Beauty In The Great Gatsby's

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One might argue that beauty in some instances represents opportunity, such as the wealthy and well-dressed mill visitors. The men provide such a stark contrast to the men of the mine that the appearance of “the glamour of another order of being” (27) caused the workers to become “entirely” silent. The attractive men then proceed to tell Hugh that he has the capacity “to live a better, stronger life, than [the Doctor] or Mr. Kirby” (37) because he can sculpt. However, these men only speak of Hugh moving up in the world, but do not offer any substantive assistance. These men tempt Hugh and Deborah with their polished appearances and words, yet claim they “have not the means” (37) to help Hugh pursue his sculpting professionally. They instead …show more content…
Davis urges the reader to think that “God put onto this man’s soul a thirst for beauty, - to know it, to create it; to be - something, he knows not what, - other than he is” (25). Instead of being able to work in the mills to sustain himself and advance his position through this and sculpting, Hugh instead is distracted and driven to desire more: to “be” more, to “create” more, and to “know” more of “beauty”. Not only does this passion cause Hugh to give unnecessary attention and resources to Janey, prevent him from caring for Deb, and waste time experiencing a reaction of painful need at the sight of “a passing cloud, the sun glinting on the purple thistles, a kindly smile, a child’s face” (25), but this passion spurs Hugh, and even Deb, to want more and pursue it unethically. After hearing all that money could do, Deb steals money from the rich mill visitors and gives it to Hugh, claiming that it is his right to keep it. Hugh’s love of beauty overpowers him, causing him to question “was it not his right to live as the [wealthy], - a pure life, a good, true-hearted life, full of beauty and kind words?” (46). Hugh decides to keep the stolen money instead of potentially moving up through his sculpting, and pays for it with a sentence of nineteen years of hard labor in the
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