Heathcliffe_vs._Gatsby_on_Love

What is Love Both Gatsby and Heathcliff have a similar form of love, yet they still remain two distinct characters and even with their differences, both forms of love are of equal value. To better express these forms of love I have composed a song called “What is Love”. I chose to do a song because that is a form of expression used to demonstrate one’s love for another. I begin with Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff’s idea of love is more of an obsession; therefore I state “I am obsessed”. Bronte wrote about becoming the other person entirely. This is why I chose the lyric “you broke our heart”. It shows that Catherine Linton broke both the one heart that she and Heathcliff shared. Originally, I was going to allude to “I am Heathcliff” (Bronte 84); however, Heathcliff had already left the room at this point, thus not overhearing Catherine’s statement. The song also incorporates Heathcliff marrying Isabella as revenge. This is important because it shows that he is selfish and if he loved Catherine Linton, he would not want to deliberately cause her harm. This pain eventually caused Catherine Linton to die, leaving Heathcliff violent towards all around him because he is acting out of the pain from the love he felt for her. This love is of a violent nature but the reader still feels sympathy for Heathcliff because there are parts that expose his less violent side, such as: “I cannot live without my soul” (Bronte 164). This statement is significant because it exhibits Bronte’s idea of love in Wuthering Heights, which is becoming one being and when one part of that being dies, the other does too. In contrast, the character Gatsby was in love with Daisy, but she was just an illusion that he was holding on to from his past. Daisy has much changed since her first encounter with Gatsby five years ago, which is why I chose the lyric “now you’re a mother”, attempting to show that change. The idea of love in The Great Gatsby is a facade, an illusion of something that is not real. Gatsby’s depiction of Daisy is not true to her character, but he is obsessed with her and blinded by that obsession. This obsession is similar to Heathcliff’s, but the woman of Gatsby’s obsession is the ideal of the American dream. It is based on class, wealth and elegance that Gatsby has worked so hard to acquire. Daisy is a materialist who is attracted to the idea of a wealthy man. That is why when Gatsby threw his shirts, “Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily" (Fitzgerald 89). The reason love relationships cannot work between the people of the 1920’s, as portrayed by Fitzgerald, is because they are based on material wealth instead of something deeper. Similarly, in Wuthering Heights, the original reason Catherine Earnshaw does not marry Heathcliff is because it would degrade her. It would degrade her because Heathcliff does not come from a high social class or wealth. Another similarity between Heathcliff and Gatsby is that they both die for the woman they “love”. At the end, Heathcliff willed death upon himself and Gatsby was shot by taking the blame for a murder that Daisy committed. Even with these similarities between the two, the major difference is the social setting of the novel’s, creating distinctions between the two characters. Heathcliff is honest and does not wear a facade to hide his violence. He does not try to merge into society’s norms, whereas, Gatsby does so only to try to attract Daisy. However, Heathcliff’s violence stems from his inability to obtain Catherine Earnshaw and the pain he feels from the lack of having part of his being. Thus, both of these men’s actions are based on trying to obtain the woman of their dream, making both forms of “love” equally sincere.