Englsh gatsby

English Essay
A good life means different things for different people. Consider how a good life is represented in at least two works studied.
In the novel ¨”The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fritzgerald and “ One Flew Over The Cuckoo´s Nest” by Ken Kesey there is a standard set by society of what a good life should be.
For instance, in “The Great Gatsby” the idea of a good life is having power.This is represented by the houses, money, women, cars , clothes and sports that someone from a high economic income should have. While in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo´s nest” a good life is to follow the “Combine” to abide by the rules of the government personified as the big nurse and as long as the “rabbits” obey they will be ready to meet the demands from society.
In addition, the places where thecharacters live showcase two sides. Two realities. If someone follows the rules of society and works hard they will be rewarded with luxuries. Big houses, fancy cars, extravagant parties, butler and tons of food like in a “Amusement Park.” For those who are unable to fit in society and it´s rules they are sent to the asylum. In this place the patients live under a fake democracy, the big nurse hasthe final say on everything. The patients must obey the rules if they don´t want to be punished with “ EST” or a “lobotomy” They were sent there to be “fixed” to change their behavior because according to society they aren´t meeting the demands. While some volunteer to be there they actually had no choice since they aren´t successful in the outside the world.
For instance, two characters thatshow these two outcomes, these two paths that individuals can follow at life are Tom Buchanan and Billy Bibbit. The first one succeeds at life and is able to overcome his obstacles while the latter ends up committing suicide unable to cope with the repercussions of his actions.
For instance Tom Buchanan is capable of surviving in society. While Billy Bibbit is not. Both have problems but thedifference is that Tom is able to solve his problems while Billy is not. Tom is not looking for anyone´s approval he does whatever he wants and the others need to accept it. While Billy seeks for his mother´s shelter to escape society. Tom is a university graduate while Billy is thirty-one and has not even attended. Tom cheats on his wife yet his wife still loves him. Billy is still a virgin untilthe end of the book. Billy is shy, weak and scared “Look McM-M-M-Murphy, wait.” While Tom is powerful “It was a body capable of enormous leverage-a cruel body” confident and arrogant.
But it is not only their personalities which show their ability to face society. It is also their physical characteristics and their way of talking, walking and interacting with others. For instance, Tom is wellbuilt while Billy is skinny. Tom walks with a certain “gait” that shows confidence while Billy does not. Billy stutters while talking “You d-don’t n-n-need!”. While Tom talks with sarcasm “ That´s so?”. Even, the physical way in which Tom grabs people by the arm and makes them hear him. While Billy Bibbit looks younger than he should.
We see that society present us with two polarizing kind of people.A leader and a follower. The first one imposes his rules on the others, gets things done the way he wants it. While the other has the rules from others imposed on him. In addition, Tom is independent, others seek his approval and companionship while Billy is dependent on his mother and the big nurse.
However there is a dark side of this representation of ´the good life´. For instance, in orderfor Gatsby to acquire his wealth he used the means of illegal gambling and bootlegging “He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drugstores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.” This shows us that the means of acquiring this dream-like life where flawed. At the same time this good life is very superficial. The people who went to the parties were not even...