Please respond in this thread to earn extra credit on today's exam on The Great Gatsby. In a comment, respond to the following topic:
T.S. Eliot and F. Scott Fitzgerald share many similarities between them - namely they are both modernists and they both explore the emptiness of humanity as they see it. Comment on what you find to be the most significant similarity or difference between The Great Gatsby and "The Hollow Men". Why is this similarity or difference the most important to you? When looking at both texts, what do you see that the author is attempting to communicate?
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25 comments:
The most significant similarity between Eliot's and Fitzgerald's pieces is their use of symbolism to convey the helplessness of the condition of humanity. In both Gatsby and "The Hollow Men", the writers use eyes as a figure for a god who is powerless; Eliot even goes as far to deny the existence of any god. In section IV and V of his piece, Eliot utilizes symbolism from the old testament - the valleys and the shadow - and communicates his belief that god is not existent in this world because all of creation is dying and broken while the "eyes" have vanished. Similarly in Gatsby, Fitzgerald represents the concept of a powerless god through an advertisement of an oculist. The eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleberg are used in "The Great Gatsby" to show that god is powerless to change the circumstances of the piles of ash and broken lives he stands over.
This symbolism is the most important aspect of the two pieces because it shows that not only one person is criticizing the condition of mere existence, which builds the credibility of both writers same argument. Since both authors were able to effectively communicate their beliefs on the meaninglessness of dreams and the desolation of the human condition, they - alone and combined - were able to show the tragedy of reality.
Although there are many similarities between "The Great Gatsby" and "The Hollow Men", the most significant similarity is the use of color symbolism.
Fitzgerald uses color symbolism frequently throughout his piece. He creates the idea that lighter colors are a symbol for fantasy, and that darker, or shadowy, colors are a symbol for reality. Gatsby looks at the green light at the end of the dock as a symbol of Daisy, which is his fantasy. Fitzgerald makes frequent reference to the Valley of Ashes, a dark and shadowy setting, as a connection back to reality. Gold is used to represent wealth. Fitzgerald shows how wealth may lead many people into living a fantasy-based life. Eliot uses color symbolism in much of the same way Fitzgerald does. He refers to hopes, and dreams as "the twinkle of a fading star", implying that fantasy does not end up superior in the end, as it fades away. When Eliot says "There are no eyes here/ In this valley of dying stars," he is, again, showing how dying hopes will be overcome by reality. At the end of the poem, Eliot repeats the phrase, "Falls the Shadow." Like Fitzgerald, shadowy, dark colors are being portrayed to be reality. Eliot is saying that in the end, reality is what will take over and control what happens.
This is the most important similarity because it explains the entire idea that both writers wanted to convey; that fantasy is not substantial, and reality will triumph.
Anna Wyngaarden
The Hollow Men and The Great Gatsby share many similarities, none more important though than their similar association of death and reality.
Both pieces deal with a battle between fantasy and reality. Most of the conflicts in The Great Gatsby arise out of a character attempting to live a fantastic life, without paying attention to reality. When thinking about the largest conflict in the book, the conflict between Gatsby and Tom, the original source of that conflict was Gatsby attempting to live a life he envisioned in his imagination, without thinking realistically about the possibility of that life. Because of that conflict, two lives were taken. It is seen in this case that when reality wins, death wins. Throughout The Hollow Men, T.S Elliot also associates reality with death. The whole poem is centered around a group of people who may be still alive, but are certainly dead on the inside. They are people who have no purpose or drive in life, and they are simply caught in a cycle of emptiness. This is the reality he describes. He argues that we are all in this cycle, with nothing to do but live out our lives in this terrible hollow, dead world.
In this way, both writers portray their argument. In both these pieces, the argument states that there is nothing more to life than death, and that even fantasy cannot escape the morbid reality of this world.
Nick Paulson
Eliot and Fitzgerald both explore the meaning of people being empty; however, what stands out the most after reading Eliot’s piece “The Hollow Men” is the difference between the two authors view of who exactly is empty. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays only the wealthy upper class as empty and irresponsible, while Eliot, in “The Hollow Men” uses the plural pronoun “we” when describing the “stuffed men” with “headpieces filled with straw” in order to say that all of society is empty.
This is the most important difference because understanding who the author is accusing can completely change how the accusation is received by the reader. After reading The Great Gatsby, most readers, regardless of their social class, likely assume that any accusations of emptiness are not directed at them; even the rich can redirect blame to the extremely wealthy. With no one accepting that they are the problem, no progress can be made; however, Eliot’s argument that all of society is empty allows no one to escape his accusations. Taking that into account, Fitzgerald is trying to communicate to his audience that the rich are empty hollow people, while Eliot is accusing the readers of his piece of being empty along with their society.
