Willy and Gatsby

Reading both The Great Gatsby and The Death of a Salesman taught me a lot about life through the similarities between the main characters. Both Gatsby and Willy Loman die after living a long life through a dream of what they thought should have been. Gatsby lived most of his adult life wondering what it would be like to be with Daisy, the love of his life. When the opportunity to be with her comes, he is thrilled. However, he dies in the novel. In a way, you can say he deserves it because he lived through this dream and acted upon it when it presented itself even though Daisy was married. You cannot always get what you want especially when it involves hurting others. Karma will eventually find its way to get you.
Willy Loman’s story is similar but different. He lived his life in the dream of being a successful salesman because that was the kind of work he knew and did his entire adult life. His problem was that he wished to live more successfully through his sons, no matter the cost. This sons Happy and Biff didn’t quite see the joy in becoming a salesman, but wanted the love and satisfaction of their father. Willy put a lot of pressure on his sons especially the oldest, Biff. As a result Biff grew a feeling of resentment towards him. As Willy grew older and began to have episodes of illusions of the past, his wife and sons grew concerned. Biff did nothing except trying to please his father even though it didn’t work out the way Willy had hoped. Willy ended up committing suicide at the end of the book. I show only a small feeling of pity for Willy because all he knew was the life of a salesman and ultimately wanted success for his boys. However, the way he approached his goal for them was not right. You cannot treat others, especially family bad just because of your wants. Willy should have been supportive with any choice that Biff made with his life even if being a salesman was not one of them.
Both Gatsby and Willy strived for what they wanted. They did not care if it meant hurting people in the process. Or did they? The ultimate question that we face in life when we encounter people like Gatsby and Willy is; are they aware of the way they affect others by the way they act? Do they hurt others on purpose or are they just unable to change the way they push people and loved ones for their own dreams? I like to believe it has something to do with the way they were originally raised by their families. Everything you experience in life affects the person you become, and sometimes not always for the better. I do not believe that Willy and Gatsby were bad people. They let their dreams get the best of them and they unconsciously hurt people along the way. However, everything you do wrong in life catches up to you and in their case it was their very own death.