Compare And Contrast Winter Dreams And The Great Gatsby

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Winter Dreams, written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, focuses on a man named Dexter Green. Dexter spends his time chasing after a woman named Judy Jones, who is extremely charming and good-looking. Along the way, hearts get broken, and Dexter comes to the realization that he wasted his time on Judy. The Great Gatsby, also written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, is a similar story about a man named Jay Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan, a married woman, and he spends much of his life trying to get her attention. At the end of the story, Daisy ends up staying with her husband instead of marrying Gatsby. Winter Dreams is basically a rough draft of The Great Gatsby, and both of these stories somewhat reflect Fitzgerald’s life. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of similar characters throughout both pieces of literature suggests that Winter Dreams laid the framework for The Great Gatsby. …show more content…
First and foremost, these two were successful businessmen. Neither of them grew up in a rich family, but they made their own riches once they were older. They were also both in love with women who seemed mostly unattainable just because of how many people admired them. Dexter and Jay’s most valuable similarity, though, is their high ambition. They are so determined to achieve their goals, and they do not want to risk anything standing in their way. The narrator of Winter Dreams describes Dexter by saying, “He wanted not association with glittering things and glittering people – he wanted the glittering things themselves.” Just as Dexter was ambitious to achieve luxuries and Judy Jones, Mr. Gatsby was ambitious to have Daisy Buchanan. The narrator says, "Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." This quote proves just how much Gatsby would do to have her