Comparison-Gatsby-Macbeth
From Greek mythology's Hercules, to the American's Paul Bunyan, myths perpetrating the quest can be found in all cultures and societies. Stories of the mythic quest "express knowledge that is complete and coherent",1 thus the mythic quest exists to teach an idea or principle to its audience. Quests can be identified by several distinct elements that occur in all myths of this type, these characteristics are: a hero, the journey and the reward. The hero is the central protagonist character, (generally a male) who will attempt to complete the quest. The journey, is the series of obstacles that the hero must endure to achieve his goal. It is the path upon which the hero must walk to complete in his quest. It is on this journey that he will face challenges, battle enemies or make allies who may assist him. Upon successful completion of his journey, the hero will expected receive a reward, retribution for his struggles in the form of intellectual, spiritual or material gain. Through comparison of the novel "Shoeless Joe" which consists of Ray Kinsella quest to reunite himself with his deceased father and Jay Gatsby's quest for the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. it is discovered that human existence is e
Upon reading and comparing Shakespeare masterpiece "Macbeth" to F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" one can unquestionably realize that Macbeth and Jay Gatsby are classic examples of a tragic heroes. both frivolous quest for idealistic dreams that rewards its' heroes with unattainable achievements or failure ssentially a frivolous quest for idealistic dreams that rewards its' heroes with unattainable achievements or failure. Careful examination of the ambitions, personal attributes and histories of both King Arthur and Jay Gatsby reveal that the hero can take on many different forms, yet similarities will exist. Each hero that embarks on a quest, whether he be King Arthur or Jay Gatsby, hopes to achieve a reward, the goal of his quest. The value of these rewards and there cost to the hero or others effected by the quest must be examined to help establish the validity of the quest. In both the myth of the Holy Grail, and The Great Gatsby, very distinct, central characters can be labeled as the hero. In the myth of the Holy Grail, it is King Arthur who fits the heroic role. Having been raised by Merlin, a magician with "superhuman wisdom and great occult powers" after the death of his biological father, Arthur was given the guidance necessary to become a powerful King. Arthur ruled the Kingdom of Camelot in Britain with his wife Guinevere, and it was there that he established his knights in the fellowship of the Round Table. 2 This organization consisted of a group of seemingly honorable, selfless men who existed to seek glory in Arthur's name. Thus it was through the knights that Arthur carried out his quest for the Holy Grail. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the hero is Jay Gatsby, a man born to "shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (99) who was reinvented as a "Platonic conception of himself" (99) at the age of seventeen when he changed his name form James Gatz and hopped aboard the yacht of a wealthy man named Dan Cody. Jay Gatsby had something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life... This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the "creative temperament" - it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness... (2) which drove him to take control of his destiny and attempt to procure a better life for himself. Jay Gatsby was a manipulative, idealistic hero. King Arthur and Jay Gatsby demonstrate the importance of a strong hero in a quest.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1672
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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