Lucy Wooldridge
There are many similarities between "The Great Gatsby" and "The Hollow Men" but the most significant one is the use of contradictions to boost the authors’ messages.
Eliot uses many paradoxes throughout his piece, including “the hollow men” being “the stuffed men”, “shape without form”, and “shade without color”. This enhances his description of this confusing, lost place there is between death and the afterlife. Fitzgerald has contradictions throughout his piece as well. Some of the contradictions are that Nick points out at the very beginning that he is not judgmental, but he actually is judgmental throughout the entire book; Daisy is a contradiction to her white dress because she is not innocent; Gatsby is a contradiction because all the other people find happiness in money while he finds happiness in love; and Gatsby is a contradiction to the pattern we see of rich people being terrible on the inside because he has a good heart. These contradictions help Fitzgerald’s point that just because a person tries to be a certain way, doesn’t mean they are that way. The contradictions in the pieces are not the same in the way that Eliot’s are in juxtaposition form while Fitzgerald’s are woven throughout the book and they don’t even support the same message, but the contradictions in both pieces enhance the author’s message which is significant.
Hope Allen
Both Fitzgerald and Eliot explore the emptiness of humanity, but what stands out to me is their symbols that represent emptiness. Throughout The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald introduces the readers to several symbols. An example would be the photograph of Gatsby’s house, his father shows Nick towards the end of the novel. His father speaks of Gatsby with such pride. He perceives the house as beautiful, not realizing that the house symbolizes how lonely Gatsby truly is. A mansion should bring anyone joy, but it only reminds Gatsby that he doesn’t have Daisy. The house was supposed to be full of life and parties, meant to win her back, but without her it’s nothing but empty and dead. In section one of Eliot’s “The Hollow Men,” he mentions “As the hollow men The stuffed men.” The men seem normal from the outside, but on the inside nothing’s there. They’re full of false information or ideas that someone else forced inside them. A shell of a body doesn’t hold anything of value if on the inside it’s fake. Empty symbols are the most significant because it’s what the entire novel and poem are both based off of.
Without the empty symbols the theme of empty humanity would have nothing to feed off of. Both authors were attempting to communicate how overlooked empty symbols may be, since their exterior comes off as normal.
Mikki Warszawski
Both "The Hollow Men" and "The Great Gatsby" were written to convey the idea of the emptiness of humanity. Both pieces of literature are strengthened most significantly by their use of the environment of their characters as a reflection of the emptiness of life. Both authors are able to portray their respective environments as mirrors of the current state of their characters.
In "The Great Gatsby", Jay Gatsby's environment plays a key role in showing his current state of mind. During the season of his life where he is able to throw immaculate parties, he is livened up by the hope of one day having Daisy back in his life. However as his dream is shattered, we see his house become an environment of vast loneliness and finally utter desertion after his death. Everything around Gatsby deteriorates in correlation with his dream.
T.S. Eliot also uses the environment to depict a lonely, deathlike scene. His characters are found "under the twinkle of a dying star" in a "hollow valley". This imagery adds significantly to the tone of death and emptiness in the scene and connect the characters not only to a feeling, but also to the entire world in which they live. Both authors are able to effectively communicate through this imagery that humanity is empty and abides in an empty world. If the world, something so much greater than humans, is overcome by emptiness, then humanity has no chance to contend against this unstoppable antagonist.
The above comment was written by David Yeyeodu, but sure you able to infer that.
The greatest similarity I see between the writings of Fitzgerald and the writings of Eliot is the way that they both play with liminality. Fitzgerald plays with liminality between reality and fantasy, and Nick is what exists between the two in understanding Gatsby's fantasy while also understanding blatant reality. Eliot plays with liminality between many things; between fantasy and reality, between conception and creation, and many others. What exists between each of these things, for Eliot, is "the Shadow", which is also known as "death's other Kingdom".
I find this similarity significant because both authors are modernists and explore the emptiness of humanity and have found a way to express it by finding this one object that represents that line between what is real and what is not, what is good and what is not, what is full and what is empty; Fitzgerald exemplifies the emptiness of Gatsby's fantasy by his murder at the end of THE GREAT GATSBY; when the fantasy that Gatsby had created came crashing down and was nonexistent, his life became nothing and he was murdered. Eliot exemplifies the emptiness of humanity by explaning humans "the hollow men", as well as "the stuffed men", giving human beings the characteristic of being filled with nothing until they come to death, where they will wait in the shadows.
