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Disparities Between Gatsby and Siddhartha Two sides of human nature can be experienced in the context of two stories. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the materialistic side of human nature while Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse shows the spiritual side of human nature. The characters, Gatsby and Siddhartha, differ because they represent opposite sides of human nature. Gatsby and Siddhartha deviate in their attitude towards wealth, nature of their goals, and success in achieving their goals. First of all, Gatsby finds importance in his wealth because he believes it will attract Daisy.
Back in 1917, Gatsby met Daisy in Louisville while he was a lieutenant in the army. They soon fell in love with each other. However Daisy s parents disapproved of Gatsby because he was not wealthy enough for Daisy. Jordan tells Nick, her mother had found her packing a bag one winter night to go to New York and say goodbye to a soldier (Gatsby) who was going overseas. She was effectually prevented (80). Thus she ended up marrying Tom Buchanan who has a large sum of family wealth.
Although Gatsby knows Daisy is married, he still has a great desire for her. After he returned to the US after the war, he became involved in illegal business so he could obtain wealth to attract Daisy. Jordan further explains to Nick, Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay (83). This shows how determined Gatsby was to have a close relationship with Daisy.
Finally, when Nick invites Daisy to meet Gatsby, Gatsby brings her to his mansion. He wants her to see how wealthy he became since they last met. As he hopes, Daisy is intrigued by the elegance and splendor of his home. Nick describes Gatsby s excitement as Gatsby watches Daisy s amusement, He hadn t once ceased looking at Daisy and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real (96 - 97). Also, Nick describes Daisy s voice, It was full of money-that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals song of it (127). Consequently, because wealth attracts Daisy, it is extremely important to Gatsby.
Unlike Gatsby, Siddhartha has no desire for wealth. He was born to a wealthy family and is the son of a Brahmin. Siddhartha leaves his family and wealth in search for inner peace and salvation. He joins the Semanas, lives an extremely austere life, and practices self-denial. His austere life with the Semanas shows that he has no desire for riches. After leaving the Semanas and meeting Gotama, he goes to a town and meets the beautiful Kamala.
Siddhartha decides to learn about love from Kamala. She likes him and sends him to live with the merchant, Kamaswami. Siddhartha learns business from Kamaswami and becomes a merchant himself. He becomes rich but is not happy with his wealth.
He begins to gamble because he likes anxiety and despises riches. Unlike for Gatsby, wealth is a hindrance for Siddhartha because it prevents him from reaching his ultimate goal. After realizing that he was sad and absorbed in life, he leaves Kamala and his wealth, never to return again. Secondly, Gatsby s goal in life is to marry Daisy. He is determined to win Daisy from Tom by attracting her with his wealth. Although he knows she is married and has a daughter, he still insists that they marry.
Also, Gatsby is selfish and does not think about the consequence their relationship would have on Daisy s daughter. He desperately wants Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him and wants a divorce. At the Plaza Hotel, Gatsby and Tom get in an argument over Daisy. Gatsby exclaims, She never loved you She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me but in her heart she never loved anyone except me (137). By blatantly saying this, Gatsby shows that he determined to win Daisy s heart. Unlike Gatsby, Siddhartha s goal in life is spiritual: to obtain happiness and inner peace.
He tells his father that he is going to part from him and join the Semanas in order to find happiness and salvation. But he does not find happiness with what he learns from the Semanas. He leaves them and visits Gotama. He finds Gotama to be very spiritual but decides that he has to go his own way to find salvation. Then he meets Kamala and Kamaswami.
He lives with them for 20 years. He does not find any salvation by living with them and thus leaves again. Therefore, Siddhartha continues to persevere toward his goal throughout his life. To conclude, the difference between Gatsby and Siddhartha s goals is that one is worldly and materialistic while the latter is spiritual. Last of all, Gatsby s perseverance towards his goal ends in disaster.
In his argument over Daisy with Tom, Tom exposes Gatsby s illegal business to Daisy. Tom had already investigated Gatsby s affairs and tells Daisy, He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter (141). Furthermore, Tom says to Gatsby, That drug store business was just small change but you have something now that Walter s afraid to tell me about (141). Until Daisy heard this, she was ready to leave Tom for Gatsby. But after exposing Gatsby s affairs to Daisy, Tom convinces Daisy to remain his wife rather than marry a gangster. Tom is so confident that she would remain with him that he let Gatsby drive Daisy home.
Gatsby lets Daisy drive and she runs into and kills Tom s mistress, Myrtle, who runs into the middle of the road. Daisy does not stop and drives home. The next day, Myrtle s husband, Wilson, finds Gatsby and shoots him because he thought he ran Myrtle over. Thus Gatsby is unsuccessful in his goal and dies trying to win Daisy from Tom. In contrast to Gatsby, Siddhartha eventually achieves his ultimate goal in life. After he leaves Kamala and Kamaswami, he goes to the river.
He feels deep love for the river and decides to live with the ferryman, Vasudeva. Everyday he learns from the river. Siddhartha listens to the river and hears everything in unity. He hears Om, perfection. Consequently, because he hears Om, he obtains inner peace and salvation. Thus, Siddhartha is successful in his ultimate and spiritual goal in life.
In conclusion, one can comprehend the two opposite sides of human nature by analyzing Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby and Hesse s Siddhartha. By examining Gatsby and Siddhartha s attitude towards wealth, goals in life, and success at achieving their goals, one can differentiate the spiritual side of human nature from the materialistic side. However, even without concentrating on specific aspects, The Great Gatsby and Siddhartha provide profound understanding of human nature.
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