The Great Gatsby is very much like the book The Scarlet Letter. This is so because the story is based on peoples relationships, most of them being affairs and ties with married individuals. Tom Buchanan, a character in The Great Gatsby, is an example of this. Buchanan is married to Nick’s, the narrator’s, cousin. One day, Buchanan brings Nick to introduce him to Mrs. Wilson, his “girl.” Mrs. Wilson is also married. When Mrs. Wilson heard Tom came to visit, she walked “through her husband as if he were a ghost” (Fitzgerald 26). Unlike the Scarlet Letter, this was not a rare thing, and many people had relationships with married people. Yes, it was a horrible thing to do, but people did it anyway. This was a significant part of the book because the main character, Gatsby, just wants to be with Daisy, a married woman, who in the end is not able to be with her. Gatsby is killed, and that is because of another relationship. The whole novel is about different relationships, and Gatsby is not able to be with his love, just like in the Scarlet Letter, where the main character, Hester, is not able to be with hers.
Hmm... I never thought that The Great Gatsby and The Scarlet Letter could be related, but now I see the connections which you explained. The adultery is a key topic emphasized in both novels, and the two love-seeking men are both hindered from seeing the women they desire. I'm not entirely sure though that many people in the time of The Scarlet Letter were involved in adulterous relationships, since it was widely frowned upon in their society. There could be a connection in that adulterous relationships in The Scarlet Letter were condemned, but the relationships in The Great Gatsby were allowed and sometimes encouraged. Your connections made though were evident and insightful.
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