Comparison of Desires in two literature works

下面51due教员组为大家整理一篇优秀的代写范文- Comparison of Desires in two literature works，供大家参考学习。这篇文章讲述的是从某种意义上说，文化是关于欲望的，或者说欲望是文化要表达的主要内容。同时，欲望也是文学表达的重要组成部分。将从历史/社会背景、用象征手法表现欲望、欲望相关主题等方面对《了不起的盖茨比》和《欲望号街车》中的欲望描写进行比较。

Comparison of Desires in two literature works

In a way, culture is all about desire, or desire is the main content to be expressed by a culture. Meanwhile, desire is also an important part of the expression of literature. As an important manifestation of human culture, lusts are depicted everywhere in literature. Desire is thus one of the main content and purpose of literary expression. In a complex society like the United States, people from different eras have desires. In this essay, the depiction of desires in The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire will be compared in terms of historical/social backgrounds, use of symbolism to demonstrate desires, and the desire-related themes of the two works.

Entering the 1920s, and especially after World War I, the United States became the world's top economic power. With tremendous development in business and commerce and abundant supply of goods, in order to further expand production, consumption must be maximized (Keshmiri 1296). To sell their products, advertising agencies and manufacturers are eager to find ways to inflame consumerism, to fully exploit consumers' desires, to convince them that they need items that may not be necessary. The society made every effort to induce people to enjoy consumption. Under the influence of this commercial propaganda, a sense of consumption advocacy for hedonism first formed in the United States (Keshmiri 1297). People gradually abandoned the thrifty, hard-working Puritan beliefs, and began to pursue sensual pleasures and luxurious lifestyles. At this point, people's consumption is not just out of basic needs, but more for entertainment and enjoyment, and even for identity and show off. Material desire thus becomes a black hole that engulfs the society. The Great Gatsby is set exactly under such an entirely new social context.

The development of plot must be reasonable under the premise of the specific background of the era. In turn, directly or indirectly, plot helps shape the character image and demonstrate the features of the historical/social background. A Streetcar Named Desire is set in the mid-20th century. As the winner of World War II and the rapidly growing superpower, the US is considered the greatest country in the world. However, the United States during this period was also accompanied by such problems as fear, poverty, inequality and racial discrimination (Fordyce 44). Most of the social wealth was held by the hands of the few. As the wealth of the country grew rapidly, the gap between the rich and the poor increased dramatically as well. Stanley represents the character with life at the bottom of the US society. This social factor led to the dilapidation of Stanley's life and his erratic and cranky character. In such a society where worries from both within and without haunted the nation, it was extremely difficult for the voices from the socially disadvantaged groups to be heard and respected.

In The Great Gatsby, Daisy had two criteria for choosing a man, one is wealth and the other is social status. Tom had both, despite his brutal and cruel character. Although Gatsby was kind hearted loving, he was eventually abandoned by Daisy. This odd choice shows that Daisy did not make decisions completely driven by her own heart. Her choice of Tom Buchanan is mainly determined by the commodity ideology of the time. In return, she must satisfy the man's desires and aesthetic taste as well. When Nick first saw Daisy, "They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering (Fitzgerald 10)." Daisy's white clothing embodies fashion, with a strong sense of beauty, elegance and romance. Tom's lover Mrs. Wilson was not eligible, simply because of the way she dresses: "Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty (Fitzgerald 28)." In such a society, the desires of both men and women were materialized and objectified, and equated with happiness.

In order to highlight the theme of the work, the author also uses a great deal of symbolism in the drama A Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche wore white clothes, a white hat and a white glove, but this outfit was splashed and ruined with Coca-Cola (Williams 83). In Scene 10, as Stanley approached Blanche, Blanche smashed the bottle on the table for self-defense (Williams 141). The broken bottle symbolizes Blanche’s disillusionment and spiritual collapse. In the eyes of the author, the heroine Blanche is not a sick woman, but pure and innocent, which can be seen from the color choice of white. Blanche's full name, Blanche DuBois is a French word, meaning white woods (Williams 54). White is a symbol of purity, and is also the most easily defiled color. This shows that Blanche's arrival in New Orleans was not with dirty desires. However, the cruelty and ugliness of the society forced Blanche to numb her mind with alcohol, falsify the past, escape the reality, and use lies to hide her unspeakable secrets. From the author's descriptions, Blanche's tragic fate stems from her unrealistic desire.

In the consumer society, people no longer face real needs, but are controlled by the symbols formed by the image of goods. The mode of thinking for the modern people is largely subject to the ideology peculiar to the commodity society. It is precisely this ideological influence that determines the way in which modern people live and behave. The commodity society is to impose desires, values and life meanings on the materialized lifestyle. In this process, the authentic nature of ethics and value is replaced (Keshmiri 1297). The commodity ideology, while promoting the enrichment of the material supply in society, at the same time diminishes the spiritual pursuit of human beings. This is an alarming aspect of the modern society. Gatsby's tragedy is not his personal tragedy, but the tragedy of an entire society. Despite the power of true love, desire and social classes are clearly more dominant forces that create tragedy in people’s lives.

From the perspective of social and historical background, A Streetcar Named Desire has a theme that reflects the conflicting ideologies between the South and the North in the United States. However, this is only one aspect of the theme. The author aims to convey his tragedies to the audience through the metaphor of A Streetcar Named for Desire. From the illusory 'desires' of Blanche, the author aims to call on to the mainstream society for the tolerance of the minority and socially suppressed groups (Fordyce 53). At the same time, the author believes that such a call is doomed to fail. The tragedy of Blanche was happening in real life, when the desires for happiness of the homosexual, female, and ethnic minority groups are denied, attacked, and ridiculed by the mainstream society.

In conclusion, The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire approach the theme of desire from entirely different perspectives. This is determined by both the historical background and the aim of the works. In The Great Gatsby, desire is generated from the materialized society and pursuit for luxurious lifestyles. Through the depiction of desires of both men and women, the author aims to show a society that is decaying in ethical values. In A Streetcar Named Desire, desire is originated from the social inequalities that suppressed and threatened the non-mainstream populations. While both authors use the color white and symbolism to demonstrate desires, they arrive at distinctive themes targeting consumerism and inequality respectively.

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