Gatsby, an undiscovered Iago?

[Dany Blue]

Hi everyone,
Have been reading Othello with my english class and we have to come up with our own coursework titles that involve 2 other Novels/Plays/Poetry. Whilst thinking about it, i came across the idea that Gastby is just an undiscovered Iago. I think its interesting but im not sure if its just me and if there are any basis in the question.
Feedback with other ideas would be really appreciated
Thanks

[Charles Darnay]

You'd have better luck connecting Gatsby to Hamlet - but that too is a bit of a stretch (despite the fact that there are common themes in these two texts.) Unlike you present some textual support, I will feel confident (being very familiar with both texts) saying your comparison has no merit. Gatsby is hardly the manipulator Iago is: Iago would have very easily dispatched with a boob like Tom.

[kelby_lake]

I don't buy the Gatsby/Iago comparison, personally. There should be loads of plays and novels you can compare with Othello- Titus Andronicus for one. Iago is a Machiavellian character and his type pops up a lot in Elizabethan/Jacobean drama.

My tip for comparative coursework is not to be too ambitious. If you pick a challenging thesis such as Gatsby being similar to Iago, you will have to spend your essay trying to convince the marker of this idea and you'll end up neglecting the textual evaluation.

[Emil Miller]

I do not see a connection between Iago and Gatsby but some time ago I suggested one between Wuthering Heights and Scott Fizgerald's novel.
It produced some interesting points of view as shown below:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40056