Dionysos

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Something occurred to me relatively recently which I hadn't seen anywhere before.

Rinoa's father is named General Fury Caraway. Rinoa's mother, Julia, was killed in a car crash when Rinoa was a younger.

You know how Deling City has a sort of early 20th century classy vibe to it? At times a bit of art deco and bright lights? A lot of high culture, music bars, flashy cars?

Well, think about F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1925). Now think about its narrator, Nick Carraway. See where I am going with this?

Is General Caraway a loose allusion to Fitzgerald's Carraway? The aesthetics of the place match that sort of world and social status of America's aspiring elite in the early 20th century.

And you know what? One of the core developments in the plot of that book concerns a car accident and consequent death. Does this possibility perhaps enhance the relevance of the unseen death of Julia, or is it all entirely a coincidence?

Discuss!
 
It's certainly not that far fetched considering there's quite a few other outside allusions to other media such as Star Wars & Star Trek! The series definitely loves slipping in all sorts of allusions, and unsurprisingly FFIX is filled with with even more than just the FF references. That said, I don't see any references in regards to Caraway in the FFVIII allusions page of the FF Wiki, but I definitely suggest taking a stroll through the all the pages for all the games if any of you haven't already! Just for fun :lew:

I myself haven't read or watched The Great Gatsby, as I am uncultured swine, though I do see what you mean about the location references, the name & the car crash. Very interesting catch, it'd be cool if this was previously an unknown allusion and you happened to connect the dots first :lew:
 
It's certainly not that far fetched considering there's quite a few other outside allusions to other media such as Star Wars & Star Trek! The series definitely loves slipping in all sorts of allusions, and unsurprisingly FFIX is filled with with even more than just the FF references. That said, I don't see any references in regards to Caraway in the FFVIII allusions page of the FF Wiki, but I definitely suggest taking a stroll through the all the pages for all the games if any of you haven't already! Just for fun :lew:

I myself haven't read or watched The Great Gatsby, as I am uncultured swine, though I do see what you mean about the location references, the name & the car crash. Very interesting catch, it'd be cool if this was previously an unknown allusion and you happened to connect the dots first :lew:
Inb4 someone edits it into the wiki while I remain unseen and kept in obscurity forever. :thehead:
It wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened to me! I've seen some of my original mythology takes pop up in other places after my articles were released. I guess the forum format seems like fair game for plunder without citation/referencing back, etc!

I'm not sure if I'm the first or not on this Fury Caraway thing, but I've never encountered the possible connection before and it is definitely not something which is commonly shared/noticed.


This is what I mean about the aesthetics btw (FFVIII images from FF Wikia).

Gatsby FFVIII.png

Basically a jazz lounge which wouldn't be out of place in 1920s America.



Gatsby FFVIII 2.png
Gatsby FFVIII 3.png

Vaguely art deco style architecture and patterning.

800px-Paris-FR-75-Expo_1925_Arts_d%C3%A9coratifs-pavillon_des_Galeries_Lafayette.jpg


Gatsby FFVIII 7.png


Chrysler_Building_Lobby.jpg





Gatsby FFVIII 4.png

Those streets and signs, and aesthetics of the buildings
just scream the roaring twenties to me.


Gatsby FFVIII 6.png
Gatsby FFVIII 5.png

General Fury Caraway's home. Surrounded by water. Water (particularly from the bay) is fairly prominent in descriptions of the
neighbourhood where the the grand houses stand in The Great Gatsby.

800x-1.png
800x-1.png

Allegedly these real life buildings (Oheka Castle in Huntington) are candidates for the sort of building that inspired the grand houses in The Great Gatsby, and they look at least a tiny bit like Fury Caraway's mansion in Final Fantasy VIII.​


Sort of also explains why Sorceress Edea looks a bit like a 1920s 'flapper', in a way, too. And in her elaborate golden curtain rail piece (for lack of a better description), she shares the 'sunrise motif' seen in some art deco (including each side of the door of the Galbadia station).

They seem to be going for some consistent overall vibes here, albeit with some other, more European aspects tossed in.
 
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