I believe that both authors are trying to explain that modern life is given the allusion of being full and beautiful, when in actuality, it is empty and dull, and all that really awaits humanity is death at the end of the line.
Katie Spring
Thanks A-day Students for your comments!
Though both texts emphasize the presence of dreams, a significant difference between The Great Gatsby and “The Hollow Men” is that these dreams are different for the people focused on in each piece. In The Great Gatsby, the conflict between fantasy and reality consumes Jay Gatsby, who is striving to win back Daisy and escape to his past life where he was in love. Gatsby can’t live with the presence of reality and he never understands that the past can’t be relived and people, like Daisy, change constantly. Gatsby’s dream is to earn back Daisy’s love and, as the green light symbolizes, this dream can’t be obtained. In “The Hollow Men” Eliot describes men, in a generalized sense, as hollow and stuffed with the hope of reaching “death’s twilight kingdom” which seems to resemble heaven. The dream of these empty men is to reach an eternal kingdom, after they die, because they are stuck in a realm that is neither heaven nor hell. Gatsby is stuck in a liminal existence between reality and fantasy, while the hollow men are in the realm between heaven and hell. The dreams that they hope to reach after these liminal existences are different though because Gatsby is searching for the revival of a past romance which is a more physical concept compared to the hollow men’s focus on finding an eternal kingdom.
Meg Dondero
Having read pieces by F. Scott Fitzgerald and T.S. Eliot, the most significant similarity between the two authors is that both of their works raise the idea of reaching for a dream but failing. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald has Gatsby looking for something—searching for his “old” Daisy, while in “The Hollow Men”, Eliot has “the men” (with whom the speaker includes himself) searching for something greater than any person. This dream is to be welcomed into Heaven. In both pieces, there is a quest for something, but despite their efforts to achieve their goals, both Gatsby and the speaker in the poem have failure coming as a result. Gatsby fails miserably, losing Daisy (and his life as well) without a fight; “the men” fail and are placed in the other kingdom for the dead, “not with a bang but a whimper”. Both writers present failure quietly; they have their character/speaker resign themselves to it at the end, giving up without a fight despite the show they have made of their quest all along.
This is a very important similarity because both writers base their works on a similar motif. Both recognize that life is about having a dream that you are constantly chasing and chasing, even thought you may not achieve it. Fitzgerald and Eliot have clearly felt the disappointment of searching and fighting for something in their life, but not gaining it. They show the pain and misery of losing the fight, having their character/speaker reach the point where they quietly accept the loss.
Anna Dekle
There are numerous similarities between "The Hollow Men" and "The Great Gatsby". The biggest similarity is the use of paradoxes to show the levels of liminality.
In "The Hollow Men", T.S. Eliot uses paradoxes like "twinkle of a fading star", "the hollow men, the stuffed men", "conception and the creation", and "the idea and the reality". These paradoxes in the poem correspond with the liminality in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby is lost in his fantasy of Daisy and can't seem to face reality. He's stuck in the middle of past and reality, just as the hollow men are stuck between an idea and the reality. "The hollow men, the stuffed men" accurately describes the people in Gatsby's society because they are wealthy (stuffed), but at the same time, empty (hollow) because they can't grasp the concept of love or concerning themselves with others. This can be seen with Gatsby's house; it's stuffed with materialistic items, but portrays Gatsby's emptiness.
This similarity is important in my view because it gives the reader the perspective of both authors. In The Great Gatsby, Nick, the narrator, is known to be pretty wealthy, and T.S. Eliot says "we" in his poem. Both authors are putting themselves in the literature to appeal to the audience's ethos. It gives them credibility because they have seen all of this first-hand and shows that just because the people are full of money, they aren't full on the inside. The authors are trying to communicate that the only reward wealth brings is loneliness.
