Fitzgerlad's The Great Gatsby does show a connection to
the archtypal monomyth, the hero's journey, however, Gatsby does not go through all the
steps. At first, he goes through the separation stage, where he his mind is separated
from his usual environment--he is an outcast; none of his guests really know him. He is
called for an adventure when he realizes that he must fight for Diasy when she married
Tom. He didn't refuse the call--he was awfully obsessedwith her. Along the way, he has
his helper,Nick Carraway, for advice.
In order to attain
his American Dream (goal, which is Daisy), he faces a road of trials. He has to deal
with Tom, and try to find a way to win Daisy back. Of course, throughtout these road of
trials, he faces the woman, Daisy, as a Temptress. This is archtypal because woman are
usually considered to be the cause of a man's demise in the bible and other religious
texts (Adam and Eve, Pandora's Box). One thing of course, Gatsby doesn't enter the belly
of the whale; he is not reborn again and does not find his true identity. He worships
Daisy too much. Lastly, he must endure a climax/final battle. Myrtle's accident is a
major climax because it unravelled many other reprucussions at the end, such as George
killing Gatsby, a final battle indeed.
Sadly, after his
death, Gastby doesn't get an apotheosis. When he dies, he is not free from his mind, as
you see the last thought he had was of Daisy. In the last, where the hero is supposed to
return, Gatsby doesn't achive his American Dream, his life-transmuting trophy. However,
he is still remembered and is considered superior to
Nick.
This is how The Great Gatsby is related to Joseph
Cambell's The Hero's Journey.
No comments:
Post a Comment