Gatsby and Hamlet - Assignment Example

1. Hamlet and foils It is true that Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, has many foils in Shakespeare’s play. Shakespeare is famous for using foils to bring out the main characteristics of his protagonists. The foil acts to enhance the meaning and shine light on certain qualities of the hero, in this case the tragic hero of Hamlet. Shakespeare includes characters in Hamlet who are obvious foils for Hamlet. They show his character through contrast or comparison and bring out traits and characteristics, by being the opposite or the same in certain ways. For example, for a foil which brings an effect through contrast, there is Laertes, who decides in a split second, that which takes Hamlet the whole action of the play to decide. Horatio, Fortinbras, and Claudius act as foils too, mostly through contrast. These foil characters are alike and different in m any ways, because they respond in different ways to the central crisis of Hamlet: the murder of the king and the usurping of the throne by Claudius. The main foils of Hamlet in the play are those of Laertes and Claudius. These are the most pronounced characters, and they are aligned against Hamlet and therefore throw light on his actions through contrast. Horatio and Fortinbras, in contrast, are relatively minor characters when it comes to the actual action of the play. To some extent, Hamlet is a foil to himself, because he acts in different manners throughout the play, sometimes seeming to feign insanity, other times seeming genuinely insane; these states throw light on each other through contrast. However, overall, the most effective foil in the play is Laertes. This is because Laertes is able to fly right into battle with Hamlet, instantly considering him his enemy and jumping for the forum of death by swordplay. By contrast, Hamlet delays flying into battle against Claudius, scheming and acting crazy, seemingly afraid to make any rash decisions like Laeretes does. Therefore, Laertes is the main foil in the play, because he literally represents the impulsive nature of immediate decision, while Hamlet, on the other hand, represents the procrastination-based nature of delayed decision. Laertes responds to the crisis which confronts him by springing into immediate, violent action. Horatio is Hamlet’s friend in the play, so there is not as much reason to see him as the most effective foil. He is more like Hamlet than the enemies such as Laertes and Claudius, because these characters draw contrasts, and Horatio draws out similarities in the character. Nonetheless, there can be comparisons made between Horatio and Hamlet, especially considering Horatio’s role in uncovering major plot events which affect Hamlet so directly, such as the discovery of his father’s ghost, which Horatio tells Hamlet about right away. He also represents a character whom Hamlet can turn upon in a trusting manner. Horatio responds to the crisis that develops by remaining a voice of trust and reason to Hamlet. Fortinbras also acts as an interesting foil in the play, although like Horatio, he is not as major. He mainly represents the forces of vengeance in the play. He is more like Hamlet than Laertes, though, because although all of them represent revenge against a slain or wronged father, it is Hamlet and Fortinbras who move very slowly, while Laertes moves quickly. Fortinbras responds to the crisis by action, but his action is restricted by how fast he can move his soldiers. Overall, in the play, Claudius is only marginally a foil at all, aside from that he brings out Hamlet’s virtue briefly. Laertes is the main foil. 2. Compare and contrast Gatsby and Tom. Gatsby and Tom are very different characters in Fitzgerald’s novel, and they have very different dreams and motivations. Perhaps the main difference between them, however, is the treatment that they get from the narrator of the story, Nick Carraway. Nick is friends with Gatsby, and views Tom as more of a forced acquaintance due to his relationship with Daisy. In other words, Nick seems to favor Gatsby, which gives a distinctly negative impression to Tom in comparison. Mainly, they are different because Gatsby is a romantic dreamer who idealizes women, and Tom is a very cold-hearted and conservative person, and uses women. Tom is ruthless, and Gatsby is chivalric, and mainly there are contrasts. However, there are some similarities between Tom and Gatsby, as well: they are both putting on airs about their social class, and in many cases they appear to be trying to out-class each other. They are also both competing for Daisy’s affections, and this draws them together in a way in terms of their shared goals and motivations. They can also be said to both love Daisy, although in very different ways and with different aspirations. First of all, the two characters can be seen in their differences, in the form of the reactions of Nick Carraway to both of them respectively. Nick is the one telling the story, and he is obviously biased towards Gatsby. He sees him as mysterious, and compliments him physically as well. Describing Gatsby, the narrator notes, “He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life” (Fitzgerald). On the other hand, the narrator mostly seems off-put by Tom, and describes him in much less glowing terms. Therefore, the narrator obviously wants to draw a distinction or contrast between the two characters, viewing one of them favorably and the other, favorably. Gatsby is a romantic character who represents the role of the dreamer and romantic, while Tom is more of a ruthlessly realistic character who prefers facts and figures to ideals. This makes them view women very differently, in terms of idealization versus realism. Tom is apparently very stubborn and conservative about his social views, including the role that Daisy should play as a wife, and the role that he seems himself playing based on things like his race. He is closed-minded. Gatsby is more of a dreamer who sees himself based on dreams and whims turned into self-promises. He is a much less realistic-minded character. There are similarities to the two characters, in that they are basically coming from the same social class, and occupy the same social circles. Tom views Gatsby as an imposter to the social class, however, and doesn’t believe he went to Oxford. Ironically, Gatsby seems to be the smarter of the two characters, but he is also less of a snob about the social class he inhabits. Nonetheless, they both run in the same social circles, and they both share some of the same ideals. Gatsby and Tom both love Daisy, and this is the main similarity they have as characters. However, Daisy has grown disillusioned with Tom’s kind of love. “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman...I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe” (Fitzgerald). Tom is much more trashy in his behavior compared with Gatsby, because he openly cheats on Daisy in Manhattan, while Gatsby just dreams of his perfect love with Daisy. They are very different characters, who have a goal in common. 