Alyssa Whicker
The greatest similarity between "The Great Gatsby" and "The Hollow Men" is the idea of that the poor are forgotten. Elliot talks about "hollow men" and "stuffed men." Gatsby in the Great Gatsby is being used by everyone who comes to his parties and even his friends and Daisy. After he died there was nothing left for people to take of him, so he became poor and empty. He became hollow since he had no more wealth or anything else to give to anyone. No one came to his funeral he was forgotten and no one could benefit from going to his funeral, so they didn’t go. The quote that says “There are no eyes here in this valley of dying stars…” (Elliot Section IV) is like the valley of ashes in The Great Gatsby. No one seems to notice these people; they are invisible like ghosts. The valley represents the place where people have lost sight of their dreams and are dead because they have nothing to live for. Both Elliot and Fitzgerald repeatedly use the word shadow. Shadows represent the people that go unnoticed; they blend in with everything else and do not stand out. We can see them only in the sun and when they are gone it is like they were never there. Gatsby’s death is a great example of this. Everyone went on is if he never died, no one even cared enough to go to his funeral. Elliot says “we…are quiet and meaningless as wind in dry grass…” is saying that these “hollow people” are useless as wind. However the air is what gives life to the grass just like the how the poor people in The Great Gatsby are what gives the rich people their status, but they are not recognized. This shows us that the idea of the poor being forgotten plays a big role in both Elliot’s and Fitzgerald’s pieces.
Gaby Rupprecht
Among various similarities between “The Hollow Man” and The Great Gatsby , the prevalent idea of a liminal existence being a hopeless and empty way to live is the most significant. Eliot’s poem repeats phrases like “shadow”, “fading star”, and reuses the idea of hollowness throughout. By using words that evoke images of sad, lonely things inside the mind of the reader, the author shows us that the emptiness of life lies in living in an in between state. There’s no clarity, no truth or light when one lives in the hollow shadows of men who’ve stuffed themselves with the lies of society. Fitzgerald’s character of Gatsby serves to prove the same point. Because Gatsby has let wealth, status and the opinions of people consume him, he’s no longer his own man. During his eternal quest for Daisy’s love, he becomes used up and dried out. He was not a true man, but not a lost soul either. He’s a hollow man that lives, hoping against hope that he can recapture the love that eluded him years previously. He lives in a place comparable to Eliot’s “Shadow”. Between fantasy and reality falls Gatsby, pathetically trying to manipulate something that out-manipulated him long ago.
Moriah Thompson
The most significant difference between Fitzgerald's and Eliot's writings are that Fitzgerald contributes emptiness to the destruction of society. He believes that the reason everyone is empty and alone is because they lie and are careless. Eliot on the other hand contributes the emptiness to the destruction of the land (as seen when talking about the dead land and cactus land). By saying the land is dead, there is a mood of loneliness and emptiness that cannot be filled by others. Both authors communicate that this emptiness and destruction was brought on by human actions; They have separated themselves. Eliot emphasizes this by including phrases from The Lord's Prayer, saying that people need God to fix the loneliness and they do so by dying.
Allison Shaughnessy
"The Great Gatsby" and "The Hollow Men" seem to have been written to deliver the concept and idea that humanity is full of emptiness. Both of these authors are able to strengthen their writing through the use of material objects and symbolism which are used to reflect and show the emptiness of life.
In Eliot's piece The Hollow Men the question could be asked So which is it? Are the Hollow Men "hollow" or are they "stuffed"? Men seem to be both in the eyes of Eliot. Their hollowness is seen as a sign that they lack essential qualities of being human such as a soul.
We can conclude from the first line of Eliot's poem where it says "We are the hollow men" that a hollow man can be defined as a man who has no vision or purpose in life, lacks depth, substance and pursues material things. Sounds a lot like our friend Gatsby, doesn't it? Gatsby chases after Daisy, a material item (or at least in his eyes) and has no depth as he only lives for two things; to entertain and to "buy" Daisy. He is a man no one sees as purposeful as we see by the number of people who showed up at his funeral.
In lines 1-4 of "The Hollow Man" it states that their hollowness is a symbol of their lack of essential qualities. It helps the reader understand that their existence is literally empty. This is a direct comparison with Gatsby and his house and riches. Gatsby house is a symbol of how empty and lonely actually is. He really has no purpose other than to impress. Its main importance is to impress Daisy, but when this fails and Gatsby is finally dead, his body empty and his dream empty, his house too is seen as a completely useless and empty thing. It has no more purpose now that not even Gatsby is there to fill it, but even then it never really was full. The house was merely a prop to get attention. The house is also a mixture of different styles and periods which symbolizes an owner who does not know their true identity.
