Gabriella Hert

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P5

Similarities Between The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night

 The obsession of human flaws and the façade of the American Dream are prevalent in F.

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

include characterization, symbolism, and theme.

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

the care of her daughter. (Fitzgerald, GG 17).

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

characters in the novel.

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

judged by Nick as being incredibly and “incurably” dishonest.

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

reminiscent of Fitzgerald himself, as he turned out to be an alcoholic as well, as stated by Smith

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

Night. (NFS V19, 11).

 In The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night, Fitzgerald weaves his experiences and 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.

Weisbrod, Eva. A Student’s Guide to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Understanding Literature. Berkeley

Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, INC, 2004.