Examples Of Defeat In The Great Gatsby

DEFEAT. Merriam Webster defines destroy as damaging (something) so badly that it cannot be repaired.” In santiago's position to be destroyed is; to be ruined emotionally in a moment while still possessing the possibility of recovering. To be defeated is to lose all hope upon emotional ruin to a non recoverable extent. Defeat can also mean “ to cause (someone or something) to fail” as defined by Dictionary.com. Depending on the context the words “destroy” and “defeat” are used in, their meanings can vary, in the context of Santiago to be destroyed, or face defeat seem more appropriate. With variation amongst individuals existing, what destroys and defeats these people differs vastly and ultimately determines who they are as a person. Strength and perseverance are key characteristics needed to deny defeat and accept failure to become stronger;nevertheless having these characteristics does not guarantee resistance to defeat. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald outlines this theory eloquently as, Jay Gatsby the main character inside of the book, possessed both strength,

Santiago endured through all the hardship the fish could offer including dehydration, severe cuts to the back and hands, and exhaustion. “The Old man would have liked to keep his hand in the salt water longer but he was afraid of another sudden lurch by the fish and he stood up and braced himself and held his hand up against the sun. It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh, but it was in the working part of the hand.”(Hemingway 57). Here is a small amount of the suffering Santiago endured, as painful as this was Santiago never accepted defeat or lost hope. Unlike Gatsby he lived to return to his village destroyed but not defeated, and pass his teachings on to Manolin and to fish another