My thesis for this essay is that the Great Gatsby is not an allegory for animal beastiality. First of all, Gatsby contains no animal characters. Because of this, the likelihood that F. Scott Fitzgerald's work was a veiled reference to man-on-animal love is very low. Second, there is no evidence than any of the characters are attracted to animals. While Gatsby does have an attraction to Daisy, there is nothing in the text to indicate that her character metaphorically embodies animalistic qualities. In conclusion, there is no possible way that the Great Gatsby represents an attempt to introduce zoophilia to mainstream American society. After examining all of the evidence one can clearly see that this simply cannot be the case.
First of all, Gatsby contains no animal characters.
The Great Gatsby contains two dogs and a cat. While none are given names, one of the dogs (an Airedale bought by Myrtle Wilson) appears several times and has some identifiable characteristics.
Second, there is no evidence than any of the characters are attracted to animals.
In fact, it contains this scene:
"She looked at me and laughed pointlessly. Then she flounced over to the dog, kissed it with ecstasy and swept into the kitchen, implying that a dozen chefs awaited her orders there."
In conclusion, although bestiality is not one of the novel's primary themes, there is evidence that at least one character makes out with a dog at some point.
Please note: the only reason I have time to go and grep -iw gatsby.txt for "dog" is that I'm waiting for the program I'm writing to finish executing. This is why speed is important in exploratory programming.
Comments
My thesis for this essay is that the Great Gatsby is not an allegory for animal beastiality. First of all, Gatsby contains no animal characters. Because of this, the likelihood that F. Scott Fitzgerald's work was a veiled reference to man-on-animal love is very low. Second, there is no evidence than any of the characters are attracted to animals. While Gatsby does have an attraction to Daisy, there is nothing in the text to indicate that her character metaphorically embodies animalistic qualities. In conclusion, there is no possible way that the Great Gatsby represents an attempt to introduce zoophilia to mainstream American society. After examining all of the evidence one can clearly see that this simply cannot be the case.
I disagree.
First of all, Gatsby contains no animal characters.
The Great Gatsby contains two dogs and a cat. While none are given names, one of the dogs (an Airedale bought by Myrtle Wilson) appears several times and has some identifiable characteristics.
Second, there is no evidence than any of the characters are attracted to animals.
In fact, it contains this scene:
"She looked at me and laughed pointlessly. Then she flounced over to the dog, kissed it with ecstasy and swept into the kitchen, implying that a dozen chefs awaited her orders there."
In conclusion, although bestiality is not one of the novel's primary themes, there is evidence that at least one character makes out with a dog at some point.
Please note: the only reason I have time to go and grep -iw gatsby.txt for "dog" is that I'm waiting for the program I'm writing to finish executing. This is why speed is important in exploratory programming.