Gatsby Essay

Gatsby Essay Gatsby Essay Mackenzie Hoult Evan Hansen U.S Literature 25 November 2014 The role of love in The Great Gatsby â€Å"The truth about love is all a lie,† as the pop artist Pink would put it. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is set in the roaring twenties. It follows a man named Jay Gatsby who’s one goal in life is to be reunited with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. Nick Carraway, the protagonist and narrator moves into a humble home neighboring Gatsby’s mansion. Across the bay from Gatsby, Daisy and her husband Tom live in their own luxurious mansion. Throughout the book it is made clear that love is an impossible goal to reach for every character in the story, but especially Daisy and Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows that love is unreachable for these characters because of how Daisy values materialism over love and because of Gatsby’s illusion of what him and Daisy had to be. In the years that Gatsby waited for Daisy he held such high expectations of their reunion that there was no possible way reality could satisfy him. Gatsby has been in love with Daisy since the day they met, and he wants nothing more than to be with her and give her the world. But because they’ve been apart for so long, Daisy becomes more of an idea in his mind then an actual person that he could be with. When Daisy visits Gatsby for the first time, Nick says, â€Å"†¦ As though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion† (95). This shows that because Gatsby has waited so long for this reunion, it makes it hard for Daisy to really live up to his expectations, which in turn makes them loving each other almost impossible. Another example of his high expectations for Daisy is when Gatsby tries to tell Tom that Daisy never loved him. Gatsby says, â€Å" ‘I’ve got something to tell you, old sport’†¦ ‘your wife doesn’t love you,†¦ she’s never loved you. She loves me†¦ ‘Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now- isn’t that enough? I cant help what’s past.’ She began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once- but I love you too’† (130, 132). Gatsby wanted everything to go back to the way it was when they first met and because of this he held his expectations way too high for Daisy, who could not love him to the extent she loved her. Gatsby’s unrealistic supposition of Daisy, shown through actions he takes, is why love is unreachable in The Great Gatsby. The actions and decisions Daisy makes throughout her life show that she values material things over love and this is why love isn’t possib le between her and Gatsby. Throughout the book it is prevalent that Daisy values material things more than people. It becomes very clear to the reader when she talks to Nick about her daughter, Daisy says, â€Å"I‘m glad it‘s a girl. And I hope she‘ll be a fool- that‘s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.† This shows that Daisy thinks life is the best when you aren’t aware of much and you’re fooled by Gatsby Essay Gatsby Essay Howard 1 Aly Howard Mr. Jackson English 11 per. 3 09 March 2015 Gatsby’s American Dream In the novel, The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald, many archetypes, motifs, and symbols are used to portray the moral decay in society, not only in the 1920s, but also today. Characters, weather changes, and a green light are major factors in the story to illustrate the relationship between Gatsby's American Dream and today’s society depiction of their American Dream. The 1920s morals are a lot like 2015’s morals. Even though there may be some decay we always move forward. When using archetypes, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the â€Å"dreamer† through the character of Gatsby when Nick Carraway had seen Gatsby with his â€Å"stretched out arms [reaching] towards [...] a single green light†(Gatsby 26). Gatsby had been reaching for that light as though it was a dream inches away from his grasp. He had wanted the life of perfection, as do many people who try to achieve their goals to pursue the American Dream. The past that Gatsby dreamed of for years was just beyond his reach, but like F. Scott Fitzgerald had made out Gatsby to be, he longed for the past to repeat. As Nick tried to argue to Gatsby about this Gatsby believes that, â€Å"...repeat the past?[...] Why of course you can†(Gatsby 116)! He wanted the American Dream â€Å"as if the past were lurking[...] in the shadow[...] just out of reach of his hand†(Gatsby 117). People today do the same thing reaching out for the dream life trying to get the lifestyle that they want. Using Gatsby as an archetype portrays the dreamers in the 1920s and the dreamers today. Howard 2 Gatsby had the money and the lifestyle that all people in the 1920s and in 2015 want to achieve, even if people can achieve it or not, it is always a life that people wish to have. Another literary device that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses is the device of motifs. Fitzgerald uses the weather as a motif when the feelings during the scene change as well as the weather does, matching the current mood of the story. At Gatsby’s and Daisy’s reunion, â€Å"the day agreed upon was pouring rain†(Gatsby 88). The moment had first been awkward between the two, making a melancholy kind of moment but later when they finally begin to feel the love again, and â€Å"after half an hour the sun shone again†(Gatsby 93). The weather had changed in the exact time that things had been awkward and then evolved into a reawoken love. The sun had come out, making the feeling lighter and a little bit happier, making the reader feel the same as well. Another motif is the geography and settings in the story. Throughout the novel, places and settings represent the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald illustrates. Nick Carraway â€Å"lived at West Egg, the [...] less fashionable of the two†(Gatsby 9). East Egg represents the old aristocracy, West Egg the newly rich, the valley