3. Gertrude, Ophelia, Daisy, Myrtle, and Jordan The treatment of women differs from era to era. Generally, progress has been made in terms of gender roles in society, from 16th century England to 20th century America. These are the two time-periods and places featured in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. However, both works still have only male protagonists, while all of the women are relatively minor characters. However, Shakespeare’s portrayal of Gertrude and Ophelia can be compared to, and contrasted against, Fitzgerald’s portrayal of Daisy, Myrtle and Jordan. The female characters are minor in each work, but they do represent the progress of gender equality, because the 20th century American females are more empowered socially, in terms of their gender roles in society. In other words, even though they are still not the main characters, Jordan and Daisy have actions and behaviors as characters that would have been only available to a man in Elizabethan England. Significant progress has been made in the assimilation of many groups into the fabric of society over time, including minority groups like women. In Fitzgerald’s day, unlike in Shakespeare’s, women had the right to vote, go out drinking, smoke, work, and do many other things that were once forbidden. In Hamlet, the only recourse for Ophelia is to join a nunnery, and she hasn’t even done anything, and Gertrude is made a villain for her sexuality. In The Great Gatsby, the women enjoy a lot more social freedom, and can be relatively open about their sexuality, unless they are cheating on a spouse. However, there are still many doors that remain closed for Jordan and Daisy, as discrimination stemming from gender stereotyping continues to be a part of what could be construed to be the fabric of society as it runs between Elizabethan England and 20th century America. Discrimination is wide-reaching, and may be based on differences in race (racism) as well as age (ageism), gender (sexism), sexual orientation (homophobia), or many other perceived lines of in-group and out-group differentials, which can be combated. And in fact, the characters in Fitzgerald, Jordan, Myrtle, and Daisy, know to show how they are changing to represent a more diverse base of society than Ophelia and Gertrude. But there are still obstacles: the denial of equal opportunity is something which can be seen to go against the general fabric of the humanistic ideal as much as it can be seen as a part of it, as the vaunted libertarian ideals of republicanism and basic equality. And Daisy, after all, is still trapped in a world where Tom is the dominant patriarch, just as Gertrude is trapped by the patriarchy of Claudius. This equality involves male and female gender roles, optimally, but in many cases social conditioning of unequal gender roles can be traced as a theme in both works, Hamlet and The Great Gatsby. Overall, even though they are still not the main characters, Jordan and Daisy have actions and behaviors as characters that would have been only available to a man in Elizabethan England, and so, they are more empowered socially than Ophelia and Gertrude. However, this empowerment is limited, as the women run into some of the same traps. Ophelia and Jordan are perhaps most different, because as a single professional woman and athlete, Jordan seems to represent a lot of progress over Ophelia, who acts like a little girl and goes insane when confronted with disturbing situations. Jordan, on the other hand, seems unfazed by most things. However, Daisy, Myrtle, and Gertrude are all both in situations in which they are unhappy, because they have intentionally trapped themselves with the wrong patriarchs. 4. Gatsby and Hamlet There are similarities that can be drawn between the character of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, and Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play. Perhaps the main similarity that can be drawn between them is that they both arguably use made-up personas in order to fulfill their plans. Of course, there are differences and contrasts as well, because Hamlet is much more consumed with vengeance, whereas Gatsby is consumed with idealistic love. Hamlet gives up any possible love interest with Ophelia in order to consummate his vengeance and violent actions, and Gatsby pursues his love interest with Daisy, which ironically results in a lot of violence as well. And of course, the two stories are set in very different times and places, with Hamlet acting in Elizabethan English contexts, and Gatsby during the American Roaring Twenties. Of course, there are similarities here as well, because both epochs featured in the works represent empires at the high point of their powers. However, the plots are personalized, so it is more effective to compare and contrast Hamlet and Gatsby. The main similarity between the two characters of Shakespeare and Fitzgerald, is that they both make up their own personas in order to deal with challenges and problems in their lives. They are, in this sense, both very artificial. Hamlet starts out the play as a scholar and royal prince of Denmark: he has friends, and although he has the tendency to brood and is somewhat anti-social, he is certainly not a frenzied killer, or an impulsive person. To achieve his vengeance after he finds out about his father’s murder, however, Hamlet finds that he has to change this meek persona of the doubtful scholar, to become someone who is more capable of decisive action. A lot of the tension in the play is made up of watching Hamlet go about this transformation, or the construction of a persona who is able to deal with the situation in which he finds himself. In this sense, Hamlet creates someone imaginary on many levels: he acts erratically on purpose, as if he is trying to find the right tone for his new persona. Similarly, in The Great Gatsby, Jay wants to turn himself into a millionaire for Daisy, but to do so, he has to deny everything in his real authentic past, and make up a new past that is more glittering and impressive. He becomes an Oxford-educated war hero millionaire, because he sees this as an ideal representation that he would like to give to Daisy. But it is still far from where he began, and just like Hamlet, he must change himself in order to adapt to his goals and circumstances. Although the two characters share the construction of imaginary personas, they have widely differing goals: Hamlet’s goals are about avenging murder, and Gatsby’s are about love. The contrast between these goals shows a major difference in the characters, even though, ironically, Gatsby and Daisy’s love results in the death of Myrtle, and serious tension between Jay and Tom. However, the two characters are going in different directions in the ways in which they must change: Hamlet steels himself for revenge, stripping away layers of artifice, while Gatsby goes more towards artifice, adding layer after layer very carefully. Although it may appear that the respective settings of Hamlet and The Great Gatsby point towards another difference between the texts and characters, there are more complex shades of gray at work here. Elizabethan England and 20s-era America were both representative of empires at the height of their riches and power. However, naturally, there are major differences in setting which influence the similarities, as well as differences, between Gatsby and Hamlet. REFERENCE Fitzgerald, F (1992). The Great Gatsby. New York: Hyperion. Read More