For me, The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire distinguished themselves as my two favorite pieces from our syllabus. The incredible depth Fitzgerald and Williams go into surrounding the characters is truly fantastic, and both works are really masterpieces of American literature. Within each text several themes map out wonderful narratives, but specifically each work examines the theme of identity. In this post I would like to contrast the theme of identity in each work as it relates to Gatsby and Stanley, and illustrate how the two characters construct their identities in wildly different manners.
For Jay Gatsby, identity is entirely dependent upon the external motivation of Daisy’s love. Every aspect of his life is formed in order to win back Daisy, and as a result his identity is constructed in her image. He lives a lavish lifestyle because he believes that is what she wants. He chooses home in New York because he wants to be close to her. He illegally earns a living because he wants to have enough money to please her. He is guided to become whatever Daisy would look for in a man. I believe this is because before meeting Daisy, Gatsby was somewhat identity-less. He was a poor soldier looking for his place in the world, and upon finding Daisy he seems to have found the purpose of his life. From that point he began constructing his identity with her in mind, and until his death his life revolved around her. Ultimately, his entire life is designed to mimic Daisy’s, and his identity completely depends upon her.
Stanley Kowalski, on the other hand, constructs his identity in essentially the opposite manner. His sense of self is completely intrinsically motivated, and he refuses to allow women to shape him in any way. When others such as Blanche or Stella attempt to manipulate his identity he reacts in outrage and violence. Stanley develops his identity in the image of the completely dominant male. He always needs to be right and superior, and when Blanche attempts to challenge this he fixes the imbalance of superiority by dominating her physically. That is also a major aspect of Stanley’s identity: his animalistic physical side. He behaves aggressively towards Stella
and Blanche in an attempt to maintain this quality. He becomes violent when his superiority and physicality are questioned. Ultimately, when his identity is challenged, he corrects this by enhancing the physical and superior sides of himself by bursting with rage, beating his wife, drinking, and eventually raping Blanche.
While Gatsby’s identity is more romantic than Stanley’s, and Stanley’s appears more masculine, both identities are flawed. Gatsby depends too heavily on Daisy, and Stanley does not allow Stella to influence him enough. Gatsby and Stanley should have been friends so they could even out each other’s flaws.
Hope you enjoyed my take on identity in these two incredible works!
– Evan K.
American Lit 309 Fall 13 
Evan,
This post seemed very thought through and was really interesting to read. I really enjoyed how you were able to connect two main characters who, like you said, are very very different. I wrote my final paper on Gatsby’s identity and how his whole life revolved around her, and he almost reinvented himself so she would one day return back into his life. He will continue to be one of my favorite characters in all of American literature. Really good job!
It is a great idea to contrast these two characters and how they define their identity differently. In real life, we may also put sometimes too emphasis on one item, may be a Phd Degree, a expensive car or a job title, which ultimately let these things to shape our identity. I would argue how we shape our identity will determine how we would make choices, make friends even change our fate, as Jay Gatsby, who originally can have a more lucky life rather than drowning in his fantasy.
This was a really interesting comparison of the two characters. They seem so different but then you address that they are both flawed because of their personalities which ties them together. They both refuse to be changed. Gatsby refuses to give up on Daisy and Stanley refuses to give up his dominance. Very interesting take!
Evan,
the Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire were my favorites from the semester as well! I agree with your theories on how Jay and Stanley define themselves. I think it is easy to get caught up in trying to please someone else just like it is easy to get caught up in trying to avoid being defined by someone else. I wonder how Jay and Stanley would have turned out if they had not been so concerned with other people’s perceptions of them.
Evan,
In my opinion, there is even less of a divide between Gatsby and Stanley than you suggested. Both are quite selfish characters in the end. Although Gatsby was living his life specifically just to win back Daisy, he still greedily ends up demanding she toss away years of her life for him, to basically annul her marriage right then and there. Your comparison between the two characters is very interesting and thought provoking.