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What Are The Similarities Between Ethan Frome And The Great Gatsby

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Although seemingly love stories, the calamitous tales Ethan Frome and The Great Gatsby depict two characters, who in their struggle to find “true love”, end up lost in a tragedy. The Great Gatsby sets the reader head-on into the roaring 20s amidst the unspoken conflict between “old money” and “new money”. Ethan Frome takes place in the fictitious town of Starkfield, Massachusets and its story is stitched together by the unidentified narrator. The lavish mansions and depiction of city life in The Great Gatsby drastically contrast the small farms, deep in the woods in Ethan Frome. Nevertheless, Gatsby and Ethan share many characteristics as tragic heroes. Evidently, The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald and Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome are …show more content…

Ethan and Gatsby share many traits as characters but one main similarity between them is how they are both in turmoil at the end of the stories. In Ethan Frome, Ethan is left paralyzed and is stuck with Zeena and Mattie, living an unfulfilled life. Ethan’s life is droning and monotonous which is prominently depicted when Mrs. Hale admits to the narrator that she, “‘...don’t see there's much difference between the Fromes up at the farm and the Fromes down in the graveyard” (Wharton 157). To Mrs. Hale, the Fromes are ghost-like figures, as they are quiet and have lost all will to live life. Ethan has trapped himself into the life he was trying to escape and made his, Zeena’s, and Mattie’s life more difficult. Similarly to this, Gatsby never achieves his goal of obtaining Daisy’s love and eventually dies alone, with hardly any people at his funeral. During Gatsby’s funeral, Nick mentions while describing the scene, “The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came” (Fitzgerald 174). Although a well-known and wealthy man, there were very few people who truly cared for Gatsby, which is displayed through the faltering attendance. Gatsby was determined to form a relationship with Daisy but in the end, no matter how hard he tried, he was stuck in the

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