In both F. Scott FitzgeraldÆs (1948) The Great Gatsby and Tennessee WilliamsÆ (1947) A Streetcar Named Desire, the respective settings prevent the dreams of Jay Gatsby and Blanche DuBois from being realized. In the case of Jay Gatsby, the setting is superficial and prevents him from realizing genuine love. In the case of Blanche DuBois, the setting is brutal and prevents her from finding human compassion. In both cases, Gatsby and Blanche are prevented from realizing their dreams from an unforgiving setting that is not conducive to their respective personalities.
The setting of which Jay Gatsby is a member is one that is ostentatious, flamboyant, and excessive. Characteristic of the Jazz era and flapper abandon of the 1920s, GatsbyÆs setting is one that is looked upon with disdain by the narrator, Nick Carraway, who tells us ôGatsby represented everything for which I have an unaffected scornö (Fitzgerald 1948, 8). GatsbyÆs ideals of romantic love and heroism are those of an adolescent. Gatsby does not reveal the truth of the accident that killed Mable Wilson, and he pays for his ôheroicö actions with his life.
GatsbyÆs idealization of Daisy prevents him from telling the truth, one which would save his life but doom him. More the idealized notion of love of an adolescent than the realistic, love of a mature adult, GatsbyÆs setting encourages his death. People like Daisy, Tom, and even Nick, are self-absorbed and superficial. Nick may be more profound and genuine than any of them, but he could have insisted the truth be told. Nick comes to realize the honor and dignity in Gatsby, one that is unappreciated by those in his superficial setting. ôTheyÆre a rotten crowdàYouÆre worth the whole damn bunch put together,ö he tells Gatsby (Fitzgerald 1948, 137).
Like the individual in GatsbyÆs setting cannot appreciate or return his idealized notions of love and honor, those in the setting of
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