Obsession is a powerful emotion that gives people the motivation to achieve their goals, but obsession can also lead to the opposite---failure. “The Great Gatsby” is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is about a man named Jay Gatsby who strives to achieve his goal of marriage to his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby has a clear obsession with Daisy in the novel which drives him to achieve his goal, but it also ultimately leads to his overall failure to achieve his dream. Gatsby’s obsession results in him obtaining his vast wealth through shady means, and causes him to live in the past, only accepting the Daisy of the past. Both of these are large factors in Jay Gatsby’s tragic failure of achieving his dream in the end. Initially, Gatsby’s …show more content…
Gatsby’s obsession has been the powerful driving force causing him to become incredibly wealthy, albeit through shady means. He has yearned for Daisy so much that he has developed this colossal illusion of her, however, this illusion is only Gatsby’s desire for the perfect Daisy that he knew in the past. Gatsby himself tells Nick that, “... when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his inutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God.” (pg. 110) Gatsby, a man of immense ambition and imagination, fell in true love with a woman, so, naturally, his ambition and imagination became targeted solely at that woman. Gatsby longs for the Daisy he knew and just cannot accept any other form of Daisy, which is clearly demonstrated when he says, “‘Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!’ … ‘I’m going to fix everything the way it was before,’ ... ‘She’ll see.’”(pg. 110) Gatsby adamantly believes that the past Daisy is the only true Daisy and as such, wants to repeat the past and marry the Daisy that he knew. To that end, he obtained the one thing keeping them apart---money. Unfortunately, Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy caused him to only focus on the past with Daisy, not caring about whatever he had to do to get her back, which is what ultimately brought him down in the end. Gatsby did not even consider that the way he obtained his money would be a major factor in his relationship with Daisy. He just wanted Daisy, and while he did win the battle, he ultimately lost the war. Gatsby’s obsession, while giving him the power he needed to achieve his goal, ultimately caused the destruction of his aspiration by causing his mind to focus solely on the
In the beginning, Gatsby was a poor army boy who fell in love with a rich girl named Daisy. Knowing from their different circumstances, he could not marry her. So Gatsby left to accumulate a lot of money. Daisy, not being able to wait for Gatsby, marries a rich man named Tom. Tom believes that it is okay for a man to be unfaithful but it is not okay for the woman to be. This caused a lot of conflict in their marriage and caused Daisy to be very unhappy. Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, and since he has accumulated a lot of money, he had his mind set on getting her back. Throughout the novel, Gatsby shows his need to attain The American Dream of love and shows his determination to achieve it. You can tell that Gatsby has a clear vision of what he wants when Nick says, “..he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I gla...
Love is a power that is able to bind two different people together forever. It is also a power that gives someone the drive to have a much harder work ethic so they can achieve the goal that they set for themselves. In The Great Gatsby, this is seen through the character Gatsby often throughout the novel as Gatsby tries to center his world around Daisy, the love of his life. Although some may argue that it is the attainment of Daisy that brings Gatsby satisfaction, the quest to get her is what truly grants him fulfilment because his overdramatic five year obsession causing him to over glorify her and the desire for her gave him something to work towards.
Gatsby has many issues of repeating his past instead of living in the present. A common example of this would be his ultimate goal to win Daisy back. He keeps thinking about her and how she seems perfect for him, but he remembers her as she was before she was married to Tom. He has not thought about the fact that she has a daughter, and has been married to Tom for four years, and the history there is between them. The reader cannot be sure of Gatsby trying to recreate the past until the reunion between him and Daisy. This becomes evident when Nick talks to Gatsby about how he is living in the past, specifically when Nick discusses Daisy with him. “‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ Gatsby ventured. ‘you can’t repeat the past.’ I said. ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). This excerpt shows how Gatsby still has not learned that eventually he will have to just accept the past and move forward with his life. If he keeps obsessing about Daisy, and trying to fix the past, more of his life will be wasted on this impossible goal. Througho...
... But the "Great Gatsby" still believes he will obtain Daisy and happiness with the gain of money. It seems Gatsby did not necessarily want Daisy back, but the time he had with Daisy all those years ago. He wanted to relive his past. He wanted to have his past self love the past Daisy in the past years, and it cannot be because time has moved them forward.
