Narrators Role in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby and Kerouacs On The R

Narrators Role in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby and Kerouacs On The RoadOver the last fifty years, since the spare of On The Road in 1957,it has not been un rough-cut for critics to draw parallels betwixtKerouacs semi-autobiographical novel and Fitzgeralds The GreatGatsby, released thirty-two years previously. It is for accepted that twain the novels share many similar traits, both examine concepts ofAmerican ideals and The American Dream, both are heavily influenced bythe jazz date of the time, but nothing binds the novels closer to oneanother than the authors use of the archetypal person narrative and thatnarrators blood with their leading character.It is perhaps the most common reading to see both Jay Gatsby and DeanMoriarty awarded iconic status by their corresponding narrators. Theconnotations concerning the epithet found in the very centre ofFitzgeralds title alone can bring an image to the readers mind ofone of historys great leaders, putting Gatsby in league withcharacte rs such as Alexander the Great, Catherine the Great, Peter theGreat and Frederick the Great. It would seem obvious from the titlethat Gatsby is one beheld with admiration and respect by the narrator.The relationship in the midst of Kerouacs Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty isoften viewed in ofttimes the same light. The importance of Dean to Sal isvisible from his very first paragraph, where he states that, thecoming of Dean Moriarty began the part of my life you could call mylife on the road. Within a short time period, Sal allows his life tobe turned in a completely different direction by someone who isbasically a stranger. This willingness to uproot and follow somebodyelses lifestyle pays a great complim... ... with the door flapping, and roar off to the following availablespot, arc, pop in, brake, out, run.It would be easy to substitute the car in this instance with a womanto come up with a excusable description of Deans attitude towardswomen. Just in the mien Sal admires an d enthuses roughly his car-parkingabilities, describing him as, the most fantastic parking-lotattendant in the world Sal admirers and enthuses about his sex life.In 1991, Eagleton published an essay with a Marxist archetypedeclaring that, much like Nick, Sal is suffering from ideology afalse mind that is imposed on them by the hegemonic socialorder. This adds to the link between the two narrators concerningtheir feelings towards their leading characters in particular themanner in which they both admire the achievements made by Gatsby orDean in their have it away lives.