Isolation In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation,” stated Sukarno. This quote indicates that isolation causes physical and emotional conflicts within and between people, and that it can have a brutal impact. The relationship between the themes of separation and isolation is cause and effect, because isolation is the effect of separation, yet isolation can cause separation as well. Both isolation and separation are able to provoke feelings of low self-esteem in a person, and this idea is expressed thoroughly by the novel, The Great Gatsby, and the poem, “(love song, with two goldfish)”. The authors produced main characters that had a sense of loneliness and depression as the stories progressed. They declared that separation

Jay Gatsby’s character, portrayed in the novel, The Great Gatsby, resembled the qualities and characteristics of the male fish in “(love song, with two goldfish).” Primarily, these two lonely characters had the same motivation for most of their actions and decisions later on in their separate stories, which was the separation from the women they loved the most. According to Fitzgerald, “He stayed there a week, walking the streets where their footsteps had clicked together through the November night…” (Fitzgerald 1). This quote indicated that Gatsby had been separated from Daisy, his first and only love, yet she didn’t feel the same way about him in that moment. Since Gatsby had been walking in Daisy and her husband’s footsteps, it highlighted her significance in his life, and how strongly he yearned and desired her love. In addition, Gatsby was so flustered and distraught by Daisy’s lack of presence in his life that separation had caused him to isolate from the outside world. Similarly, Chua stated, “(His heart sinks like a fish… Drowns those sorrows, stares emptily through the glass)” (Chua 4). This quote illustrated that the female fish left the male fish in isolation with a feeling of emptiness

Throughout the two passages, complications and problems within relationships between characters who loved each other in the past caused a shift in mood that began as pleasant and bright, yet slowly transitioned into somber and melancholy. As written in the novel, “... over the vanishing city where she had drawn her breath” (Fitzgerald 3). The descriptive diction used in this phrase, such as the word “vanishing,” demonstrated that Daisy parted from Gatsby without a warning. This signified that she was isolating him intentionally and for her benefit, even though she knew it would break his heart. Since Daisy didn’t care about Gatsby in the way that he cherished and worshipped her, a conflict eventually arose in their relationship when they finally formed a more powerful connection five years after they split apart. She didn’t leave a trace for Gatsby to follow, showing that she didn’t love him when she left, and highlighting the turning point in their relationship. Likewise, the female fish in “(love song, with two goldfish),” didn’t express how much she cared for the male fish, who she obviously loved, while he instantly fell in love with her. Additionally, Chua expressed in the poem, “(and he could not give) a life beyond the (bowl)” (Chua 5). This quote highlights that the female fish was selfish, due to the fact that she only wanted the male fish because of the dreams and goals