Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Does The Great Gatsby have villains and heroes?Why,why not?if yes,who fits into these categories and why?

The Great Gatsby is sophisticated, mature fiction that reveals issues and ideas that concern human existence.  As such, it doesn't really deal with simplistic, easily labeled, good and bad guys.  People in the novel are, for the most part, mixtures of good and evil like actual people are.


Gatsby, for instance, loves like every human being would like to be loved.  Gatsby is probably the happiest, and certainly the most goal-oriented person in the novel.  He is relentless in his loyalty and dedication to Daisy.  Yet, he's also a fool.  He's naive, and dedicates his life to recapturing a relationship that never really was.  His business practices are also questionable.  We don't get many details, but he is partners with the man who fixed the World Series.


The second major player in the novel, Daisy, is multi-faceted, too.  She appears at different times to be cynical, sarcastic, naive, greedy, innocent, dangerous, and harmless.  She marries Tom for money, but she is a female in a patriarchal society--what other choices does she have? 


None of these people are perfect, but they're not villains, either.


If there is a villain, it's Tom.  One might have trouble coming up with redeemable characteristics that Tom possesses.  He's ignorant, closed-minded, abusive, dominating, and hypocritical.  Yet, even Tom has a tender side.  When he mentions some good times he and Daisy had earlier in their marriage, he seems genuine, as well as honestly hurt that Daisy might leave. 

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