Free Literature Review On Comparison Of The Glass Menagerie And The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is an American classical Novel authored by Scot F. Fitzgerald in 1925, immediately after the Second World War. The story was set up in New York and the North Shore Island. In this novel, set at a time when America was striving to achieve economic empowerment, explores the theme of unfulfilled life that is corrupted by greed. Greed for wealth, recognition and love. The story is about a young Nick Carraway who after graduating from Yale University relocates to New York. Here, he rents a house next to Jay Greatsby. Greatsby owns a very big mansion in which he lives an extravagant life. He hosts a lot of fashionable youths every weekend. However, Greasby does not feel contented with life. Despite his wealth, he desperately needs Daisy for a love affair.
However, the two former lovebirds later meet then renew their love. On tom discovering this, he challenges this affair by licking Gatsby’s secrets. He let people know that he got his wealth through illegal dealings. Daisy and Gatsby, after this confrontation, drive back to New York, a fatal journey that results to two deaths. After Daisy hitting a woman on the road, George, an eye witness, then shoots Gatsby on revenge. As the story unfolds, Nick after arranging for the burial of his friend, quits New York a very disgusted fellow.
The Glass Menagerie on the other had, is a play written by Tennessee Williams. It was published by the Random House Publishers. As a play, it was first featured in 1946 to entertain the lovers of cinema and movies. This play five characters a family of four members. Mr. Wingfield in himself does not physically participate in the play. Instead, he is frequently mentioned by his wife, Amanda. Amanda wingfield is a wife to Wingfield and the burdened mother to Laura and Tom. She was disserted by her husband, Amanda 16 years ago. She is burdened because she is the one solely in charge of her family that she wants to lead the kind of life she was in when still young. Her daughter, Laura, a slightly crippled with extra sensitive mental condition, dropped out of school. Desperately in need of love, she spends most of her leisure time collecting glass animals.
Tom, the only son in the family responsibly contributes his meager earnings from his warehousing job. His empathy with the family makes him feel that he is obliged to this. Being so poor, he spends most of his leisure time watching cheap cinemas and movies. His friend, Jim O’Connor, a clerk in the same company is a long time friend to Laura. However, the family’s wish for him to marry Laura flops when he reveals that he is already engaged to another lady.
The Glass Menagerie is a play about a troubled family of Mr. Wingfield. This family of four lives on abject poverty especially after being abandoned by the father. Consequently, the family’s desire to juxtapose Laura to Jim does not materialize when Jim disowns her for another lady. This disillusions the family to the extent that the family later separates. After disagreeing with the rest of the family, Tom disappears never to return back home.
In line with this analysis, I would strongly argue that these boos are very much different in that, whereas the Great Gatsby is a novel, the Glass Managerie is a play. The Great Gatsby is about a life of a wealthy person who got his reaches unfairly. After Tom reveals Gatsby acquired his wealth through boot legging and gambling, he disappears with Daisy to a new place. He also uses his wealth lavishly suggesting that it was cheaply earned. However, in the play, the Amanda family lives in abject poverty. Even the little money they have, they struggle for it.
Besides, the two books feature the theme of love differently. Gatsby really loves Daisy. In fact, he can do anything to secure her. He feels so much possessed to her, a commitment not seen in Daisy. On the other hand, Laura’s affection for Jim gets thwarted when he disowns her. So it means that were a lady loves a man; the man in return responds by betrayal.
Last but by no means the least, have the two authors used different stylistic devises to present their message. While scot uses a simpler language, Williams uses a lot of symbolism. He periodically uses light, candle, glass, lightening, to represent various issues. For instance, Jim broke Laura’s glass. This symbolized that her hopes were thwarted. Hence, she will not marry Jim.