Examples Of Sacrifice In The Great Gatsby

Self-sacrifice is the act of forsaking one's personal interests or well-being for the sake of others. When we love someone, we place the other person's interests and needs before our own as we prioritise their happiness over our own. Hence, loving someone truly requires self-sacrifice. This essay will be looking at The Great Gatsby, authored by F S Fitzgerald, and Cartagena, authored by Nam Le. There are several instances in which an individual self-sacrifices in the interests of another person they love and care for. Regardless of whether it is love for a family member, a lover or even a friend, self-sacrifice is inevitable and necessary.

Self-sacrifice out of familial love is displayed clearly in Cartagena where Ron sacrifices his childhood

Even though they were not officially lovers, from the foreshadowing of "[a]s for Claudia, we used to go together..." (Le 2008, p. 64). It is implied that they had an intimate and slightly romantic relationship that might have grown if Ron had not died. We see Claudia sacrificing her safety for Ron in Cartagena by accompanying him to look for El Padre (Le 2008, p. 64). Also, the imagery evoked from “She is small, and soft, and alone” (Le 2008, p. 95) and “She has gathered her voice with effort" (Le 2008, p. 96) gives us the sense that she is vulnerable and weak but sacrifices her safety to give Ron as much support as she can. Self-sacrifice for a lover can be seen more clearly in The Great Gatsby, most evidently from Gatsby's love for Daisy. Gatsby sacrifices his morality and identity because he finds wealth and social status crucial in winning the love and approval of Daisy. Hence, he sacrifices anything undesirable which is everything about poor James Gatz and fabricates "...a [p]latonic conception of himself..." (Fitzgerald 1925, p. 91) losing his real self and becoming morally corrupted. Unable to control his obsessive desire to have Daisy, he cares little about the means by which he acquires the money to marry her. He associates with known criminals such as Myer Wolfsheim, appears to be involved with bootlegging (Fitzgerald 1925, p. 124). Finally, he lies about himself and his family to enlist

One such example is Ron's galado in Cartagena, where they decide what is best for Ron and P147 “...made a choice not to tell [him]” (Le, p. 147) "...did not want to tell you...if you were in hiding, and did not already know, and there was no need...” (Le, p. 160). We know that this friendship is a mutual one as Ron sacrifices himself in order to protect the people around him. This is evident from the diction 'basilica' (Le, p. 139), 'church' (Le, p. 148) and 'sacred' (Le, p. 164) which creates the image that El Padre's room resembles a church, Ron going there symbolises he is the sacrifice to protect his loved ones. “...the moon...looks like a huge yellow magnet.” (Le, p. 164) The comparison of the moon to a magnet evokes the image of Ron being pulled closer towards heaven which foreshadows his impending sacrificial death. The 'crucifixion' (Le, p. 140) most famously done to Jesus Christ, who was executed because he sacrificed his life for humanity parallels Ron's sacrifice for the people around him he loves. Furthermore, “wooden planks creak under my weight..." (Le, p. 140), implies the burden of ensuring the safety of his loved ones. It is evident from “...pull it out, hard” (Le, p. 170) that Ron was prepared and not hesitant about sacrificing his life in order to protect his loved ones. This sacrifice is greatest as Ron is sacrificing the most priceless and irreplaceable thing he owns. We can