| As Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy has recently | | | | Mr. Buchanan is an abusive jock who's never had to |
| reminded us, one of the most attractive features of a | | | | work a day in his life. Gatsby can't wrap his head |
| work of literature is a strong central character. | | | | around the fact that: A) Tom Buchanan isn't going to |
| Compelling or not, however, some protagonists are just | | | | give up his trophy wife without a fight; B) Gatbsy's |
| too strong for their own good. Here are three classic | | | | ill-gotten money is "new" and therefore inferior to the |
| examples of characters whose unwillingness to | | | | kind that splashes around in the same family for ten |
| compromise leads to their personal downfall. | | | | generations; and C) Daisy is a shallow and |
| Example One: The Romantic Politician. He's sensitive, | | | | self-absorbed woman who isn't worth Gatsby's trouble |
| he's idealistic, and he's just found out what everyone | | | | to begin with. Even in the final moments before his |
| means by that whole politics-is-like-making-sausage | | | | death - which, incidentally, is also Daisy's fault - Gatsby |
| thing. It's Prince Hamlet, and he doesn't appreciate the | | | | doesn't stop believing that she'll run away with him one |
| fact that Uncle Claudius murdered the king and married | | | | day. The Great Gatsby is a great reminder that first |
| the queen in order to inherit the kingship. Other guys in | | | | love doesn't necessarily mean best love. |
| Hamlet's situation might be peeved that Claudius cut | | | | Example Three: The Aging Bachelor. He's lonely, he's |
| them in line for the throne. Not so with this Danish | | | | balding, and he can't seem to work up the nerve to tell |
| prince; what really irks him is that his mother stops | | | | that special someone how he feels. It's J. Alfred |
| wearing her mourning clothes and remarries just | | | | Prufrock, and he's the antithesis of Fitzgerald's Gatsby. |
| weeks after her husband's death. | | | | If you're wondering how on earth Prufrock fits into this |
| Although his standard of personal integrity is admirable, | | | | list, bear with us. Admittedly, he's not the most inspiring |
| Hamlet seems to have forgotten that he and his royal | | | | of characters. His rambling, muddled verse mirrors his |
| family members have certain responsibilities to the | | | | uncertainty and lack of confidence, and his eventual |
| kingdom. Instead of simply A) avenging his father's | | | | decision not to woo his lady love sure doesn't kickstart |
| death and taking charge of the country or B) making | | | | our day. But given the flavor of his time, Prufrock |
| peace with the situation and let his uncle deal with the | | | | actually makes a pretty bold - if sometimes incoherent |
| impending war with Norway, Hamlet chooses to C) | | | | - statement. |
| goes down in flames and takes the entire royal court | | | | A lot of Prufrock's poem has to do with tea, cakes, |
| with him. The fact that a politically-savvy, | | | | ices, skirts that trail along the floor, men without |
| do-what-it-takes kind of guy like Claudius might just be | | | | shirtsleeves, brooches, neckties, and coffee spoons. |
| what Denmark needs never even crosses Hamlet's | | | | That's because it's 1915 and, let's face it, the party isn't |
| mind. Shakespeare's Hamlet goes to show that | | | | starting for another few years. In the meantime, |
| sometimes, integrity and politics just don't mix. | | | | Prufrock feels trapped by absurd social conventions |
| Example Two: The Love-Struck Dreamer. He's young, | | | | that belittle any feelings that are grand, spontaneous, or |
| he's ambitious, and he just can't get over his childhood | | | | true. Over and over he considers expressing himself to |
| sweetheart. It's Jay Gatsby, and he wishes he knew | | | | his mystery woman before finally deciding that no |
| how to quit you. In the meantime, though, he's | | | | words could do his emotion justice. Rather than |
| reinvented himself, made a fortune through bootlegging, | | | | attempt to make a relationship work in a boring, |
| and bought himself a mansion near yours because he | | | | bourgeois, oh-so-earthbound way, Prufrock keeps his |
| "happened to be in the neighborhood." What we can't | | | | feelings to himself in their original, undiluted form. Oh |
| emphasize enough is that, in spite of all this | | | | yeah, and resigns himself to being the male equivalent |
| unbelievably good fortune, Gatsby's worldly trappings | | | | of an old spinster. The Love Song of J. Alfred |
| are simply the means to an end: the real prize is and | | | | Prufrock is a testament to the fact that no relationship |
| always has been the beautiful Daisy Fay. | | | | happens without compromise. |
| ...Except that Daisy Fay is now Daisy Buchanan - and | | | | |