Theme Of Identity In The Great Gatsby

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Identity is defined as the fact of being who and it determines which we get, what we do, and who we are. The awareness of identity influences our lives and sometimes indicates directions for our upcoming futures. Identity is the foundation of a character and it is significantly important in literary work. Love, attitude, and belief can always be the focus points and they demonstrate identity comprehensively both in fiction and real life. The Great Gatsby presents a dream of changing identity and pursuit for desired life. Forrest Gump tells a story of accepting who he is and facing the life with courage and sincerity. Connect them with the theme of identity, The Great Gatsby argues change the identity so that dream will come true, however, Forrest …show more content…
In the book The Great Gatsby, Gatsby firmly believed that he was the one chosen by God, and he should deserve a unique life. Because of this high expectation of life, Gatsby denied his past and refused to recall it. He trusted he had a destiny that would brought him to success and this opinion accompanied him throughout his life. Gatsby’s future was designed and structured in his mind and he devoted to became the ideal man in his imaginary world. No matter money, social status, reputations, and even Daisy were all Gatsby’s goal. Gatsby cared his future and dream so much that he even would like to afford some consequences for achieving them. Gatsby desired to join the upper class in society and did illegal transactions to earn money and imitated the behaviors of high status people, but he could never have his stand because his values never change and he did not deserve it. Gatsby thought Daisy would came back to him and give up her current life, but the story resulted in the death of Gatsby and the indifference of Daisy. Gatsby was too idealism when facing this world and his view was warped by his dream and he addicted to his ideal world without noticing the real identity of himself. However, Gump believed life did not have a fixed destiny. There was no great plan, just a “box of chocolates” full of surprises. We never know how the next chocolate tastes like and so Gump chose to love each “chocolate” he received and treat it wholeheartedly. The taste of each chocolate varies and the influence are unpredictable. Gump looked forward for the surprises in his life and he was willing to finish each work he was currently doing. Compared to Gatsby, Gump never had a great plan in his life and he did not have motivations to change his identity. He focused much more on finding the happiness through his work and enjoying surprises in his life. Thanks to the contributions of Gump’s