Compare and Contrast Essay on Society in novels 'The Brave New World' and 'The Great Gatsby'

Introduction

Fitzgerald uses various characters to depict the nature of American society after the end of the world war in The Great Gatsby. The elements that influenced the morals and actions of the characters after the war determines their relationship with other characters and the readers. Huxley's brave world, on the other hand, depicts a utopian society where the existing social structures and hierarchy guide the identity and role of characters. The ideals of a specific class are expected to be the same without the freedom to own thoughts and question authority. In both books, the American society after the world war and perfect utopian society depicts an individual quest for meaning by the roles assigned to characters.

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The Quest for Meaning in The Great Gatsby

The great gatsby utilizes figurative language to depict the meaning attached to life by the characters after the world war. Each character in the novel seems to be chasing after something that they denied in life. The protagonist Gatsby believes that life has been unfair to him. He feels denied love and tries to fix it. "I am going to fix everything just the way it was before" (Fitzgerald, 129). Gatsby believes that he can revert things the way they were so that life can be meaningful again. Furthermore, his struggle with love continues despite having enough wealth until it becomes a whole he cannot fill. After getting close to Daisy finally after a long time of longing Gatsby dreams seems to vanish. "It had seemed as close as a star to the moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished by one (Fitzgerald, 122)." The latter depicts that the dream of having her has to stay only as a dream. A yearning that Gatsby is unable to satisfy despite striving to get what he was looking for. Additionally, having daisy is no longer depicted as significant an achievement as Gatsby had expected it to be.

Bernard's Search for Individuality in Brave New World

Just as Gatsby, Bernard in 'The Brave New World' is also seen to be in constant search for individuality and making sense of life. Bernard is seen to be humiliated and constantly reminded of how distinct and different, he is from the rest. The latter pushes him to be determined not to be an inclusion of the society he believes is in constant manipulation. However, Huxley depicts him as a male alpha with insecurity issues that leads him to be lonely. In the perfect world of Huxley, Bernard seems not to fit in; he is prejudiced against all the other male alphas and longs for something normalcy according to his interpretation of life. "The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider, he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects (Huxley 56)." Moreover, feeling like an outsider made him question all the state ideals as he always searched for the meaning of his life through fame and politics.

The Jazz Generation and the Search for Belonging in The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald depicts the Jazz generation as a generation that has lost so much due to the existing social struggle. A struggle that drives everyone to try and have a sense of belonging. The returnees of the war who came back to find a changed society with limited opportunities formed mobs which sought satisfaction in money no matter the cost. Fitzgerald describes the lifestyle of the mob using Tom and Daisy. He states that Tom and Daisy " were careless people; they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated into their money" (Fitzgerald,145). Since life had no meaning, money is seen to control most actions of the characters. The society keeps eroding as the characters discard moral virtues turning to immorality and other social evil as a way of venting their frustrations to the way life has changed. Some of the characters hide from the eroding society by segregating themselves so that they can feel different om the rest. Nick is seen to praise and portray himself as an honest individual, "I'm thirty ... I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor" (Fitzgerald, 135). His sentiments are meant to make him feel that he is different and a better person. However, the way he judges other characters in the book depicts him as an individual who envies the lives of others as he cannot attain such life. Therefore, Nick believes his life will be meaningful if he had what other characters such as Gatsby possessed.

Social Hierarchy and Self-Identity in Brave New World

The society in 'The Brave New World' has been categorically divided into several factions that is the Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. The members of each social class are made to look distinct from another class using factors such as clothing. The latter depicts the extent to which both Huxley's and modern society has devised ways of creating a social hierarchy so that people individuals can feel accommodated and belonging to a specific social class. The upper-class alphas are also depicted as being defiant. They are excused from following established rules to the latter as they can intellectually think for themselves. Their ability to think came with the privilege of visiting the Indian reservations and observing the lives of the outsiders. Therefore, in as much as the utopian world is portrayed to be perfect and everyone contended with life, the need for self-identity and meaning to life haunts this creation. The upper alphas tour to the Indian villages is meant to give them purpose by depicting them as a superior species. Additionally, the leaders painted individual quest for freedom and individuality as a weakness thus brainwashing the all factions of the society to use soma to relieve anger, bring patience and conform to the established status quo (Huxley 213). The use of soma ensured the individual quest for meaning is guided by what is taught as right or wrong.

Conclusion

Characters in both Fitzgerald and Huxley's work seem to be living their lives in turmoil as they fail to make sense of it, their different nature, dreams and the way the society has changed seems to keep them unsatisfied with the lives they are living. The society also acts as a fundamental element that drives this desire for a meaningful life. Additionally, the conflict between reality and the life led by the characters in the novels keeps them in constant search for satisfaction in life through self-motivation, friends, money, and relationships.

Work Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "The Great Gatsby (New York: Scribner's, 1925)." The Complete Bestsellers Edition 2.6 (1920).

Huxley, Aldous. Brave new world. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2008.