Comparison of ‘Absolution’ and ‘the Great Gatsby’ Essay Example

view on the significance of healthy family dynamics, however the mother figure is hardly presented in ‘Absolution’ the only mention of her is when the father is being abusive to Rudolph, and she does not interfere with the violence, instead after, attempts to ‘to touch his neck with witch-hazel’ he replies by making ‘a hasty, choking toilet’ this shows how he devalues the mother figure, which again could mirror Fitzgerald’s view of family relationships. The USA is presented differently in each story, Nick describes the division between West Egg and East Egg, “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of ashionable East Egg glittered along the water”, the use of ‘glittered’ suggests the elegance and glamour of this area, whereas in ‘Absolution’ the USA is presented as a Christian nation as there is a strong religious presence.

The idea of identity is explored early on in both ‘Absolution’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’. The main identity issue is of Rudolph, who has created an alter ego named ‘Blatchford Sarnemington’ and when he half closes his eyes, he feels that Blatchford has dominance over him and he acts like a different person. This make believe character seems to be an escape route from his problems and worries, most noticeably from his father and religion. The identity of the Priest is also of importance due to the fact, that he is unhappy with his own selfhood.The distractions and fascinations of the world outside the Church seem to let him be sidetracked, “Swede girls along the path by his window” and the ‘desperately sweet’ smell of toilet soap are examples of this.

Fitzgerald wanted to portray the idea of

the Priest being slightly distant from the world, and how he wishes to be someone else, this is emphasized by his bizarre talk of parties and amusement parks, later on in the story. The father Carl, also has an indistinct issue with his identity, as he is shown to give ‘mystical worship’ to the railroad executive James J. Hill, this can relate to Nick’s preliminary relationship with Gatsby, for whom he feels an admiration for.In chapter one of ‘The Great Gatsby’, Nick describes Tom’s appearance as supposed to his intellect, “the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” he is described as the typical alpha male, “the enormous power of that body” Tom’s described forcefulness and hostility could relate to Carl Miller’s violent attitude, and how they both have some sense of authority.

Fitzgerald’s styles and techniques are conveyed in both stories. He seems to repeat the use of light in imagery and description. In ‘Absolution’ he describes the boys eyes as ‘lit with gleaming points of cobalt light’ Fitzgerald also incorporates it into descriptions of scenes, such as ‘the ellow lights shone inside and the nickel taps…were gleaming’ and ‘the boy sat down in a patch of sunshine’ Comparably, Fitzgerald uses the same technique when describing the scene towards the end of the first chapter, “the silhouette of a moving cat across the moonlight” The idea of describing the light can add emphasis on the scene as well as setting an attractive image in the readers mind. Colour symbolism is also a central technique, for example, Nick draws the readers attention to ‘a single green light, minute and far away’ and how Gatsby is somehow

reaching out towards it, the colour green can be associated with some type of desire or jealousy, and the fact that Gatsby seems to be stretching out towards the light can refer to his longings, for Daisy in particular. Then abruptly Nick is ‘alone again in the unquiet darkness’ which strongly contrast with the striking image beforehand.