Theme Of Obsession In The Old Man And The Sea

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“An obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more.” (Mark Barrowcliffe) In this statement, Barrowcliffe, a writer and novelist from the United Kingdom, suggests the idea that having an obsession is not good thing to have. This idea relates to the themes of two classic pieces of literature, The Great Gatsby and The Old Man and the Sea. The Great Gatsby was written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel depicts the life of people living in the 1920’s with themes of corruption, social status, and obsessions. This novel strongly relates to Barrowcliffe’s thinking that obsessions are damaging to people’s lives. The Old Man and the Sea, written by Ernest Hemingway in 1952, is a popular classic novel about the struggles of an old fisherman who tirelessly tries to catch a fish for three days straight. Even though the two novels were written in completely different times and with almost polar opposite plots, both texts have similar themes. The Great Gatsby and The Old Man and The Sea show how obsessions can have a profound negative impact on people’s lives and this is shown through the characterization of the protagonists, the motif of wearing a facade, and symbols of false hope.
In The Great Gatsby, obsessions can lead to negative and potentially destructive outcomes. The protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is characterized as obsessive. Gatsby is obsessed with winning Daisy over again and being with her. During one of Gatsby’s parties, Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby wants