The Wasteland by Elliot
The Wasteland by Elliot and The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald are two stories that correspondingly define disappointment of the modernist post-war. Both authors negatively state the way our world is heading from the perception of the modern post-war. Both stories pinpointed that the contemporary society is a moral wasteland.
The Wasteland by Elliot
The Wasteland is seen as the most significant part of literature because its existence is sensed in almost all things that have risen after the World War 1. Elliot's wasteland is similar to the valley of ashes in the middle of New York City and West Egg. Large corporations and industries were the primary cause of the wasteland. The valley of ashes signifies the moral decay caused by the never-ending quest for wealth (Nandi, 2016). The inhabitants of the valley of ashes are the poor while the rich folks are the pollutants of the same. It shows that the working-class are the same people who suffer the consequences of the corporate greed. The wasteland has parts, which include burial of the dead, death by water, fire sermon, a game of chess and what the thunder said. The story describes Europe as a very unwelcoming continent after World War 1.
Eliot presents the theme of regeneration and fertility in the Wasteland. When Stetson is asked about the corpse buried in the garden, he is unable to answer the question efficiently. The inability to answer symbolizes the world's state as confusing during and after the First World War (Nandi, 2016). Regeneration in the world is shown as unbearably painful since the newborns are unable to measure up to the generation that existed before World War 1.
The burial of the dead is seen all through the poem. Elliot brings out the theme of death. The 'dry stone' means the cry for water and the 'dead tree' shows the lack of fertility and nothing can be grown in it (Brooks, 1939). Spring is seen as the most unfruitful season of the year, bringing up memories of past days and unsatisfied needs.
The game of chess is a part of the poem that brings out the theme of sterility in the marital sexual relationship. It says that life is like a game of chess, you move and encounter moves. Life in marriage does not guarantee salvation or satisfaction (Brooks, 1939). There is an opposition between the weak contemporary world and spirited mythical past.
The fire sermon brings out the theme of salvation through pain and sufferings. It is related to Lord Buddha's address against the fire of desire and passion. The spiritual salvation of the humans is achieved through burning their desire. This section of the poem is a sermon with examples. It opens with a river, which does not symbolize fertility because it has been covered with garbage and reduced to 'dull canal' (Brooks, 1939).
"Death by water" associates water with the theme of death by drowning and mortality. Elliot explains the lack of water causing death and its excessive increase also causing death. "Death by Water" contrasts with "The Fire Sermon," the contrast is between the symbolism of water and fire. This part, however, weighs on the part of death rather than the rebirth of new life (Ohy, 2008)
The poem captures the feeling of self-denial, hopelessness, and disenchantment felt after the First World War, a sense that grew into the great depression in Europe that led to the Second World War (Brooks, 1939).
Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby
Archetypal of Colours
Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby has the green light symbol recurring in the book. The story has a direct and an indirect way of commenting on the happenings in America. In the first chapter, the green bulk of America rising from the ocean is compared to the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, which covers a lot of meanings (Decker, 1994). The green colour may symbolize materialism, greed for money, jealousy and a bright future.
The green light drives Gatsby, and it symbolizes materialism and greed of money in the world. It shows that money is the new driving force in the current world. People strive so hard to work so that they can acquire as much money as they can but also do not become content with the riches they achieve. This same reason is why Gatsby did all he could to become wealthy and use his fortunes to impress Daisy (Decker, 1994).
The green light consequently symbolizes the locomotive industry. In America, the locomotive industry is one of the most significant consumer products. People compare their riches to the vehicles they own. For instance, Henry Ford in 1920 has led all the rides on the road. Henry Ford decided to pay higher wages to his customers so that they can be the first-hand consumer of the cars they sell. Recently cars are pictured as a status quo all over the world (Callahan, 1996).
The green colour symbolizes a bright future. Due to the search of high status in the community, many people struggled to own vehicles. As more and more people started purchasing automobiles, the construction of roads was inevitable (Callahan, 1996). The green lights were part of the traffic lights on the streets that directed traffic of the cars on the American roads. Currently, green lights are used all over the world to control traffic.
