The Great Gatsby
The main characters in both F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and William Shakespeare's Macbeth appear stable and successful on the outside, but inside they are engaged in a constant struggle with their dreams. Gatsby tries to win back the girl of his dreams by becoming something he's not, a member of high society; while Macbeth believes the prediction of the witches that he will be king and spends his life trying to make it come true. Both characters are willing to risk everything in pursuit of their respective dreams, including committing crimes. Both are motivated to take these risks by a woman. And both inevitably suffer premature demises.
In both Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare's Macbeth the lives of the main characters involve a constant struggle with their dreams. Gatsby tries to win back the girl of his dreams, Daisy, by becoming something he's not, a member of high society, while Macbeth believes the prediction of the witches and spends his life trying to make it come true. These struggles lead ultimately to their premature demises. Both characters are ambitious and willing to commit crime in order to accomplish their dreams. Both characters are motivated to take these risks by a woman. Although both are ambitious, Gatsby is more admirable because he doesn't deliberately embrace evil as Macbeth does.
Both Macbeth and Gatsby are ambitious and are willing to risk everything for a dream, even if it means committing a crime. Macbeth is at first a loyal general of Duncan's army. However, at his first encounter at Heath, the three witches' prophesize that he will be king. Afterwards, Macbeth no longer remains loyal to his king, or even his friends. Macbeth even knows that if he was to murder Duncan, "This even handed justice commends th' ingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips."(Macbeth, 1.7, 10-12)
Yet, even knowing that his guilt will come to haunt him, Macbeth is willing to take that risk in order to become King.
In both Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare's Macbeth the lives of the main characters involve a constant struggle with their dreams. Gatsby tries to win back the girl of his dreams, Daisy, by becoming something he's not, a member of high society, while Macbeth believes the prediction of the witches and spends his life trying to make it come true. These struggles lead ultimately to their premature demises. Both characters are ambitious and willing to commit crime in order to accomplish their dreams. Both characters are motivated to take these risks by a woman. Although both are ambitious, Gatsby is more admirable because he doesn't deliberately embrace evil as Macbeth does.
Both Macbeth and Gatsby are ambitious and are willing to risk everything for a dream, even if it means committing a crime. Macbeth is at first a loyal general of Duncan's army. However, at his first encounter at Heath, the three witches' prophesize that he will be king. Afterwards, Macbeth no longer remains loyal to his king, or even his friends. Macbeth even knows that if he was to murder Duncan, "This even handed justice commends th' ingredience of our poisoned chalice to our own lips."(Macbeth, 1.7, 10-12)
Yet, even knowing that his guilt will come to haunt him, Macbeth is willing to take that risk in order to become King.
Bibliography: "The Great Gatsby" is set in 1922 after World War One. 1918 saw American reinforcements playing a v... more The Great Gatsby: the American Dream