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Introduction
The Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams are some of the greatest fiction works by Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, while Winter Dreams was released in 1922. In this paper, the researcher will compare these two stories that have remained popular for the last nine decades. According to Ciasullo, these stories are considered complementary to study at school (102).
In fact, Ciasullo states that Great Gatsby was meant to be a continuation of Winter Dreams, but from a different point of view (101). The scholar notes that Scott Fitzgerald was convinced that the audience was left in suspense after Winter Dreams was published, hence he decided to continue with the story. The paper will focus on the themes and characters presented in the two stories in order to bring out the similarities and differences in the texts.
Point and Purpose of the Essay
The researcher seeks to determine the similarities and differences in themes and characters in both the Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams. The study will help the researcher prove that the Great Gatsby is a continuation of Winter Dreams. According to Ciasullo, these two books are closely related (103). They were written by the same author on the same topic but on different dates. These two books have been widely used for academic purposes in many countries around the world. Many scholars have given different explanations to various events in the two stories when trying to analyze the books. Some of the conclusions made by the analysts are contradictory.
The researcher finds it necessary to conduct an analysis of the two stories in order to shed more light into this issue. Through this analysis, future scholars will gain a better understanding of these two stories. The researcher will highlight the similarities and differences between the Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams in in order to eliminate the existing misconceptions.
Analysis of the Stories
In this comparative analysis, the researcher will be comparing two works of Scott Fitzgerald that have remained popular for almost a century since they were first published. In this analysis, the researcher will try to confirm the argument that the Great Gatsby was a continuation of the Winter Dreams. At first, the two books appear to have nothing in common given that the narrators in the two stories are different. However, as the plot of Great Gatsby continues, two main characters in Winter Dreams appear and take a center role in the story. The author was very precise in introducing the two characters, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Fay Buchanan, making it very easy to connect this novel to the first story about Winter Dreams. The following are some of the similarities in the themes presented in the two stories.
Similarities between the Stories
Extramarital affair and immorality
One of the main themes in the two stories is immorality and extramarital affair among the characters. In Winter Dreams we meet Dexter Green, a teenager who is trying to define his life. Dexter falls in love with a young lovely girl called Judy Jones. Judy is a daughter of one of the richest men in Keeble, Minnesota. However, he soon realizes that Judy has several other lovers within the neighborhood. This breaks his heart and he decides to end the relationship. He gets engaged with Irene Scheerer. However, this relationship ends when Judy promises to marry Dexter. After a short while, Judy ends the relationship and elopes with another man (Fitzgerald Winter Dreams 8).
Immorality is another major theme in Great Gatsby. In this novel, there are strings of illicit relationships affecting many married couples. For example, Tom is married to Daisy, but he is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle Wilson is married to George who is also having an affair with another woman within the city of West Egg. Daisy, Tom’s wife, is also cheating on her husband with a rich man called Gatsby. The novel paints a picture of moral collapse in this society. It also conveys the idea that married people are not satisfied with their marriages. All the characters who have extramarital affairs in this story are married except for Gatsby (Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby 26).
Love
According to Ciasullo, another major theme that is common in the two stories is love (110). In Winter Dreams, Dexter was sincerely in love with Judy Jones. The two characters fall in love just before it occurred that Judy had a chain of other lovers. Dexter then falls in love with Irene. This relationship seems genuine because of the mutual feelings between Dexter and Irene. However, the love that Dexter had for Judy was stronger than that he had for Irene. This forces him to end his relationship with Irene hoping that Judy will accept to marry him.
The same theme can also be identified in the Great Gatsby’s story. Gatsby, a rich businessman in New York, has never married because he lost contact with the woman he loved so much during his teenage years. He is hoping that one day fate will bring them together and that they will be married finally after so many years. When Gatsby realizes that Daisy is married, he goes ahead to track her down and bring her close to him. His love for her did not fade away even after staying apart for several years. According to Ciasullo, this story also brings out a unique form of love that existed between people having extramarital affairs (128). Daisy could not hide his love for Gatsby anymore despite the fact that she was married to Tom.
Betrayal
The two books also share a common theme of betrayal. According to Ciasullo, Winter Dreams presents a series of betrayals among the characters (165). Dexter was employed by Mortimer Jones as a caddy. He remains very loyal to Mr. Jones. However, this loyalty is betrayed when Mr. Jones instructs him to be her daughter’s caddy. Dexter falls in love with Judy Jones, but she betrays him by eloping with a other man after promising to marry him. Irene is betrayed by Dexter who promised to marry her only to turn back and go after Judy Jones (Fitzgerald Winter Dreams 14).
In the Great Gatsby, Tom betrays the trust of his wife Daisy by engaging in extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson. In retaliation, Daisy falls in love with Gatsby even though she is married to Tom. Nick and Tom are great friends. They spend most of their time together and share a lot of secrets. However, Nick betrays Tom when he helps Gatsby reach out to his wife Daisy. He even knew that the two had a romantic relationship but he never alerted his friend Tom about the issue. He also betrays his cousin Daisy Buchanan by failing to inform her that his husband Tom was having an extramarital affair. Myrtle betrays the trust of her husband George by having an illicit relationship with Tom (Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby 48).
Social class
In the two stories, social class is one of the major themes. Ciasullo explains that by the time when these stories were written (136). In the early 1920s, social classes played a defining role in ranking people in the United States. Although race was another factor in the social class setting, the amount of wealth one had was much more important. In Winter Dreams, Mortimer Jones is presented as a rich person who was very powerful. All his family members, especially his daughter Judy, share his fame and enjoy many benefits of being a member of the high society.
In the Great Gatsby, social class is an key theme. Being a teenager Gatsby was a member of the lower social class and no one paid him attention he was longing for. Even Daisy ignored his love because he had no resources to take care of her. However, his hard work earns him wealth, and he gains recognition in the society. He was named the Great because of his new social status. Then Daisy realizes that he is a great man who deserves her attention and love (Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby 71).
Differences between the Stories
Age of the main characters
The two stories have a number of differences despite the similarities presented in the section above. One of the major differences in the two stories is the age of the narrator. In Winter Dreams, the narrator is a teenager who understands very little about life. His dream is to get a good job and a lovely life. Most of the people close to the narrator are young men with big dreams about life. On the other hand, the narrator of the Great Gatsby is an adult who has become a successful businessman. He understands life and the challenges it brings. His biggest dream of marrying the love of his life is fast fading and he has to live with that reality.
The narrator
The two stories also differ in the way they are narrated. In Winter Dreams, the narrator focuses on his personal life as a teenager and the disappointments that life presented to him. On the other hand, the narrator in Great Gatsby is focusing on the life of other people, especially the one of Gatsby. Ciasullo explains that by the author’s decision to kill the main character (124). It was necessary to bring this great story to a logical end which could only be symbolized by the death of the main character. It would not be possible to do this if the main character was allowed to continue with the narration. One cannot narrate how he died and the events that happened afterwards. That is why in this story, the author decided to use a different narrator.
Conclusion
The Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams are stories have been popular for a very long time. It is considered that the Great Gatsby is a continuation of the short story Winter Dreams. The analysis of similarities and differences of the two stories confirms this argument, because the characters and setting in the two stories have so many similarities. The storylines also shows that the Great Gatsby is a continuation of Winter Dreams.
Works Cited
Ciasullo Ann. “Approaches to Teaching Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby.” Rocky Mountain Review 64.1 (2010): 101-104. Print.
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.
—. Winter Dreams. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2007. Print.
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