Obsession is defined as “an unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone” (1), and is a prominent theme in The Great Gatsby, Enduring Love and Othello. For example, in all three, there is a great desire to obtain things which are unattainable, and in turn this fuels their obsession and causes it to intensify. Furthermore, the act of being obsessive is a common human characteristic, which reinforces the fact that obsession is a key element throughout all the texts. Othello has the desire to seek revenge. Fitzgerald shows the desire of lust for Gatsby to have Daisy, whilst also allowing him to accomplish a social desire of fulfilling the American Dream, which was typical of the 1920’s as people were searching for wealth and status after the economic boom.
It would appear that if only a few small things were to change, Gatsby would end up as the winner. Regrettably, Gatsby was set up to fail from the start. Daisy is a wicked person, her and Tom simply hurt others and retreats back to their money for security. After she left Gatsby for Tom, not only did she refuse to resolve the issue with Gatsby, she refused to even attend his funeral. When Nick calls Daisy to inform her about the funeral, their butler answers. Their conversation went like, “Left no address?” “No.” “Say when they’d be back?” “No.” “Any idea where they are? How I could reach them?” “I don’t know. Can’t say.” (Daisy was Gatsby’s goal, his life. She knew Gatsby did everything for her, yet she would not even show up at his funeral. When daisy cried at Gatsby’s mansion it becomes obvious that she only felt that she missed an opportunity. That she could have been with Gatsby who who was more exciting than Tom but equally as rich. Daisy would have used Gatsby up and thrown him away as fast as she let him in. Gatsby changed his life for Daisy, but she wasn 't the right one to change his life for. Even if Gatsby earned his money earned properly, his goal would prevent him from
he didn 't want to live the same sad life as his parents,where he had to work just to put bread on the table he wanted more then that ,he want to have a legacy.he saw an opportunity to seek,and he took it .when he help the old man from drowning.Gatsby went through alot in the war and his life but the thing that kept him alive is daisy buchanan, his love for daisy was unstoppable.Gatsby worked hard to make himself one of new york richest people for daisy buchanan.Gatsby does everything he can to conquer Daisy’s heart again.”Although Daisy has been married off to Tom Buchanan,”Gatsby is determined to win her back by displaying his new wealth.Similarly, purchasing a new wardrobe and an expensive home in part for daisy o fell in love with him Not only do Gatsby try to impress women with their wealth, but they equate those women with money” (Pearson). He believes that the only way Daisy will be with him is if he is rich and if has enough money to sustain her.Gatsby would do anything in order to achieve this status that.in order to get enough money in such short time ,he gets his “hands dirty” to be able to live in West Egg and have the ability to throw his very-well known extravagant parties.”There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars…
Fitzgerald creates the madness due to the corruption of the desire for wealth in the form of Jay Gatsby, who possesses “an extraordinary gift for hope”, is the “son of God”, and is also a man consumed by his desire for wealth (6, 104). This desire comes full force with the introduction of Daisy into Gatsby’s life. Daisy is representative of Gatsby’s true desires: wealth and love. Gatsby and Daisy meet and fall immediately for one another; Daisy “blossomed for him like a flower” and Gatsby became “forever wed” (117). Fitzgerald is specific in his diction when saying that Gatsby is “forever wed”, because the phrase explains to the reader that Gatsby is bound to Daisy for the eternity, whether she continues to blossom or not. Gatsby and Daisy are separated, but upon their reunion he recounts their departure from one another as exactly “five years next November,” whereas Daisy describes it much more unattentive way, saying that it has been “many years” since they last met (92). “The automatic quality of Gatsby’s answer” demonstrates to the reader that Gatsby engrosses himself in loving Daisy (92). This causes the reader to begin questioning the reasonable qualities of Gatsby’s desire for wealth as it uncovers itself as a madness. This continues as Gatsby begins to integrate Daisy back into his reality. For example, as Gatsby shows Daisy his
Gatsby is determined to relive his past, but Nick points out, “You can’t the past,” and Gatsby replies with, “Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby has dedicated his whole life reliving the past with Daisy. Gatsby whole-heartedly believes he can repeat the past, “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he says (Fitzgerald 110). In Gatsby’s fantasy, he believes that Daisy and him can be together now that he has the money she wished he had in the past. “In the end, it is this romantic idealism that destroys Gatsby; he refuses to relinquish the illusion that has propelled his life,” Gatsby’s inability to let go of a fantasy built upon events from past, Daisy, is ultimately what led to his death (Hickey). There is one character in the Great Gatsby that proves to be the only one not drowning in a fantasy, Nick. “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together,” Nick says to Gatsby (Fitzgerald 162). He says this because he realizes that everyone around him is corrupt and living in a fantasy world, including Gatsby, but Nick realizes that this is the very thing that is destroying
Gatsby is a dreamer, he dreams that one day he and Daisy will be able to be together once again. To achieve this dream, Gatsby has made himself a rich man. He knows that in order to win Daisy back, he must be wealthy and of high social stature. Gatsby is rich, has a beautiful mansion, nice things, things like shirts “They’re such beautiful shirts. . . It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful clothes” (pg.98).Gatsby believes his dream will come true because of all the money and nice things he has.
