Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Native Son

F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel The Great Gatsby and Richard Wright in Native Son both portrayed protagonists that had come from poverty, but reached for their dreams. Gatsby was raised on a farm in a disadvantaged area of North Dakota, and would stop at nothing to gain enough wealth to never be connected to poverty again. He even went as far as changing his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby. Bigger Thomas lived in a tiny, single room apartment on the Chicago South Side with his mother, sister and brother. Both men were embarrassed about and despised the poverty they were born into. Jay and Bigger sought to improve their situations. They placed their futures in the hands of society and the external forces around them such as money and power. Although Jay Gatsby and Bigger Thomas came from impoverished neighborhoods and rose to different places in society, both men saw money as a way to better their circumstances, they both turned to crime in pursuit of finding their identity and used self-invention to claim it and eventually, both fell victim to the unraveling of their dreams. Jay Gatsby was a dreamer. His character personified the American Dream of rising from rags to riches.

Gatsby’s wealth did not bring him happiness nor did it bring him Daisy. Gatsby was so devoted to his love for Daisy that when she ran over her husband’s mistress, he took the blame. It was that last act of gallantry that cost him his life. In a mad rage the husband of the woman Daisy ran down killed Gatsby. It was only then that the truth that Gatsby’s new life was superficial came to light. His so called friends were users. His love affair a farce. Instead of staying by his side Daisy returned to her husband. None of the hundreds of people who came to his parties ventured to his funeral. Not even his partner in crime, Meyer Wolfsheim, cared about him in the end. He was no longer of value to any of