Colour green also symbolizes jealousy. Gatsby at first has daisy as the love of his life. Later Daisy is married to Tom and not Gatsby (Decker, 1994). Gatsby is jealous of Daisy's husband. Colours yellow and green also symbolize wealth and value. Golden stands for wealth, content or flourishing: golden age, golden days, precious and auspicious (Callahan, 1996). Daisy is said to be the "golden girl" living in a white castle; Gatsby wears a gold tie to impress her after meeting many years later after their separation.
Yellow is more of an imitation of value. The two girls who had word yellow dresses seemed so unnatural and were termed as fakes. It also shows things going wrong and corruption. Yellow is the imitated colour of gold that Gatsby assumed he needed to make his dream come true. His car which Nick described cream in colour which is a blend of white and yellow or gold, was not valuable but an imitation (Decker, 1994).
White symbolizes innocence, purity, and light. Through the story, white is mostly tied to women. Daisy primarily was associated with the colour white even though she was far from being innocent. She is termed as the "golden girl" in a white castle. Jordan also wears white often and acts in a superior away towards everybody around her. She merely implied arrogance in her character far from purity (Decker, 1994). Daisy and Jordan were in white dresses when Nick first met them; they looked pure in his eyes, almost floating in the wind. White, in this case, serves as a form of camouflage to hide the women's true nature.
Grey is another colour that symbolizes aging or lack of life. It is dull and less critical. Grey has only been mentioned in connection to the valley of Ashes. The Wilsons, who live in the Valley of Ashes is said as grey, excluding Myrtle who moves closer to Tom and enjoys his company (Decker, 1994). Her husband had white, grey dust that covered his dark suit and his pale hair and as it covered everything else in the environs. Fitzgerald ought to use grey where Wilson's garage is due to how dull his life is. Wilson's vibrant wife and experience in the valley drained him, and he is said to be as good as dead
Archetypal of Places
Another symbolic place is West Egg, the place where Nick transfers to and meets Gatsby who becomes his neighbour after finding a job in New York. West Egg can be seen as a wrong and rough place, but the explanation can be a small take. Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy which attracts random people including- unfaithful husbands, artists, politicians, salespeople, gangsters with no noble persons, which in turn repelled Daisy (Callahan, 1996). She chose Tom's side of life over Gatsby.
New York takes up a symbolic role. Most of the actions occur there even though the main characters do not live there. New York is described in an optimistic light. Nick enjoys how the city pulses with life, its adventures feel at night and how it is restless. New York is a place for the prestigious and supercilious people in America (Callahan, 1996). The favourable light is also seen when New York is said to be part of the wealth and opportunities in America the land of wealth and opportunities.
Conclusion
The Waste Land and The Great Gatsby culminating in ruin depicts the spiritually and physically destruction caused by World War I. For Eliot, his ending is in the image of a prince in a ruined tower. Fitzgerald also ends with the demise of Jay Gatsby who is a princely figure. Eliot depicts the view of the crumbling of social life in the modern world and changing of the moral values. The cause is materialism and human greed. What the Wasteland talks about is the search for rain and rebirth is rain associated.
Similarly, Fitzgerald demonstrates through motifs and symbols that people become corrupt into the yearning for wealth; mistaking that money will guarantee their happiness. The final paragraph of the Great Gatsby particularly the last line represents the views of both men. Fitzgerald and Elliot share a universal distrust concerning the current condition of the society and a yearning for the past, which was more straightforward.
References
Brooks, C., 1939. The Waste Land. North, The Waste Land, pp. 185-210.
Callahan, J., 1996. F. Scott Fitzgerald's evolving American Dream: the" pursuit of happiness" in Gatsby, Tender is the Night, and The Last Tycoon. Twentieth Century Literature, 42 (3), pp. 374-395.
Decker, J., 1994. Gatsby's pristine dream: The diminishment of the self-made man in the tribal twenties. In: Novel: A Forum on Fiction. s.l.:Duke University Press, pp. Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 52-71.
Nandi, R., 2016. Archetypal Approach to Eliot's “The Waste Land”. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Literary Studies, Volume Volume I, p. 57.
Ohy, Y. D., n.d. The Fire of Desire: The Buddha's Second Noble Truth. [Online]
Available at: http://www.eyeofchan.org/all-articles/articles-by-author/by-yin-de/102-fire-desire.html [Accessed 13 August 2018].
