Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Jay Gatsby vs. Charles Foster Kane
Most of us read The Great Gatsby in our junior English 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?
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One of the most obvious parallels between Gatsby and Kane is the wealth each man posseses. However, the motives behind the acquisition of these fortunes differ starkly.
ReplyDeleteFor Kane, riches are not necessarily the end goal, but rather a by-product of the success this man seeks. Truly, the aquisition of a fortune is not Kane's goal. Rather, he believes money corrupts him (he says "had I not been a rich man, I might have been a good man", or something to that effect). This belief evidences that becoming rich was not Kane's end goal--in fact, he would rather have avoided being wealthy altogether. What Kane seeks in life is power over the masses. An incident that clearly demonstrates how much more value Kane places on power than on money is the scene in which Kane, at that time a starting newspaper editor, argues with his guardian. In this scene, Kane shows his determination to continue in the newspaper business, though he is losing millions on it: obviously, Kane cares little about wealth--or lack thereof--so long as he influences the opinion of the masses by having control over the press. Thus, Kane's goal is to have power over others, and his fortune is merely an incidental byproduct of his success in his chosen field.
For Gatsby, however, the acquisition of wealth is the end goal, as money is the only path to the kind of prestige he seeks. Since his youth, Gatsby sees his lack of money as the one big barrier to his happiness: he can not obtain Daisy's hand in marriage because he is poor (and lacks, besides, the prestige that comes with "old money"). Gatsby, therefore makes it his goal to become--and, more importantly, appear--rich: he buys an enormous mansion, throws lavish parties, and tries to impress Daisy with his various imported shirts. Even his obsession with Daisy is likely an extension of his quest for the prestige inherent in being rich, for she comes from "old money" and even the beauty in her voice comes from her wealth. Thus, for Gatsby, the acquisition of wealth and prestige is the goal of his life.
Perhaps, the two men's different backgrounds can account for their very different attitudes towards wealth: Kane's wealth was given to him "on a silver platter" early in life (he did not have to work for it and lost any semblance of a family life because of this money), but he never had the opportunity to make his own life decisions (his parents give him away against his will). Gatsby, on the other hand, always had the power to make his own life decisions (and thus is not power-hungry), but feels that he missed out on life opportunities because of his working-class background.
I don't think either men were looking for a life full of money and wealth, instead their desires are very similar, however the money they acquire seems to have different effects. In Citizen Kane, it becomes clear that all Charles ever wanted was to feel and share true, genuine love with a significant other after we find out about Rosebud. As we saw, the wealth Kane had collected denied him of ever fulfilling his desires. His two wives don't care about money and leave him after they find him too preoccupied all the time trying to make more. Gatsby on the other hand, is much more fortunate. After working hard to make enough cash too impress Daisy Gatsby eventually wins her over. I often question that that accident at the end however, when Myrtle is struck by the car and Gatsby is blamed for it, may have either been pure unfortunate coincidence or something more meaningful. Either way I think Kane and Gatsby had similar desires only that one was successful in his attempt while the other failed. Perhaps the environment Gatsby lived in was appropriate for his strategy?
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