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Scott Fitzgerald’s works, most notably in Tender is the Night and The Great Gatsby. These
novels offer insights into the society of the 1920’s, the culture of the wealthy, and the
scandalous realities of privileged people. Fitzgerald weaves his life and personal issues into his
novels, bringing high class wealth to life. The similarities that exist in Fitzgerald’s two novels
Fitzgerald has a tendency to create characters that reflect his life and mirrored those
who interacted with him in his life. His characterization in The Great Gatsby proved so, with
characters as Jay Gatsby portraying elements of Fitzgerald himself and Daisy resembling
Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda. The characters that make up the novel The Great Gatsby undergo
different levels of development and offer insights into the stereotypes of the time period and
the culture that surrounded Fitzgerald. Although Nick Carraway is the narrator of the novel, the
main character in The Great Gatsby is clearly Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and upper-class man living
in the West Egg of Long Island. Diane Telgen describes his character in Novels for Students V2 as
being fascinating as well as an embodiment of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby proves to be a
round character, having a complex background and an intricate life. Gatsby is described by
Harold Bloom as being “platonic”. (G 1). He is the protagonist in the novel, as the book bears his
name as its title. His strong attraction to a woman and multifaceted flaws are reminiscent of
Fitzgerald himself, giving insight into the realities of the novel and giving Jay Gatsby a sense of
tangibility. Fitzgerald successfully weaves the realities of the idea of the American Dream in
the 1920’s through characters such as Daisy Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, and Jordan
Baker. Daisy is described as being the ultimate portrayal of Gatsby’s American Dream, whilst
Tom is the embodiment of what the American Dream supposedly looked like, with his wealth
and ideas of superior race. Tom relays racist ideas and white superiority to Daisy and Nick
throughout the book, showing a stern and “brute like” figure. (Fitzgerald, GG 13). Tom is a flat
and static character who has little development over the course of the novel, portraying the
same views and personality. Daisy is shown to be a flat and static character as well, proving
though the book that she is materialistic and quite shallow from beginning to end. Daisy and
Tom both remain unchanged by actions that occur around them, even though many large-scale
events happen such as infidelity, forgotten love interests, and large fights. Fitzgerald captures
the ugliness and flaws behind wealthy Americans in the 1920’s through his characters in The
Great Gatsby.
In Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald expresses more of his life and his wife’s through his
characters and portrays many of the same aspects through the characters like The Great
Gatsby. Again, Fitzgerald essentially wrote himself and Zelda into this book, into the characters
Dick Diver and Nicole Diver. Jennifer Smith states that “Dick is seen as a fictional projection of
Fitzgerald himself… Nicole is the fictional representation of Zelda Sayre, Fitzgerald’s wife.” (NFS,
V19 7.) Smith goes on to state the similarities between Fitzgerald and Zelda with the two main
characters, pointing out that the marriage to psychologically unstable women and alcoholism
are both in the novel as well as being present in real life. Dick Diver is both a round as well as
dynamic character, developing over the course of the novel. Dick is the dominant and main
character of the novel, much like Gatsby was. In the beginning of the novel, it is easy to mistake
Rosemary as the main character, because of how often the first part of the story revolves
around the 17-year-old movie starlet. It is quickly revealed that the novel is mostly about Dick
and Nicole, with Rosemary serving the purpose of Dick’s other love interest and displaying the
beginning of Dick’s corruption. Dick is the protagonist in Tender is the Night, despite his many
“unheroic” and flawed actions taken in the novel. Dick portrays the American Dream in a
different way, as he has moved away from America, but still carries the same American flaws as
Gatsby, some of which being the flaws and corruption of wealth. Dick Diver is first seen as a
glamorous psychiatrist and wealthy young man with a beautiful wife and an idealistic lifestyle.
