Gatsby and Hamlet
Examining Hamlet and The Great Gatsby
1/9/13
According to Roger Lewis, “The acquisition of money and love are both part of the same dream, the will to return to the quintessential unity that exists only at birth and at death” (41). In both William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the protagonists are willing to sacrifice all that they have in order to achieve their unrealistic objectives and ambitions, resulting in their tragic demises. While there are many themes and concepts relevant to both Hamlet and The Great Gatsby, their parallels regarding their aspirations stand out for further evaluation. The concept of sacrificing all that a person has, not limiting to their own life, is ever present in these works. Both Hamlet and Gatsby make evident that they are willing and are capable of sacrificing all that is themselves to possibly reach their ultimate goal. Throughout William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is set on his goal of achieving vengeance and justice for his father’s murder, without the realization that his obstinate aspirations eventually lead to his own downfall. Unlike many other characters, Hamlet is very analytical; he makes very calculated and thoughtful moves before he acts, ultimately leading him to his death. "Hamlet represents the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by an excessive development of his intellect" (Freud, Sigmund). This is furthermore supported when Hamlet is given a golden opportunity to attain vengeance for his father, but does not kill Claudius, the king of Denmark, for Hamlet mistakenly assumes that Claudius is praying.
Hamlet: Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged, That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send, To heaven. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge. (Hamlet, III, iii, 74-80)
Hamlet
1/9/13
According to Roger Lewis, “The acquisition of money and love are both part of the same dream, the will to return to the quintessential unity that exists only at birth and at death” (41). In both William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the protagonists are willing to sacrifice all that they have in order to achieve their unrealistic objectives and ambitions, resulting in their tragic demises. While there are many themes and concepts relevant to both Hamlet and The Great Gatsby, their parallels regarding their aspirations stand out for further evaluation. The concept of sacrificing all that a person has, not limiting to their own life, is ever present in these works. Both Hamlet and Gatsby make evident that they are willing and are capable of sacrificing all that is themselves to possibly reach their ultimate goal. Throughout William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark is set on his goal of achieving vengeance and justice for his father’s murder, without the realization that his obstinate aspirations eventually lead to his own downfall. Unlike many other characters, Hamlet is very analytical; he makes very calculated and thoughtful moves before he acts, ultimately leading him to his death. "Hamlet represents the type of man whose power of direct action is paralyzed by an excessive development of his intellect" (Freud, Sigmund). This is furthermore supported when Hamlet is given a golden opportunity to attain vengeance for his father, but does not kill Claudius, the king of Denmark, for Hamlet mistakenly assumes that Claudius is praying.
Hamlet: Now might I do it pat. Now he is a-praying. And now I’ll do’t. And so he goes to heaven. And so am I revenged, That would be scanned. A villain kills my father, and, for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send, To heaven. Oh, this is hire and salary, not revenge. (Hamlet, III, iii, 74-80)
Hamlet
Cited: Auden, W.H. Hamlet. qtd in Lectures on Shakespeare” ed. Arthur Kirsch. New Jersey: Princton University Press, 2000 Bloom, Harold, ed Bruccoli, Matthew J. New Essays on The Great Gatsby. Cambridge: Cambridgeshire, 1985. Donaldson, Scott. Fool for Love: F. Scott Fitzgerald qtd. on "On Gatsby and the Historical Antecedents for Gatsby." Bloom, Harold, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2006. Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretations of Dreams. qtd. as "Hamlet 's Deepest Impulses" Harold Bloom, ed. Shakespeare 's Tragedies, Bloom 's Major Dramatists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. Gilbran, Khalil. qtd in A Toolbox for Humanity ed Lloyd Albert Johnson. Victoria, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2003. Hazlitt, William.Characters of Shakespeare 's Plays qtd. as "Hamlet 's Power of Action" in Harold Bloom, ed. Shakespeare 's Tragedies, Bloom 's Major Dramatists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Lewis, Roger. Money, love, and aspiration. qtd. in “New Essays on the Great Gatsby” ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. 1985 Lhamon Jr, W.T Schlegel, August Wilhelm Von. Hamlet’s flaws. qtd. in Shakespeare 's Tragedies, Bloom 's Major Dramatists. Harold Bloom, ed. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992. Verderame, Carla. The Great Gatsby. McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011.