In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is blinded by his love for Daisy to the point that he will go to any length to protect her. His love and devotion for Daisy resulted in him overlooking the reality before him, and would ultimately get him killed. Holden Caulfield and Jay Gatsby both make the effort to generate what they have idealized in their dreams a reality, but doing so is not possible, as their realities cannot be changed. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield struggles with accepting that what his ideals are in his life are not what actually exist in the outside world.
Bledsoe says to the narrator greatly help move the plot of the novel. First, the narrator sees that Dr. Bledsoe is not who he thought he was. The narrator once looked up to Dr. Bledsoe because he thought Dr. Bledsoe got to where he is through hard work, not by manipulating and going against what he likes. The narrator lost the only idol he had, and in a sense is now all alone. He has nobody to look up to or to get advice from.
One aspect of a character’s life in this novel that sets a great example of illusion seen as reality involves the character Jay Gatsby. Gatsby quite does not understand the difference between illusion and reality in his mind causing false reality of his life. First, this main character of this novel gives the illusion to the community that his real name is Jay Gatsby, but actually in reality being James Gatz. James was a poor boy from Mid-West who changed his identity to become a difference person and create an entirely new image of himself to be a man respectable enough to be with Daisy. In the book it states, “I suppose he’d had the name ready for a long time, even then… So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 104).
Huck believed that since Tom was brought up well and was civilized, he was always right. Tom agreed to help free Jim, which Huck found very strange. The boys could have easily freed Jim, and Huck knew that, but Tom wanted to do it the way prison escapes happened in books. Tom forced Jim to do ridiculous and harmful things for no reason. He played games and did not even care that he was putting a man’s life and freedom on the line.
This ultimately marks the nearing end of his journey in his tale of reclaiming a sense of freedom and power over his life. Furthermore, director Elia Kazan directly mirrors this quote from his past with his testimony of “naming names” to The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), with him being glad that he did the right thing and has no regrets of it. Through the fictional representation of Terry Malloy, Elia Kazan has justified his actions through the film. On the Waterfront ultimately follows the story of a young man in his fight for power over his own life. Terry is initially seen as a “bum” in the commencement of the film, but as it progresses, his character changes and evolves through self motivation, help and support from Father Barry and Edie Doyle paving him the way, hence Terry is successful in claiming back power over his own life and also, gaining a sense of freedom from
As young boys left alone on the island, they still hold onto their idea of a civilised home and morals of right and wrong. The reader’s see more signs of the morals the boys still hold when Roger attempts to mildly torment Henry by throwing rocks at him but finds that his “ . . . his arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him .
He never knew his mother and rarely sees his father, with whom he has no relationship. It is when Huck finally leaves the widow’s and lives with his “Pap” that he realizes his call to adventure. Campbell says that the hero’s call to adventure may be internal or external to which he may willingly or reluctantly accept. In the case of Huck Finn his call to adventure was the fact that his father was getting a little to comfortable whipping him. “But by and by Pap got too handy with his hick’ry, and I couldn’t stand it.
Thoreau’s quote states how men lead lives without ever having their own “voice”. "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. “'Twas always thus and always thus will be." Mr. Keating is implying that men who conform can never be free. They may wish it so, but the task is nearly impossible.
Happy has lived in the shadow of Biff his whole life, he feels that to get the attention he deserves he must strive to be more successful than his brother. When Willy was talking about Biff, Happy kept hinting that he was losing weight, but Willy seems to ignore him. “He is a marked-down version of his father, with not even a grand dream to cover his grossness. His only redeeming aspect is an easy-going fondness for his family” (Koon pg.37). Happy shows
Once dreams are abandoned, happiness is impossible to achieve, leaving a person trapped in a cycle of misery. As evidenced by the attitudes of both Crookes and George, hopes and ambitions are not about feasible plans, but instead about discovering a way to pull through the depression, even if it’s just deceiving the mind with fantasies that may not come true. Upon the realization that these dreams will indeed not happen, misery and dissatisfaction is the only thing left. Crookes’ incapability to enter a world of hope, leads him into a bitter life lacking the thrill of living. Throughout the story, dreams seem to be infectious and even Crookes who Steinbeck portrays as the always negative pessimistic stable buck allows himself to believe.