These similarities, as well as many other comparisons that could be made between the two pieces, is all pointing to the idea that modern life and society is seen as being full, glamorous and purposeful, when in reality it is just the opposite. People can get so wrapped up in image that they become empty and purposeless. They reach a point where they seek to live in a world that does not exist, also known as fantasy. Through these writers we see that we cannot live in fantasy, we can't escape reality. -Grey Meyer
Of the various similarities between the two authors, the most significant is the liminality of people that both authors express. Fitzgerald writes of Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle being liminal characters, between fantasy and reality or between two people. T.S Eliot's view of humanity is an in-between state of the hollowness of hopelessness and the finality of death. To Eliot, this place is "dead", a "cactus land", but he is frightened to cross into "death's other kingdom." T.S Eliot describes life and perhaps how the world ends as not glorious, but something "not with a bang but a whimper". Humanity stands around waiting for death as the world gets even hollower and they want disguises to move towards "death's dream kingdom". At the end of the poem, T.S Eliot recognizes all of the ways humanity is shown through different in-between states.
Fitzgerald writes of liminal characters, such as Daisy, Gatsby and Myrtle. They are all struggling to get out of the in-between state. Gatsby is fighting against fantasy and reality, while Daisy is stuck in the middle of two relationships. Similarly, Myrtle suffers from the challenge of choosing a side or a person to be with. The characters are confused and cannot choose a side. They continually dwindle themselves down with in this state. Both authors use liminality to show the reader of the ineffectiveness it has in life. The in-between state of liminality proves to be a dangerous place to linger.
Meagan Saunders
The works of these two authors are similar in the fact that they both speak of the contrast between fantasy and reality. This is displayed by Eliot when he states, “Let me also wear such deliberate disguises”. This shows that he is pretending to be someone he is not. The character is putting on another identity, a fantasy of what he wants to become. This is similar to Gatsby because Gatsby also has this fantasy of what he wants his life to be like with Daisy; he changes his name from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby so that he can create this identity in which he can fulfill his fantasy. Eliot also depicts this when he writes, “The hope only of empty men… between the emotion and the response”. This is similar to Gatsby because he has hope that his fantasy that Daisy will take him back will be achieved, but his fantastical views on her emotions are not accurate and he is forced back to reality by her response when she eventually turns him down.
This similarity is important because it shows the reader that this idea of fantasy vs. reality is a legitimate argument. They are both supporting the accuracy of their pieces by showing that this concept can be universally used throughout literature and that it is not simply the creation of one writer.
Sarah Mitchell
The greatest similarity between Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men is the idea of emptiness in the human soul. Fitzgerald finds this idea as he creates characters such as Gatsby and Daisy, who have built up great facades and put so much into keeping their image that they forget who they truly are. Gatsby created a new life for himself after he lost Daisy in hopes of finding her again, but along the way he got wrapped up in the aura of mystery that surrounded him and when he lost Daisy for the last time, he had no idea who he was without her and would not let go of her. Daisy gave her love away in exchange for wealth, and has been empty ever since, finding solace only in pretending to be who she once was.
Eliot creates the idea of an empty soul as he builds the metaphor of the scarecrows, describing "hollow men, stuffed men" who wear "disguises" in the "dead land". He uses morbid diction as he repeats "dead" and "dry" in describing a land where there is only "shade without color".
These two authors work in seperate ways to create the same message, that our society hollows out the human soul, and leaves nothing but empty tragedy.
-SarahBelle Selig
Although both authors Fitzgerald and Eliot write their pieces to exemplify and explain the emptiness of humanity, the most significant similarity of their writings is the way they both speak as if humans are internally empty and provide this mask from their meaningless desires, fantasies, or other feelings. The authors are also proving that these empty feelings of men are directly created through society. Fitzgerald uses a realistic and relative story to prove his idea of man in society. Characters in his story are often described as advertising their selves in a way that would benefit their wants of a certain social status. Daisy Buchanan in Fitzgerald’s story is often described as hiding behind white makeup and clothes as well as certain naive comments to give the illusion to society that her inner soul is innocent and idealistic. Eliot’s continuous description of human’s being empty is reflected here in Daisy’s personality. She is empty in that she only cares for materialistic ideas which have been shaped for her by the other empty thoughts of humanity. Daisy is a symbol to the “hollow” men that make up humanity. The empty souls have together joined to create an empty society, which Eliot also referred to as the “death’s dream Kingdom”, where dreams all consist of materialistic wants with no purpose or addition to the well beings of others.
