Thursday, February 20, 2020
Jay Gatsby v. Charles Foster Kane
Most of us read The Great Gatsby in our sophomore Humanities class. Both Gatsby and Citizen Kane,produced about twenty years apart, focus on a man who some might say is the epitome of success. What similarities and differences do you see? Are these works celebrations or critiques of these men, or somewhere in between? Or something else? Do they tell us anything about the American Dream?
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Imminently I drew the comparison between the two wealthy characters partially because of their wealth and lifestyle, but mainly due to their goals and what drives them. Gatsby practically did everything in his power in order to be with the woman he loved, and Kane had a similar yet slightly different goal of childhood, however both are rooted in love. It is apparently common to find wealthy children do not get the love or attention from their parents that they may either need or deserve. This can lead to these people having estranged fantasies in order to please people and achieve that appreciation. Jay was Gatsby's only true friend even though Gatsby was one of the most famous people in New York because of his parties. Both Gatsby and Kane achieved their goals of success in wealth however what they hoped would come with it did not. Because as many people have said before, it is lonely on the top of the world.
ReplyDeleteSome similarities between Jay Gatsby, in “The Great Gatsby”, and Charles Foster Kane, in “Citizen Kane” are that both men are highly successful while also being very much so alone. They both seek love and happiness and they both attempt to use their material wealth to buy love. They use their wealth and power to try to force people to stay in their lives. Similar to how Kane bought Susana an opera house to show his love for her. However, a major difference is that unlike Kane, Gatsby’s love interest is someone who he’s had an eye on for a long time. Kane has multiple wives through his life while Gatsby only wants one person, Daisy. I think these works critique these men, and people in general, who use their wealth and power in order to “buy” friends and lovers. Kane and Gatsby both held elaborate parties and bought their love interests expensive items to persuade in a way their lovers to stay with them, without having to provide any actual emotional support and care.
ReplyDeleteIn both "The Great Gatsby" and "Citizen Kane", there is a rich and powerful man who has many internal struggles such as loneliness. However, these two things (wealthy, yet lonely) are connected very closely in both characters. Jay Gatsby and Charles Kane both attain a large amount of wealth, but make the mistake of trying to use this wealth as a way of receiving love from people. Kane goes as far as building a castle (Xanadu) in the hopes of impressing his wife. However, it is hard to pin many of these problems on the men, as they both grew up with tough parental situations, which gave them a messed up and construed idea of how to show affection for people. Rather than be supportive or caring, they try to buy love, which leads to nothing but problems.
ReplyDeleteThe Great Gatsby and Citizen Kane are both examples of successful men who came from similar backgrounds of financial struggle. However, a big difference is how the two men obtained their wealth. Gatsby gained his wealth by choice of running a bootlegging business, while Kane on the other hand was forced into a new family that already had wealth. Both of these films represent the American Dream for these men overcame their financial struggles with opportunities that were given to them. Although a similarity between the two is their success, both of these films also represent a tragic love story. Both rosebud and Daisy represent the past of these main characters and how no matter how successful they became, it was never enough. Both of their loves represent their regret for the turn their lives took. Both men grew up wanting to be loved, but as they searched for that goal, they lost sight of their values and priorities. They both thrived off of their popularity, but in reality no one truly knew who they were. Gatsby was only popular because of the big parties he threw, and people only went because he had connections to get alcohol when at that time it was illegal to have alcohol. Citizen Kane was only liked because of his thriving newspaper company but no one truly knew what truly happened to him or anything personal about him. In conclusion, both of these films represent a tragic love story in which two successful achieve the American Dream which is all anyone could every want but then these men died without reaching their one true goal of love
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