his family and tear them apart. Jay hides his past from people. The people from the parties only know little tidbits about Gatsby. They’ve heard rumors about him being an Oxford man, being in the army, and getting rich from shooting someone. The only person who really knows something about Gatsby is Nick. I think the reason Jay hides himself is not because he’s angry, but because he’s a quiet person. In order to get Daisy back without Tom noticing, it requires him to be quiet and subtle and hope she remembers him. I think he’s almost scared of being known.
Both characters are obsessed with money. Willy is obsessed with money, because money means success. Success means he wouldn’t have to beg for a job or worry about paying the mortgage. Jay is obsessed with the green light over the water. Not only does that symbolicly represent money, but it also represents Daisy. I feel like even though Jay is rich now, he feels he still can’t connect to Daisy. When he is looking over at the green light it’s as if he is still in the same predicament as what he was when he was younger. Daisy is still just as far away, Jay is still just as far, and their relationship is still just as stagnant as it was before.
Willy Loman is a poor salesman. Jay Gatsby is a rich partier. While there may not be a lot of seeming similarities on the outside, when you delve deeper into the stories and the characters you discover they actually are similar in some ways. Most of what makes them similar is how they feel and therefore how they reflect themselves on the outside. Both characters are over-idealistic individuals who feel lonely, yet always try to attract people, are prideful, and have anger problems. They hide parts of themselves to disassociate themselves from reality and therefore end up worshipping someone.