Essay Comparing The Great Gatsby And Old Man At The Sea

Although F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel Great Gatsby, was written in 1925, its use of symbolism can be compared to Ernest Hemingway's Old Man at the Sea, which was written 27 years later. On the surface of both of these books appear different in a variety of ways but below the surface these too have several similarities. The authors use of descriptive language shows the similarities of self-conflict and how the characters are alike and how different the cultural connection is between the two characters.
Santiago and Gatsby seem polar opposite on the surface but under the surface these two are extremely alike. In Old Man at the Sea, Santiago goes 84 days without catching fish, while trying to break the curse Santiago sets his hook upon this huge

fish. While the supplies that he has on his boat is running out instead of losing the fish, he stays out in the ocean with limited to supplies to break the curse.

“What I will do if he decides to go down, I don’t know. What I’ll do if he sounds and dies I don’t know. But I’ll do something. There are plenty of things I can do.” With risks of the large marlin diving deep into the ocean, Santiago has no sense of fear in his body and is willing to take a large risk in order to catch this marlin. Not only is taking risks and showing perseverance common among Santiago but also Jay in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is a wealthy man living in West Egg just outside of NYC. While Santiago takes his risks on the water trung to catch the mighty marlin Gatsby takes risks for his love for Daisy and for his wealth. He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong." The first time Gatsby met Daisy he was a “penniless man without a past” Daisy

stated that she would ever fall in love with a man that moneyless. After hearing that Gatsby takes a huge risks and starts bootlegging alcohol within the drug stores that he has purchased. In 1925, if Gatsby was to get caught he would of served a minimum of 6 years with several fines. With Gatsby knowing the severity of the consequences, takes a large risk in order to become wealthy to earn Daisy’s companionship. Not only do both of the characters take risks but also there affectionate towards others.
Santiago is a lonely fisherman who fishes majority of the day, while he’s not fishing he’s inside his small fishing shake.

Santiago doesn’t enjoy being alone and always wants to be around Manolin. Ever since his wife died he enjoys the presence of others. “But after forty days without a fish the boy’s parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao” Santiago and a young boy named Manolin have been fishing together for about 30 days, then the boys parents claim that Santiago is unluvky and requires the boy to fish in a seperate boat. Through out the book Santiago makes these connections to how he misses his right hand man. While Santiago misses his best friend and closest thing he has to family, Gatsby misses his sweethart; Daisy. Gatsby defined the saying love at first sight as soon as he saw Daisy. “So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed like a flower and the incarnation was complete.” The quote shows his affectionate for Daisy. As soon as Gatsby comes back from war and see Daisy with Tom, Gatsby tries everything in his power to get his lover back. Santiago tries to seek a friend becuase of his wife dying years ago. Gatsby tries to seek back his lover. While these two are different in several ways but they are both extremely affectionate to the people that make their lives

better.
These two characters largest differene between them is the cultrual difference. Gatsby is an extermly wealthy man who lives in West Egg. Living in Long Island, New York is not a cheap lifestyle, rather just the opposite. ”The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.” Gatsby is an extremly wealthy man as shown in this quote and through out the book. While Gatsby is an extremly prosperus Santiago lives in a complety different lifestyle. “The old man lives in a simple shack made from the fronds of a guano palm tree. It consists of one room with a dirt floor, and the mast from his skiff (fishing boat) takes up most of its length. The shack has no plumbing, electricity, or cooking apparatus; the old man simply cooks on the floor using a charcoal fire. He owns very little furniture---just a bed, a table, and a chair.” While Gatsby is living in a castle-like house in the prestigous West Egg, while Santaigo is living in a one room shack in the slums of Havanna, Cuba.
While Old Man and The Sea was created 25 years after The Great Gatsby. While these two books appear very difficult the similarities between these two books are undeniable. The authors use several quotes and descriptive language in order to create two cultural different characters but also two affectionate and risk taking individuals.