Love's Impact in Hemingway and Fitzgerald

Love’s Consequences

In life, love is an interesting emotion. This love has two paths that are demonstrated in Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Love is a prison that could provide hope or result in one being in an emotionally impaired state.

In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, love leads to the passing of Gatsby, the protagonist. Before Gatsby’s passing, and even before his introduction, Daisy Buchanan married Tom Buchanan.

Though they are married, they don’t spend a lot of time with each other, which leads into Daisy meeting Gatsby for tea. Once Gatsby and Daisy meet, Daisy forgets that she is married to Tom. For example, Gatsby and Daisy ride to New York City in a car separate from Tom, Jordan Baker, and the narrator, Nick. Towards the end, Gatsby realizes that Daisy is back with Tom at Tom’s house though Tom and Daisy still have no love for each other.

Put aside money and fame, Gatsby feels that Daisy will never will love him and that he dedicates his life just for Daisy because that is what his primary love is. All these events lead to Gatsby’s death, which is a sign that love, for Gatsby, results in him being in an emotionally impaired state.

In The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, many events occur that lead to Jake Barnes’ hope for love. Cohn and Brett have a very interesting relationship, but it does not work out.

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At many points, Cohn keeps following Brett around like a puppy happily following its owner. For example, Brett and Jake “met Cohn as they [Jake and Brett) came out of the church” (151). Cohn, making it obvious that he was following Jake and Brett, made Brett felt annoyed that he keeps following her around all the time. As for Jake and Brett’s relationship, they hang out a lot, especially at bars and diners. Whenever Brett needs something, she would always go to Jake for advice and inspiration because she is divorcing her husband and needs to find another partner to love. Jake goes to visit Brett in Madrid and they talk about Mike. After a while, Jake agrees with Brett that they “could have such a damned good time together” (247). Jake’s love for Brett provides hope that their relationship will get better when they spend more time with each other.

In Winter’s Bone, by Daniel Woodrell, there are some conflicting paths for love. Ree Dolly, the main character and protagonist, has been raising herself since the age of 12 as a result of her mother recovering from a mental breakdown. Also, her father and relatives, mainly who are male, cook and smoke meth. That, combined with Ree raising herself and her two brothers, shows that Ree does not have any men in her life that can help her through many conflicts. For example, when Ree travels to Hawkfall to talk to Thump Milton, his wife, Mrs. Thump, states that “he ain’t likely to talk to have time for you” (61). This shows that many men do not show love for Ree in her life. On the other hand, Ree encounters people that love her. When Ree gets beaten up by the lady Thumps, her best friend, Gail, and her two brothers, Sonny and Harold, take care of her. Also, Sonny and Harold depend on Ree and her motherly skills to become smart children, which in return, they show love for her by hanging out with her when she teaches them new life skills, such as shooting and cooking. Both the “absence” of men and the support of her brothers and Gail leaves Ree in both a mentally impaired state and provide some hope for her in the future.

Love is a prison that can provide insight or leave one to be mentally impaired. Many of the events in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, and Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell demonstrate two paths of love. In many cases, love could end up in a similar situation of Jay Gatsby or end up like Jake, where he and Brett are together at the very end. Also, it could be a mix of those two characters, but it happens less often.