How Are Willy Loman And Jay Gatsby Alike

Tragedy is a complex genre of literature that carries more than what reaches the eye. Analysis of the characters leads to new discoveries, such as mischaracterization, and the ability to tie characters from different stories to each other. Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby are both memorable characters who arouse both pity and fear in their audience and readers, they both show relentless pursuit for their goals. In their journeys, they both came from poor backgrounds, had major setbacks, and expressed dissatisfaction with their lives. They were also different, sharing a large gap between social status, assets, friends, and their problems in life, with some being minor and others very crucial. Both characters are tragic heroes, and though they both

Secondly, they both came from poor families. James Gatz was the son of a poor farmer, and Willy’s last name literally means, low man. They were also both very stubborn, refusing to let go of their dreams or accept criticism from others. Willy and Gatsby both had at least one person that they could rely on, for Willy it was his next door neighbor Charley and for Gatsby it was his old friend Nick. What is also similar in both of these tragedies is the way that it is told. Both are told with a few factors that hinder us from the truth. Nick in The Great Gatsby is the narrator, and admits that he never approved of Gatsby, and only at the end he said something nice about Gatsby. Likewise, Death of a Salesman, where although the story was told in 3rd person, Willy’s delusions and jumps to different time periods made it difficult to understand Willy’s true nature and intentions, which is revealed in one of his flashbacks. Both Gatsby and Willy are pathological liars, with Gatsby constantly lying about his background and wealth and Willy lying about his achievements, even big or

First of all, there is a huge gap between Gatsby and Willy’s social status, with Gatsby being filthy rich while Willy struggles to make ends meet. Next, they both died differently. Gatsby was murdered while Willy committed suicide. Even though Willy and Gatsby were both working towards the American Dream, they had very different ideas of how it was supposed to be achieved. Willy’s version of the American dream is that if you are a good looking person, you automatically deserve to succeed. Gatsby’s version of the American dream is slowly corrupted, initially being to work earnestly and striving for success, to becoming a competition for being the most wealthy, by all means necessary. While Willy was cheating on his wife and not supporting his family, Gatsby did not have a family, and was all alone in his marvelous mansion. Willy described himself as boxed in his apartment, with little space to breath, while Gatsby had the freedom to throw parties on his property that could fit the whole of Long Island. Lastly, Willy and Gatsby both had very different goals in life. Willy was set on becoming a successful salesman like his father and Dave Singleman, while Gatsby didn’t even think about working and just wanted the woman of his