Love is one of the relationships that is portrayed in “The Great Gatsby”. A man named Gatsby who had went from being a poor man, became very rich. The only reason why he did all of this was for a woman named Daisy. Daisy was the women that he loved from the start, she is his dream, but since Gatsby had gone overseas, Daisy had decided to marry a man by the name of Tom Buchanan, mainly because he was much wealthier than Gatsby at the time. After Gatsby had found out what Daisy had done this affected him and crushed him because Daisy could not wait for him and had married Tom because Tom was of higher class than Gatsby.
In this book the thing everyone strives for is based off of superficial and materialistic goals, the characters all want to just become as rich as they can and mainly care about money and power. Fitzgerald uses wealth, irresponsibility, and materialism as symbols to portray that the dream is unachievable. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald suggests that the state of the American Dream is more hallow and shallow through each person. Jay Gatsby portrays a good example of the American Dream. He was a flashy celebrity who obtained wealth to impress the girl he loved most, Daisy.
Nick, describing Gatsby’s commitment to completely changing himself in order to fit Daisy’s expectations, explains, “So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 95). Gatsby remains unwavering in his hope for Daisy to take him back, so he entirely changes his lifestyle by gaining massive amounts of wealth and buying a huge mansion to throw parties at in West Egg in order to acquire her attention. Gatsby knows that he will only achieve acceptance if he can make a name for himself, so he does just that. Gatsby’s new formation of himself demonstrates to the audience the high level of significance placed on social status during the novel’s time period, the 1920s. Gatsby never gives up on the hope that he will have a life with Daisy eventually, even though Nick and the audience realize that it will remain impossible.
This life goal was everything he worked for, his entire life revolved around doing anything he can to become rich, and once he was rich then he would once again capture Daisy’s love for him again and they would get married back in Louisville at Daisy’s old house. This goal was everything to him, this was his life. For example, in chapter 6 Nick tried telling Gatsby that he can’t repeat the past and Gatsby responded with “Can’t repeat the past?” “Why of course you can!” “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before” (Fitzgerald 110). He has entirely convinced himself that it is possible, in his imagination, to go back and repeat the past and change it the way that you want it to be. Gatsby did have a relationship with Daisy in the past, but it ended because he had to go to war.
That means Gatsby’s origin of his money is mysterious. But Tom’s money definitely comes from his family. Daisy chooses Tom event if she is in love with Gatsby, because Tom is more socially desired, Gatsby doesn’t have the social status that Daisy wants. Gatsby uses his money to get everything that his thinks Daisy has always wanted in hope to get her back. Gatsby needs to lie to Daisy about his past to convince her that he is worthy for her.
How far do you agree with Nicks views that Gatsby is ‘worth the whole damn bunch put together?’ Nicks views about Jay Gatsby, ‘the man who gives his name to this book’ can be viewed as biased as Fitzgerald uses Nick as a way to manipulate the reader into Nick’s way of thinking. Is Gatsby worth the whole damn bunch put together? Gatsby is worth the whole bunch put together based on his material qualities which is accumulated from shady business. Gatsby’s rags-to-riches success story makes him an embodiment of the American dream that contrasts with Tom who has become wealthy due to his inheritance. Although Gatsby has accumulated his wealth from shady business, his love for Daisy has remained for the 5 years he has gone without seeing her which portrays the lengths that he will go to in order to achieve his only ‘dream’ thus reinforcing Gatsby’s hope being worthy over the rest.
He had an obsession with Daisy Buchanan and tried everything in his power to bring things back to they way they used to be when they first met. He thought he could relive the past. He threw lavish parties to get her attention, he did everything in his power to be near her. " Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay' " (79) He earned his wealth so that they could finally be together. Like Gatsby, the American people of the 1920's followed their hearts, and had an
Everything that Gastby does is for the same reason, to have Daisy back. He throws his mansion party’s every weekend hoping that maybe one day Daisy will come to one. Every purchase he makes he does it for Daisy
When Gatsby returned home, he did whatever he could to win Daisy's heart back and earned money and riches. Nick, Gatsby's neighbor, did the favor of reuniting him with Daisy but after all the time they spent together at his mansion, he still wanted more from her. He expected her to tell Tom that she has never loved him, and leave him, but she couldn't. She loved Tom and she'd be lying if she said she didn't. Daisy couldn't give the love that Gatsby expected from her.
Her relationship with Gatsby was defiantly closer to the definition of love, but because of where her heart really is, she’s better suited for Tom. This idea of old wealth and new wealth defines a line between Tom and Gatsby. Old wealth is money born into and passed down through the family and new wealth is acquired or obtained in a lifetime. An example was when Gatsby feels unable to speak in Buchanan’s house because of the barriers of wealth. Gatsby says, “I can’t say anything in his house, old sport” (?).