The Stranger and The Great Gatsby Free Essay Example, 1500 words

The stranger and the great Gatsby The two novels revolve around two characters with great desire to attain and sustain a desirable life. In the great Gatsby, the author presents a study of a wealthy and ambitious character who goes by the name, Gatsby. According to Bruccoli, Gatsby is a pathetic character from whom one can almost find no social redeeming values (129). The stranger according to Albert, revolve around an emotionally detached amoral young man who defies the societal norms thus deemed a threat to humanity (49). The two different characters from the two novels, Meursault and Gatsby, demonstrate a degree of contrasting oblivion to how they try to attain and sustain the lives they want in a totally contrasting manner. To begin with, Meursault who is not amused by the death of her mother in an old person’s home upon receiving a telegram informing him of his mother’s demise acts with a disturbing sense of indifference. He seeks his boss’s permission to go and bury his mother upon where he dozes off in a moving bus for most of his journey. We will write a custom essay sample on The Stranger and The Great Gatsby or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Upon meeting with the director of the old person’s home, he is taken to view his mother’s body where again he displays undesirable character. He refuses to view the body even when the caretaker volunteered to open the coffin for him. He also spent the whole night smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, and dozing in the morgue for most of the night. According to Albert, he is indifferent when it comes to the realm of practical and physical (52). He claims that he does not take any concern on the details surrounding his mother’s death (54), instead, he is more intrigued when the caretaker tells him of the length of the vigil and how long it took before the body decomposes (29). This shows Meursault’s level of indifference towards matters that society considers normal. From the novel we also understand that he was enraged by the caretaker’s interest in conversation during that night. This portrays him as anti-social person. On the other hand, we see Mr. Gatsby portraying the same kind of behavior. This is seen when he dies and there is no one to attend his burial apart from Nick and two other friends. Bruccoli argues that this portrayed Gatsby as a highly anti-social human being whose traits were not likable to many people (136). We are informed that he threw lavish parties that people attended indiscriminatively. This gesture shows that people were just interested in using his property and not enjoying his company.