The Goldfinch Literary Analysis

The Goldfinch is a novel by Donna Tartt. The story focuses on the life of Theodore Decker, who loses his mother after a bomb blast during a visit to a local museum. The novel shows Theo's development as a teenager, his encounters, and struggles as an orphan. The book also traces Theo’s overall development from influenced child into a manipulating grown up, from innocence to expertise among other encounters. The Fortress of Solitude is a novel by Jonathan Lethem. The book’s plot revolves around the lives of two teenage friends, Mingus Rude and Dylan Ebdus, one white, and the other black where the two friends discover a magic ring. The books expound on the issues of music, self-discovery as well as race and culture.

A contrast between the two books is noticeable in that the Goldfinch is told in a first-person narrative, where by, both the author and the main character, Theo narrates the story. On the other hand, the Fortress of Solitude is told in a third-person narrative throughout part "A", while part "B" uses first-person narrative and part "C" involves more of a distinctive conversation.

Both books have various similarities about family. In the Fortress of Solitude, both young characters, Mingus, and Dylan are said to have lost their mothers. Similarly, in the Goldfinch novel, the main character, Theo, lost his mother during a

blast while in a museum. The two books authors reveal in their works of how miserable the young characters’ lives turn into given the absence of their maternal mothers. Concerning father-son relationship, the two books reveal strained relationships between the main characters and their father. For example, Theo thinks of his biological father, who had walked out on them a year before, as an alcoholic, obnoxious thief. On the other hand, in the Fortress of Solitude, the relationship between Dylan and his father, Abraham is empty and detached. However, towards the book’s ending, the relationship involves reunion and silent understanding. In Mingus’ relationship with his father, Barrett Jr., it can be said is distant. Nonetheless, the relationship is marked by their similar zeal for illegal drugs and music. However, towards the novel’s ending, their relationship becomes more strained and violent resulting in a massive conflict that engages all three generations of the rude men.

In both the Fortress of Solitude and the Goldfinch, the two authors show drug abuse as a major issue in the lives of the main characters.

For example, cocaine is represented as a central object in the Fortress of Solitude. Both Dylan and his friend, Mingus have their lives influenced negatively due to the drug’s usage, as Dylan finds himself expelled from college and Mingus adult life is mostly spent in and out of jail. Besides, Mingus’ father, Barrett, due to drugs addiction has his life ruined. Similarly, in the Goldfinch novel, Theo, and his friend Boris are seen as users of such drugs as marijuana, alcohol and other illicit

drugs.
The two books authors also reveal, in their work piece, about the central character’s attachments to their diseased mothers. For example, in the Goldfinch, Theo, after taking with him the goldfinch portrait from the museum, he refuses for a long time to take it back as it reminded him of his adorable, energetic and beautiful mother. It is not up until towards the novel’s ending that due to guilt and fear of increased search for the portrait that he helps in getting it back to the rightful place. Likewise, in the Fortress of Solitude, Dylan is shown as having a profound connection with the Dean Street as it reminded him of his mother. He also treasured the place, as it was where he first met his friend, Mingus, in addition to serving as his haven from the racial tensions of Brooklyn.

In the Fortress of Solitude, the author unfolds racial tense particularly between Dylan and his schoolmates. Being among the few white students attending Brooklyn’s public schools, Dylan is vulnerable to bullying and mugging common among junior high and elementary children and public humiliation. Due to racial tension, Dylan and his newfound friend, Mingus, share a secret relationship in which they act as associates while at school and normally while at home. Moreover, for Dylan to get through his mates, he becomes friends with Arthur Lomb, another white boy. Nonetheless, the two are seen as having varying approaches towards the racial tensions in their area. For example, while Dylan goes to one of the best, and mostly white public high school, Arthur selects the black American way of life using Robert Woolfolk “Willfuck” and Mingus’ styles as his model. On the other hand, the Goldfinch author uses another method to reveal discrimination. The novel contains no form of racial tension and instead indicates the inability Theo’s new school peers of talking to him. The racial tension is not emphasized as much as in the Fortress novel.

In the Goldfinch novel, Theo’s encounter with the goldfinch art at a museum alongside his artistic mother makes him develop a love for art. Consequently, as he becomes an adult, Theo ends up working in an antique shop where he illegally sells other people’s arts for money. Theo is portrayed as a lover of old antiques such as clocks whose description indicate that each read different times. On the other hand, in the Fortress of Solitude, an art is applied as a status figure in Lethem’s Brooklyn. The book uses tags frequently as a new character for the artists, as indicated in Part 3 of the novel when Mingus nearly gets only by his tag name “Dose”. Dylan, also, though he experiments in the world of graffiti with Mingus, in attempts to extensively unite himself with his friend Mingus, uses his friend’s tag instead of developing his. The two see it as a win-win move in which Dylan, a white boy, gets an opportunity to merge his identity with a black boy, while the black boy, Mingus gets a chance to spread his tag further. Arthur, Dylan’s white friend, strives to define himself as the tag name Art, but nonetheless never reaches the intensity of importance that Mingus attains. In later years, the book’s author portrays Mingus’ talent for graffiti art as a valuable possession that carries him through his years of imprisonment as it acted both as a source of pride and income.

In the Fortress of Solitude, the author reveals a theme of music and culture, especially during the younger years of Dylan and his friend Mingus. The author categorizes people into various cultures based on the type of music they listen to. For example, Dylan seems to be torn between the world of funk, hip-hop and R&B he gets introduced into by black friend Mingus with his Barrett Rude Jr. Dylan also appears undecided on whether to join the world of classical rock and punk introduced to by his college classmates. On the other hand, Tartt, in the Goldfinch, culture and music are not well represented and instead, the author uses the artistic culture instead of music.

In both novels, the theme of friendship is well represented as the main characters in both pieces appears to have a long-lasting friendship that last up to the end of the story. In the Goldfinch, Theo and Boris are portrayed as friends that would stick out for each other. The amazing friendship between the two makes it hard for Boris to let Theo leave New York to pursue other interests. Furthermore, when the two friends are reunited later on in the novel, both work hand in hand towards recovering the lost goldfinch and Boris share his award with Theo after tipping the authorities. Similarly, the same level of friendship is revealed in the Fortress of Solitude, especially between Dylan and Mingus. Despite Dylan’s white race, Mingus maintained a strong friendship between them and engaged him in his cultures. The relationship between the two is profound, and as seen, in part three of the novel, Dylan refers his friend as the rejected idol of his whole youth as well as his best friend and my lover. Additionally, the relationship is accentuated by the ring that acts as a symbol of connection between the two.