The Great Gatsby Group

Question:

missy92
missy92

What are two similarities between "The Great Gatsby" and "Kindred?"

I have one idea which is the discrimination society has to face. Also, would another similarity be how both Dana and Gatsby are out of place?

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Posted by missy92 on Tuesday December 16, 2008 at 5:02 PM and tagged with analysis, characters, details, kindred, summary, the great gatsby, theme.

Answers:


  1. ladyvols1 Teacher
    High School - 9th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    A similarity between “The Great Gatsby” and “Kindred” is indeed  the struggle of the different class structures.  Gatsby was not accepted by Daisy so he went out and tried to become acceptable.  Dana from “Kindred” was not accepted in her return to the past because she was a Negro woman.  Both stories demonstrate various examples of discrimination.  Myrtle is good enough to be Tom’s lover, but he would never have considered her as wife material.  Dana is good enough to save Rufus several times over, but she is still considered a slave.  Another similarity between these novels is the appearances and reality. 

    "The strange nature of their time travels causes Dana and Kevin to examine how much their perceptions truly reflect reality. When Dana returns from her first visit, Kevin has difficulty accepting her explanation of where she has been. Yet he has no alternate explanation for her sudden disappearance. "I know what I saw, and what I did—my facts," Dana tells him. "They're no crazier than yours."

    “Since there is no real love between Gatsby and Daisy, in The Great Gatsby, there is no real truth to Gatsby's vision. Hand in hand with this idea is the appearances and reality theme. Gatsby is a lonely man. Though hundreds had come to his mansion, hardly anyone came to his funeral.”

    Also both novels are told in the first person voice.  Nick is the narrator of one and Dana is the narrator of the other.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby/style
    http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby/themes
    http://www.enotes.com/kindred/themes

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    Posted by ladyvols1 on Tuesday December 16, 2008 at 5:30 PM