Jay Gatsby is not a real person. Instead, he is a persona created by James Gatz, with the simple dream of recreating himself and becoming successful. Eventually, he becomes extremely wealthy, and although he has reached his goal, Gatsby remains focused on one person: Daisy Buchanan. Some critics argue that Jay Gatsby 's devotion to Daisy Buchanan in Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby is obsessive and dysfunctional; I believe that some of his actions, although ultimately tragic, prove Gatsby to simply be a man blinded by love.
Despite Gatsby and Daisy’s physical distance, his unceasing hope symbolic distance between his unrealistic aspirations of the future and reality. [Five years prior, Gatsby describes falling in love with Daisy as a defining moment in his life: “His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (Fitzgerald 110). It was at this moment that he gave his rational thoughts away to every unceasing future want of Daisy. From this point forward, he dedicated his life to regaining Daisy’s love despite the moral sacrifices he made. In order to gain the wealth that Daisy desired, Gatsby was forced to turn to a corrupt business by partnering with Meyer Wolfsheim and buying, “Up a lot of side−street drug−stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 133). On his rise to wealth, Gatsby corrupted his morals. He became involved in illegal enterprises and was ultimately left with nothing to fall back on when his finals attempt to gain Daisy’s love failed. Sitting alone in his pool, Gatsby waited for a call that never came. Nick had, “ An idea that Gatsby himself didn't believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared” (Fitzgerald 161). At this moment Gatsby starts to understand the magnitude of his actions and how, “He
Jay Gatsby believes that his wealth gives him the ability to repeat the past. Daisy and Gatsby had love, but it was when they were both youthful. He wasn’t to rekindle the past that they had. When told that repeating the past is impossible, he replies with “’Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously ‘Why of course I can!’” (Pg. 110). Gatsby also believes that Daisy can be won over by his wealth and the amount of materials he can buy her. He wants his riches to make her, his. Daisy just isn’t that type of women. She wants to be shown love. She wants to feel it. Gatsby seizes to realize that love cannot be bought.
Apparently being wealthy is not all Gatsby wants, but also wants love from Daisy. He loves her so much he wants her to break Tom’s heart and come with him. This man is clever and cold hearted like Lord Voldemort and Sauron. Jordan glanced at Nick and told him in a calm tone, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). Gatsby’s way of being in love with Daisy is to be a creepy stalker, never giving her space and always spying on her.
His naivety that Daisy will once again love him as well as his stubborn personality and his belief that a person can ‘repeat the past’ plays a key part in Gatsby’s death. He is so blinded by his dreams of wealth and glamour that he fails to distinguish Daisy’s true feelings for him. Daisy complains, ‘Oh, you want too much’ which highlights Gatsby’s greed and ambition for wealth. He wants more than Daisy’s love. He wants society to believe and accept his fakery; he wants to achieve ‘thoroughness’ and ‘realism’ in his story. Daisy exclaims that she ‘loves’ Gatsby but to him that ‘isn 't enough’