Wow, I am really gassing up this Shadow and Gatsby thing, huh? Once you fall down the rabbit hole, it’s hard to pull yourself out of it!
Shadow’s themes in Sonic Adventure 2, “Throw It All Away” and “For True Story,” can also serve as themes for Gatsby.
For “Throw It All Away,” I’ll be working with the first verse of the song.
Everybody tries to be straight
But things are still unchanged
It's useless to resist this
Their effort will be wasted
Head straight for your goal by any means
There is a door that you never have opened
There is a window with the view you have never seen
Get there, no matter how long it takes
Lyrics like “There is a door that you have never opened / There is a window with a view you have never seen” echo Gatsby’s fixation on the life he imagined with Daisy—a future akin to a mirage that appears on the horizon from the rising sun; it’s not real. Gatsby’s relentless delusional belief that he can recreate the past parallels another lyric in the song: “Get there, no matter how long it takes.” The line encapsulates the obsessive drive, vengeance and hopeless romanticism, fueling both characters in the present. Similarly, “Head straight for your goal by any means” musically mirrors Gatsby’s single-minded self-destructive pursuit of Daisy. He reinvents himself by accumulating wealth through questionable means and in turn, Gatsby sacrifices his peaceful reintegration back into society for a past out of reach. My favorite lyric that parallels Gatsby, and very perfectly I may add, is “You see the light wherever you go / You have to face it again and again.” It eerily mirrors Gatsby’s constant reach for the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. What started out as a symbol of hope in the beginning of The Great Gatsby, eventually turned into a painful reminder of everything he can’t truly attain.
In the case of “For True Story,” the song creates an emotional backdrop with its stark repetitive imagery.
Stars don’t twinkle
The moon doesn’t shine
Birds don’t sing
The wind doesn’t blow
The desolate world it paints represents the emotional numbness hidden beneath the waters of Gatsby’s charismatic front. When the party’s over, he is surrounded by the deafening silence of his own longing. There’s no more music and no more laughter to distract him from the hollow echoes of an unrealistic dream. Finally, “I’m shivering with cold / I struggle against despair” brings us closer to the core of Gatsby and Shadow. They’re haunted by loss and cursed with chasing illusions based on the past.
Bibliography
Bradley, Everett. “For True Story…for Sonic Vs. Shadow” Sonic Adventure 2 (Original Soundtrack), Vol. 2, SEGA, 2002. https://music.apple.com/us/album/for-true-story-for-sonic-vs-shadow/481136982?i=481137059
Bradley, Everett. “Throw It All Away” Sonic Adventure 2 (Original Soundtrack), Vol. 2, SEGA, 2002. https://music.apple.com/us/album/throw-it-all-away-theme-of-shadow-the-hedgehog/481136982?i=481137001
Ariel Vernon Harris
I had never thought of comparing Shadow and Gatsby before! This goes to show how the themes of The Great Gatsby, such as Gatsby’s unrealistic dreams and his continuous being pushed back into the past, are seen in the 21st century.
Amaya Fabela
Honestly it’s pretty crazy that these unlikely parallels exist. Even now, several days later, I am still shocked. I’m currently trying to think of other Sonic characters that could have their own TGG parallel. If not them, what about other franchises? Either way, I am sure there are way more that have yet to be discovered. I am open to recommendations lol