By the end of the novel, he ended up forgotten and a broken man, much like Gatsby, other than
the fact that Dick is not killed. Dick’s progression into alcoholism and the fall of his reputation
mirror Fitzgerald’s struggles in his life, as well as Zelda’s. He has a huge shift in character and a
huge change in the person he was when the novel starts versus when it finishes. Nicole Diver is
quite the opposite; she’s proven a round character yet is static in her development through the
novel. The only large development seen from her is her psychological development, which is
before the first part of the novel starts. Nicole is shown to have always lived a life controlled by
others, such as her sister Baby Warren, her psychological doctors, and her husband, who was
also her doctor at a certain point in time. This is shown explicitly in an interaction between
Nicole and Dick during one of Nicole’s mental breakdowns. He constantly tells her to control
herself and has to control her to be silent and resolve her issue. (Fitzgerald, TN 112). As in The
Great Gatsby, the couple lives a life of wealth and luxury, which poses as a wanted way of living
but hides many corrupt actions and issues such as psychological struggles.
The Great Gatsby is teeming with symbolism, revealing itself within many pages of the
novel. Symbolism is prevalent in the novel through many subjects such as morals, wealth,
status, and the American Dream. Fitzgerald weaves countless references to each of these
symbols within the book, starting with the East Egg and the West Egg. These two sides of Long
Island are separated by different classes of people and represent different ways of life. Telgen
in Novels for Students V2 describes the East Egg as being an area of tragedy and destruction,
fear and dishonesty. No morals or values exist in the East Egg, because of its materialistic
nature. (72). Daisy and Tom Buchanan live in the East Egg, and it reflects the nature of Daisy’s
materialistic preferences. Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby both live in the West Egg, an area
described by Telgen as being a reflection of the American Dream, an image of what America is
and should be. Nick narrates the novel in a way that makes him seem the most moral out of the
rest of the characters, which is reflected by which part of Long Island he lives in. Daisy is a large
symbol for Gatsby; she represents everything that he wants, everything that his American
Dream includes. She provides wealth, status, and what Gatsby thinks is love. Daisy also
represents another part of the American Dream; corruption and materialism. She
demonstrations that Gatsby’s American Dream is flawed as much as he is. Daisy also
represents wealth, and the social status of the 1920’s. She symbolizes the wealth and the ways
individuals used that wealth in the 20’s, laced with materialism and the strive to be on the top
of the social class. Unable or unwilling to break her status for the sake of paying attention or
caring for her own child, she repeatedly takes materialistic and socially respectable actions over
As in The Great Gatsby, symbolism is likewise present in Tender is the Night by many of
the same subjects, presented through different symbols. Wealth, corruption, morals, and
control are symbolized throughout the novel. Wealth is symbolized through Dick Diver and
Nicole Diver as being corrupted and a driving force to Dick’s demise. Nicole represents a large
part of this wealth, as she has gotten it through her family and does not worry too much about
her wealth status. Dick, however, is seen constantly through the book worrying and
uncomfortable with the fact that Nicole has a larger fortune than he. This represents the
corruption that he drives himself into when he starts to withdraw her money for his own uses.
Fitzgerald demonstrates his view on wealth as being self-destructive and ultimately useless
when seen in the long term through Dick Diver. Dick symbolizes this idea that it is useless
because of his unfortunate ending. As stated by Smith in Novels for Students V19, “wealth
seems to have no redeeming value in Fitzgerald’s eyes, other than its ability to allow for some
exciting, but ultimately destructive, evenings” (12). The general corruption of characters in the
novel are a large symbol of the American Dream and what it truly was about. The American
characters such as Abe North and Dick who have spiraled into alcoholism and eventually jail
represent this corruption of wealthy Americans living this “American Dream”. Abe even goes so
far as a symbol of corruption that he is killed while in a fight at a speakeasy, showing how he is
truly and morally corrupted past the point of being salvageable. The symbol of control comes
through Nicole’s psychological issues, her father, her sister, and even Dick. Nicole is not a
symbol for control; she is quite the opposite, seeming weak and unable to control her own life.
