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Similarities
- Both Novels have a God like narrator. Briony says: 'can a novelist achieve atonement when, with her... power of deciding outcomes, she is ... God.' She is responsible for Robbie and Cecilia's fate so she provides their salvation and 'heaven' by changing their fates in her writing. Nick is God like as he seem omniscient he states; 'I was with and without simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.' This suggests omniscience and judgement. He also like Briony provides Gatsby's salvation in his writing- clearing Gatsby's name and renewing his reputation as 'The Great Gatsby.
- Both Nick and Briony suffer from their stories and this makes them unreliable. Nick suffers mentally after Gatsby's death which means his recollection may be slightly skewed and exaggerated. Briony has been diagnosed with ' vascular dementia' which means she is losing her memory so her recollection of events is also unreliable.
- Symbolism features heavily throughout each novel-The vase in atonement symbolises how easily relationships can be broken and symbolises the breaking of the relationship between Briony and Cecilia, Cecilia and her family, Cecilia and society and for a period Cecilia and Robbie. Just like in the Great Gatsby where the Green light represents Gatsby's hope for love. He reaches out to the green light, he stretches out towards it but he will never reach it showing how unrealistic his ambition of gaining Daisy's love. 'tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...'
- Class feature heavily as both male figures are trying to infiltrate the barriers of Old Money- Jay breaks the American Dream by fighting for Daisy and Robbie breaks societal laws as he tries to gain Cecilia's love. They both long to break societies boundaries to gain love.
- They both end in death. The death of those trying to break societies barriers- Gatsby is killed by love and Robbie and Cecilia are killed by love/ war.
- Both characters are affected by war- Nick and Gatsby fought through ww1 and Robbie eventually fights in WW2.
- Both narrators are on the outside of these relationships looking in, observing their journey, however their choices impact what happens in these relationships; 'I didn't want to leave Gatsby.' but he did and Gatsby died in his absence. Could things have been different if he stayed? For Briony we see her decision to falsely report **** lead to Robbie's ignominy and long prison sentence. Had she been able to renounce her overwhelming need for control and order Cecilia and Robbie's fate would have been different; 'The world not one she could make but the one that had made her.'
- Both Narrators immortalise their characters in the pages so they can be remembered in a favourable way encouraging a sympathetic reaction from the audience. The narrator determines the point of view that the audience will take?: 'When I am dead... we will only exist as my invention.'
- Nick and Briony are. both driven by guilt which will impact the reliability of their side of the story: ' Guilt refined...d detailed not an eternal loop, a rosary to be fingered for a lifetime.' They are both seeking forgiveness for the role they played In the fate of their character. 'I've always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave to him.'
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Differences
- Nick Is not responsible for Gatsby's failure to attain his gain. He did not stand in the way of love he encouraged it. Briony instead prevented love.
- Briony speaks from the high class perspective from the outside looking in on a love affair between the classes. Nick is looking from the outside of the middle class into the wealthy families of old and new money.
- Setting is different as Atonement is set on the late 1930's early 1940's during world war two whereas The great Gatsby is set in the roaring 20's just after world war one. Atonement is set in England where class plays a heavy role in all aspects whether its relationships, politics or trade. Whereas, The Great Gatsby is set in America where the idea of the American Dream is heavy. Old Money is beginning to be infiltrated by those who built themselves up.
- Briony's account is written years later whereas Nick writes of these events in the years that followed the events.
- Briony was very young when these events happened therefore she would not fully understand the consequences of her actions and it would provide us with a childlike view to the situation. Whereas, Nick is in his late twenties when he meets Gatsby as he says; 'Thirty- the promise of a decade of loneliness.
- Cecilia truly loves Robbie and is not prepared to abandon him and shows how true her love was that she was prepared to overlook social barriers. Daisy however was not and abandoned Gatsby in order to protect her reputation and allowed an innocent man to be killed in order to save her own skin; 'They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and then retreated into their money and let other people clean up the mess they had made.'
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