Leaf by Niggle and Great Gatsby Similarities

Zach Charlton

Prof. Janet Lermitte

November 25

Similarities in Niggle and Gatsby

Whether it's the materialism present in both novels, the extensive use of symbolism, or the fact that both stories show how meaningless worldly possessions are, “Leaf by Niggle” and “The Great Gatsby” have many similar themes to compare. In “The Great Gatsby”, materialism is mainly present through money while in “Leaf by Niggle” it shows itself through a painting. Symbols are rampant throughout these readings and the meaninglessness of worldly possessions is made all too clear to both the fictional characters and the reader.

If you ask anyone to talk about one aspect of “The Great Gatsby”, its likely that they will begin to explain a lavish, extravagant party at Gatsby’s mansion. When watching the movies (especially the more recently made one) the scenes set up for the parties are breathtaking. A quote in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel states, “There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars.” [pg 43] There is Gold everywhere, people dancing, drinks flowing freely and lives being in excess to the extreme. In the novel Gatsby even says himself that he doesn’t like parties. He throws party not for his own enjoyment but to gain social status by flaunting the one thing he has so much of, his wealth. Gatsby knows that his social group values wealth and even more importantly the woman he is chasing values wealth and Gatsby’s riches is what seems to grab her attention.

The following scene described on PrepScholor by Anna Wulick from Fitzgerald’s book especially highlights Daisy’s obsession with riches.

“He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher—shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue. Suddenly with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.

"They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before."[pg 118-119]

This part of the story is not only slightly humorous but also shows just how twisted Daisy is. She doesn’t show this much emotion anywhere before this, not after a long conversation with Gatsby or even after seeing his massive mansion. She is instead the most amazed by this very conspicuous showing of opulence. The materialism is all too prevalent.

Although it’s not shown through massive parties, luxurious cars or different colored collared shirts, Niggle in “Leaf by Niggle” also shows materialism in his life. He’s absolutely obsessed with this painting that he is working on; obsessed to the point that he neglects other aspects of life like his garden. The painting is what he lives for, all his thought time and energy goes toward it save the one situation when he rode his bicycle into town for Parish. This next quote from J.R.R Tolkien’s “Tales From the Perilous Realm” shows just how much of Niggle’s thought is devoted to his painting. “When people came to call, he seemed polite enough, though he fiddled a little with the pencils on his desk. He listened to what they said, but underneath he was thinking all the time about his big canvas, in the tall shed that had been built for it out in his garden (on a plot where once he had grown potatoes).”[pg 286] Niggle was clearly obsessed this painting in a similar way that Gatsby and Daisy were obsessed with wealth.

As stated earlier, the authors of both these stories use symbolism to its fullest extent. The Schmoop Editorial Team points out how F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the colors integrated in the story as symbols. The main colors used are Green, which symbolizes what people want, White, which represents the hollowness of people, Red of course symbolizes blood and finally yellow, arguably the most common color, symbolizes wealth and materialism. Green being used as a symbol is apparent very early in the novel as it describes Gatsby reaching for the light that’s on the end of Daisy’s dock. Throughout the plot Gatsby is wanting to be with Daisy, wanting to impress her. What might be noticed throughout the novel is how Daisy is often associated with the color white and just as the symbol suggests, Daisy is quite a shallow/hollow person. Another character, Tom, is recognized as a man with a quick temper who is selfish and cruel. Its fitting he’s often associated with the color red. Just as yellow portrays a sense of wealth or materialism so do the people who wear it. From Gatsby’s yellow tie to Doctor T. J. Eckleburg’s yellow spectacles to Daisy being described as a “Golden Woman; yellow is probably the most symbolistic color in the book.

Leaf by Niggle is seen by Wayne G Hammond from Tolkien Library and the author

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