Comparative Essay of Great Expectations and The Great Gatsby

Hey, :wave:

I need to write a comparative essay of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald for school. I need to anaylze the underlying themes in both novels and compare them. In the end, I need to come to a general statement that applies to both the characters and the books but also society.
The themes I have considered are society and class, the decline of the American dream (not necessarily American because it applies to Great Expectations as well), love, ambition, loss of innocence/growing up and finally, the meaning of the path.

Thanks :nod:

If possible, could you also reference me to suitable links and other essays :P

I wonder if your teacher has lumped the two together because they have the word "Great" in them, I don't know? Yes they sound OK but I wouldn't try to take on too many themes necessarily because it might stretch your argument(s) a little thin. As for the research I'm afraid that is part of your job, search around on the net by all means (better with a good database) but I'd try to get down to a decent library too if you can, have a dig around or follow recommended reading lists from your teacher if he/she has given you one – if not get digging; I'm sure there's plenty of stuff on the two, as they are hardly obscure texts. :coolgleamA:

:willy_nilly: I only need one theme that applies to both novels and it has to be rephrased like a essay questions such as:
'Events shape people more than people shap events'. Relate this statement to the protagonist of both novels.

A essay questions like the above will really help because I have to figure out my own essay question.

Thanks

Well, I'm sure you've already finished the essay, but it was certainly a clever idea your teacher came up with. I taught for twenty years, both books, and I can see the similarity. Pip and Gatsby both pursue wealth/ status in order to gain the attention of a girl. Pip and Nick are both disillusioned by wealth/ status.... Gatsby? I don't think he ever gave up on the dream... too unwilling to see reality.

Both are making money in morally dubious ways.
Both are trying to cover up their humble origins.
Both are pining for a woman who cannot reciprocate their love.