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Themes In The Great Gatsby

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There are texts, which are so famous, that almost every western reader ever heard of them. These include for example the biblical stories (Adam and Eve in paradise, the ark of Noah, David and Goliath, etc.), the Greek myths and some other stories. These texts are a widely used source of inspiration for other writers and poets, especially the themes, such as love, hate and temptation. So does F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel ‘The Great Gatsby.’ He uses themes and elements from other texts and interconnects them in the storyline. Three stories are especially recognized: The fall of Adam and Eve, ‘Die leiden des jungen Werthers’ by Goethe, and the Greek myth ‘Icarus and Daedalus’.
In the first place, Fitzgerald links the fall of Adam and Eve in its plot. One of the key themes in the fall is temptation. Eve is not able to resist the enticing offer of Satan, namely eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan is the biggest liar ever and so was he in paradise. He mislead Eve, Eve mislead Adam and thus were they shifted out of paradise. The same holds for The Great Gatsby. Protagonist Jay Gatsby, extremely rich and living an exuberant life, is in love with Daisy. Daisy however, is married with Tom, who in turn has a relationship with Myrtle Wilson. Gatsby and Daisy have had an affair, …show more content…

Adam and Eve are dismissed from paradise, after not adhering to God’s command. Werther commits suicide, while Lotte finds no love for him, and Icarus falls down and dies as well. And Gatsby? Eventually he is killed, although he was extremely rich, had a lot of (temporary) friends. Even his money couldn’t give him Daisy’s love. This empty existence is translated in the last sentences of the novel. ‘Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther … And one fine morning

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