The Great Gatsby Comparative Essay

The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway shows similarities through the feelings of being lost and confused during the 1920’s lost generation time period through symbolism, juxtaposition and imagery. Symbolism can be seen through the feelings of hope and freedom. Juxtaposition is demonstrated in the feeling of being lost and not knowing the meaning of life, especially after the war and being apart of ‘the lost generation’. Finally imagery is discussed and how the authors can plant secret meanings in texts by using their words. The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises show similarities with each other through symbolism, using the feeling of hope. In The Great Gatsby, the symbol of the green

Involuntarily I glanced seaward—and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been at the end of a dock.” (Fitzgerald 21). Specifically in The Great Gatsby, the feeling of what life could become is also a very important representation portrayed through the text. J. Gatsby is described in this passage as reaching out and longing for more. That more Gatsby was longing for was the feeling of one day getting Daisy back. The feeling of hope is not only seen in The Great Gatsby, but also in the book The Sun Also Rises. Displays of hope in The Sun Also Rises can be seen through the representation of the bulls. A very pivotal moment in the book is when the group of friends is discussing the bull fighting and Cohn points out that “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” (Hemmingway Chapter 2). Cohn understands that the world can be a hopeless place at times and he makes the connection that bullfighters live their lives with no fear, therefore they feel more free. Another example of when the two books The Great Gatsby and The Sun Also Rises relate to each other is when thinking about