These two authors also speak of the empty or meaningless “dreams” and “fantasies” many people express that mask humanity from their true souls. Eliot is more generalized in his ideas of men’s fantasies but clearly states his opinion that the dreams will disguise a man. Fitzgerald proves this idea in his writings with the tragic story of Jay Gatsby’s failed dream. Fitzgerald made the point that Gatsby was so blinded by this materialistic and selfish goal of achieving his first love, Daisy, he was not able to notice the reality in situations with the other characters. This mask of Gatsby led to his downfall and failure when he dies at the end of the story. The two authors make their point that with society’s evil distractions of materialism and empty wants it will only lead to failure. As Eliot states that “this is the way the world ends” and many character’s dreams deteriorate in The Great Gatsby there is the realization of the hollow mask of humanity.
There are several notable similarities between Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and Eliot's "The Hollow Men," but the most significant is that in both pieces, the authors attempt to portray modern mankind as being owned by its facade. Although Fitzgerald's weapon of choice is symbolism and Eliot's is figurative language, they both express that same portrayal.
Throughout "The Hollow Men" Eliot uses figurative language to express this mask that mankind wears. Through claims such as "between the idea and the reality" he separates what people feel inside themselves and what they express to the outside world. This ties into the idea that the modern population will tend to hide their true selves in order to appeal to others. This is a facade in that a person whom hides their true self is lying to themselves about their real personality and creating a false, artificial one. Eliot uses the repetition of such figurative language, often beginning with "between" and then stating two opposite ends of a spectrum in order to describe the middle ground between the ideas and feelings people experience within themselves and what they actually express.
Fitzgerald used symbolism to portray this theory. An example of this would be that the towns the wealthy elite lived in were called west and east egg. As was discussed in class, an egg itself is misleading because it has a hard outer shell, impermeable by one's vision, and a vulnerable center. This represents a person subject to Fitzgerald's views in that the person could have a misleading outer shell but could be a totally unexpected person withing. Fitzgerald's symbolism and Eliot's figurative language both fortify their message that mankind displays a personality mask, covering its true self.
Eliot and Fitzgerald both view the people of society as worthless because they pretend to be something they are not but the most significant similarity is the concept of wearing a mask. Eliot thinks humans are striving to be something they are not. The human race, according to Eliot, thinks it is preferred and needed to wear a disguise. The reader can tell through his sarcastic tone when he states "let me also wear such deliberate disguises" that he views the people as stupid for doing this. He goes on to say the disguise includes "a rat's crown, crowskin, crossed staves in a field.." It is not even a pretty disguise, which is ironic. Masks are supposed to hide ugliness, but the disguise Eliot describes in his poem emphasizes the worthlessness and ugliness of society. There is no mask society can wear to make it look pretty. Fitzgerald views society as fake because the people in it judge and use others only to their own advantage. The people who use others are worthless, just like the society Eliot writes about in his poem. The party-goers would arrive at Gatsby's house only to socialize and get drunk while they gossiped about Gatsby's life. The rich pretend to be better than everyone else, when they are actually worse because of this reason. They feel compelled to talk about and judge everyone because they think they are better than everyone. They are wearing a mask of hypocrisy. This similarity is important because although they both believe society is empty, there are still some people that exist that have the same views. This unites them. Because they have similar views, Eliot and Fitzgerald could have related to each other. They both believe society wears some type of mask so this shared idea informs and warns the reader not to put on a disguise because either way, one will not escape the ugliness of society.
In “The Hollow Men” and The Great Gatsby, both authors communicate the idea that humans exist liminally, straddling between virtues and vices. In section V of “The Hollow Men”, Eliot uses phrases such as “between the idea and the reality” creating opposition using word choice and drawing a connection with The Great Gatsby. Towards the end of the book, Gatsby is living his life straddled between his fantasy of being with Daisy and the reality of his loss. He lives on the line; Gatsby’s Dream has become his nightmare and his nightmare is reality. In “The Hollow Men”, Eliot goes further to explain in sections IV and V that humans are falling under a shadow created by “the perpetual star” (hope vs. death) and pseudo existence “between the idea and reality”. Much like Gatsby, their world becomes shadowy; Gatsby’s house begins to decay, filled with the ghosts of his fantasy. This liminal role limits their existence to being only ghosts of themselves, foreshadowing the end of the world. Lastly, Nick in The Great Gatsby lives a liminal existence, becoming the middleman between many character in the text, especially Daisy and Gatsby (Fitzgerald Chapter 8). By the end of the text, Nick has gained nothing, no love, no social status, and even the loss of the person he admires the most. In both texts, the authors are conveying that humans are limited by their choices. Gatsby and “The Hollow Men” are left huddled in their shadows in order to sustain their existence. Nick, Gatsby and “The Hollow Men” characters end up dying or ending, along with their worlds.
Alex Johnson
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