Human Nature In The Great Gatsby

Literature often elucidates the shared aspects of human nature. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, explains, “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you 're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.” Both Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” and Bernard Malamud’s “The First Seven Years” illustrate the importance of unconditional love to humanity. These short stories explain an important and conclusion about human nature: whether it is familial or romantic, unquestioning love can provide the strength necessary to persevere.

“A Worn Path” tells the story of an old African-American woman, Phoenix Jackson, who routinely makes a long and difficult journey to get

Never want to let folks pass, no sir. Old eyes thought you was a pretty little green bush” (421). When Phoenix encounters a young, white hunter, his racist, sexist, and ageist comments do not deter her from her journey. The hunter laughs at Phoenix, “Now you go on home, Granny!” (422) Phoenix responds frankly, “I bound to go to town, mister” (422). She continues to repeat her intents as the hunter makes similar remarks. This tenacious and persistent behavior exemplifies the strength of love in persevering through hardship. As Phoenix reaches the hospital, her motive for making this long trek are revealed. The nurse explains, “[Phoenix] doesn’t come here for herself -- she has a little grandson. She makes these trips just as regular as clockwork” (425). Then, she inquires to Phoenix, “Throat never heals, does it? … Yes. Swallowed lye. When was it?--January--two-three years ago--” (424). Phoenix endures the long and difficult journey time and time again out of pure and blind love for her grandson, as she is impacted by cataracts and walks the journey from the Natchez Trace with impaired eyesight. Her love for her grandson powers her; in her silence at the hospital, the simple mention of the possibility of her grandson’s death brings her back to life, like the

“The First Seven Years” describes Feld, a Jewish cobbler who attempts to find an acceptable husband for his daughter, and Sobel, who had, “escaped Hitler’s incinerators,” (54). Both Feld and Sobel experience the strength to persevere that love provides, too. In Feld’s persistent search for a suitor for his daughter, Miriam, he believes his criteria will benefit her. He explains of Max, a boy studying to become an accountant, “Maybe he would awaken in her a desire to go to college; if not--[Feld’s] mind at last came to grips with the truth--let her marry an educated man and life a better life” (49). Feld encourages Max to meet with Miriam, who she finds, “a materialist [... who] has no soul. He is only interested in things” (53). Miriam values learning, but Max only values the money practicing accounting would earn. Similarly, Sobel is driven by love. Sobel worked long, hard hours for very little pay. Feld realizes, “Yet [Feld’s] conscience bothered him for not insisting that the assistant accept a better wage than he was getting [but] he was not interested in going elsewhere” (51). Feld tries to understand why Sobel is willing to work for such a small paycheck, and he concludes, “... no doubt because of his terrible experiences as a refugee, [he] was afraid of the world” (51). However, Feld soon realizes that this assumption is false. Ater he first speaks to Max about meeting Miriam, “... he was startled by a violent clanging and looked up to see Sobel pounding with all his