How The Great Gatsby and Harry Potter Are The Same | The Odyssey Online
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How The Great Gatsby and Harry Potter Are The Same

How three characters from The Great Gatsby are the three brothers from the Deathly Hallows.

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How The Great Gatsby and Harry Potter Are The Same
Spencer

F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted to highlight the fallacies of being upper class in America in the 1920’s, often using parallels when describing the vibrant social lives of his characters, quickly switching from bright, colorful language to dark, unsettling vernacular. This theme is represented in the three major characters in this story, men who I believe represent the the tale of three brothers from Harry Potter.

The story goes, the three brothers have a run in with Death. Tom Buchanan represents the first brother who received the elder wand. The elder wand allowed it’s user to defeat any foe in combat, he became cocky and quickly made an enemy who ultimately killed him and took his wand.

While Tom Buchanan didn't die by the end of the Great Gatsby (to my chagrin), he was extremely cocky and lost Daisy, his wife and the mother of his child, to Jay Gatsby (or at least he would have). Sorry to equate Daisy with an inanimate object to be fought over and stolen by men, but that's all Daisy really was to Tom.

Jay Gatsby represents the second brother who was given the sorcerer's stone which allowed its users to bring the dead back to life. The love of the second brother's life died, and he became obsessed with getting her back; once he had the ability to bring her back to life he was finally happy, but noticed she was no longer meant for this world. After this revelation,he killed himself.

Jay Gatsby is reminiscent of the second brother because his overwhelming love for Daisy ultimately undid him, because she was not meant for him. He spent so much of his life trying to become a man who he believed was worthy of Daisy, whom he built a facade about, and eventually became a man who, in his eyes, was still not good enough to be with the faux Daisy in his mind, but he was too good for the real Daisy.

Nick represents the third brother who was given the cloak of invisibility, and his whole life he hid from death and lived a full life. When his time finally came, he greeted death like an old friend.

This suits Nick, who often described himself as invisible to others. Though emotionally run through by the end of the novel, he managed to live through the trials of the Buchanan's, Gatsby and the roaring 20's.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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