However, it seems that most people in her life symbolize the need and drive to control most or
all of her and their lives. Her father represents control, sexually abusing her at a young age and
forcing these psychological issues on her that control her life. Her sister controls her life as well,
holding most of the control on their wealth and going so far as to control Dick. Dick also has a
need to control Nicole and his life, as he is constantly expressing his desire to be in control of
finances and of his interests in women. It seems that control is largely sought out by many
Theme is one of the most important aspects of a novel, and The Great Gatsby has many
worth noting. As stated several times before, the American Dream is a large focus of this novel
and a huge theme that the book is based on. The American Dream in the 1920’s was mostly
seen to be about self-made wealth and happiness, and Gatsby was no exception. He strived for
this wealth even though it was at the hands of illegal drug rings and strived to be happy through
his version of the American Dream, which was Daisy. Laced through this idealistic version of the
American Dream lies the corruption and the dishonest ways of gaining this wealth and
happiness. Telgen describes examples of the American Dream going “awry”, using instances
such as Jordan’s dishonest plays in golf to gain fame, Gatsby’s criminal behavior to create his
fortune, and the Buchanan’s need for an idealistic life even at the hands of victimizing others.
(NFS V2, 72.) Moral corruption is present as a large theme as well, taking over characters like
Tom Buchanan and Jordan Baker. There are little to no mentions of a God or religion present in
the novel, and to many, this instance suggests moral corruption in itself. As described in the
novel, the only correlation is described in a billboard of Dr. Eckleberg, serving as a symbol and a
watchful eye. (Fitzgerald, GG 23.) Tom presents white supremacy and race ideas throughput
the novel, as well as breaking Myrtles nose; these actions along with others show the moral
corruption of Tom’s nature. Jordan Baker may also be described as morally corrupt, as she is
Similar themes exist also within Tender is the Night, through different subjects and
events that occur. Alcoholism, corruptness, wealth and other themes such as incest and class
structure appear in this novel. The most apparent and first theme shown in the novel is wealth.
Like in The Great Gatsby, the Divers are wealthy, especially Nicole, shown in the way they live
their lavish and luxurious lifestyle in Zurich, Switzerland. This wealth drives numerous events to
happen such as Dick’s obsessive need for control and driving their social status high. Dick and
Nicole are regarded in a high social class, because of their wealth and beauty as a couple. They
are well known and use this to their advantage of gaining most of their desires. Alcoholism is a
huge theme that consumes Dick and other characters such as Abe North. Alcoholism is a theme
in Novels for Students V19. (1). The alcoholism does not necessarily enter the Divers’ lives until
later on when Nicole and Dick begin to have serious problems with the involvement of
Rosemary and Nicole’s reoccurring psychological issues. Again, Dick does not feel in control,
leading him towards a life of alcoholism and law enforcement. It ends up controlling Dicks life
to the point of breaking his relationship with Nicole. While Dick wanted to control many things
and turned to alcoholism, it was the alcohol that ended up controlling him. Incest is a sensitive
yet prevalent subject and theme in this novel as well, shown through instances such as Nicole’s
sexually abusive father, Rosemary’s movie titled Daddy’s Girl, and Dick’s controlling and almost
fatherly like influence on her, especially when they had to interact as a patient and a doctor
before becoming romantically involved. The age difference between Nicole and Dick is also
uncomfortable and reflects some incestuous feelings because of the way he acted almost as a
father to Nicole during her psychological stay at Dick’s practice. Nicole’s psychological issues
from incestuous sexual abuse, as Smith states, affect every part and aspect of Tender is the
issues of 1920’s wealth and class into similar novels providing different storylines yet keeping
comparable points throughout. The two novels were alike in aspects such as characterization,
symbolism, and themes. Fitzgerald successfully addresses the issues and the corruptions of the
American Dream and wealth in the 20’s, presenting these similar issues in these two novels that
create an image of the true actions behind the façade of 1920’s wealth and class.
Bibliography
Bloom, Harold. Gatsby. Major Literary Characters. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night. Orlando: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York; Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004.
“Tender is the Night”. Novels for Students. Volume 19. Ed. Jennifer Smith. Farmington Hills, MI:
Thomson Gale, 2004. 240-271.