Relationships, specifically romantic relationships, play a very important part in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Upon reading Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, one will notice that there appears to be a behavioral pattern present in the relationships between Gatsby and Daisy, Daisy and Tom, and Nick and Jordan. As I explain in this paper, these relationships suffer from a fear of intimacy, a fear of the inevitable mutual emotional pain that occurs when humans grow close to one another. In the interest of clarity, let us first take a closer look at the theory that humans cannot grow close without harming one another, the theory known as the “hedgehog’s dilemma.” The concept of the hedgehog’s dilemma was first introduced by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer proposed the idea that human intimacy works in the same way hedgehogs huddle together for warmth, the closer they get to one another the more they hurt one another. While the hedgehogs physically harm each other with their quills due to their close physical proximity, humans hurt each other emotionally once they reach a certain degree of emotional closeness. Because of our fear of emotional devastation, we often develop a fear of intimacy. Schopenhauer’s theory achieved even wider exposure after Sigmund Freud introduced it into the study of psychology in the early 1900s, giving it the name it is now commonly known by. The marriage of Tom and Daisy Buchanan is arguably the most tumultuous relationship within the novel. Tom spends his time with two different women, both his wife Daisy and a mistress by the name of Myrtle Wilson. Tom’s division of time between the two allows him to refrain from reaching any significant level of emotional intimacy with either w... ... middle of paper ... ...t least “half in love with her” (177). Nick actions during and after he and Jordan’s separation suggest that he is trying to repress and avoid memories of her that might harm him. He claims to not “know which of us hung up with a sharp click, but [he] knows [that he] didn’t care” after the phone call that officially ends their relationship, and later during an in-person conversation with Jordan, “talked over and around what had happened to us together” (155, 177). Of all the characters in the novel, it is possible that Jordan Baker is the only one to directly address the fear that plagues them all. It certainly like that is what she is implying in her last conversation with Nick, stating: “You said a bad driver was only safe until she met a bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I?” the bad drivers, in this case, being those with a fear of intimacy (177).
Daisy also exhibits her shallowness when she is too restless to wait for her 'love', Gatsby, to return from he war, and she marries Tom. Her most drastic immoral action is committed when she runs over Myrtle and does not even bother to stop and help a person that is 'below' her. Daisy's husband, Tom shows his ridiculous morality in different ways. One way is his search for power, which is shown most through his affair with Myrtle and his possessiveness. He evidently feels further domination and masculinity when he has her, a woman of lower class, as his mistress. Secondly, Tom Buchanan is shallow enough to think that everything and everyone he has in his life are part of his property. This increases his 'power' and makes him feel as if he is truly successful. This couple, Tom and Daisy certainly contain serious corruptness due to their shallowness and self-indulgence.
There is a fine line between love and lust. If love is only a will to possess, it is not love. To love someone is to hold them dear to one's heart. In The Great Gatsby, the characters, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are said to be in love, but in reality, this seems to be a misconception. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays the themes of love, lust and obsession, through the character of Jay Gatsby, who confuses lust and obsession with love.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby was a remarkable book. Fitzgerald Made the characters of the book as real and as personal as possible. Three characteristics stood out in the novel to me. Tom’s Jealousy of Gatsby relationship with his wife, Gatsby’s lies about who he is and his life, and Daisy’s ways to tempt Gatsby to fall in love with her. The novel was inspired by the way he fell in love with his wife Zelda.
Every 13 seconds, couples in America get divorced (Palacios). What is pushing these couples to get married if half of the marriages fail anyway? Leading into the 21st century, people decide to choose the single life over the married life, and use their energy and time towards rebounding, money, material love, power, freedom, pride, and their career. Superficial love often conquers idealistic love in today’s society due to one’s self-interest persuading them away from love.
Through Nick Carraway’s narration, Tom Buchanan is portrayed as a smug man who has little regard for the feelings of others. His character traits appear to be shaped by the excess and entitlement that accompanies his social class and wealth. Tom is careless. As information is revealed regarding the affair Tom is not - so - secretly having behind his wife 's back, readers form a judgement on his character. Tom has the decency to not be seen with his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, in his
Love, love, love; the only thing everybody talks about. Every movie, every series, every story talks about how two people fall in love and live happily ever after. All stories get to the conclusion that the love the couple shared was unique and that the two lovers matched perfectly together. But what happens when two lovers do not belong to the same social class? What happens when they don’t share common things they like? Are they not meant to be? “In love everything is possible”, someone once said. When someone is in love, he/she would make everything that he/she cans to make his/her lover happy and keep him/her by their side forever. F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century, depicts a love story in his novel The Great Gatsby and shows how love can change a person. Gatsby, the man from which the story takes its name, fell in love with Daisy when he was young officer just before going to war. As the story goes on, he falls more and more in love with her, but he loses her to a richer man. Gatsby’s love for Daisy
Daisy Buchanan is married to Tom Buchanan and cousin to Nick Carraway. During World War I, many soldiers stationed by her in Louisville, were in love with her. The man who caught her eye the most was Jay Gatsby. When he was called into war, she promised him that she would wait for him. Also that upon his return they will be married. Daisy, lonely because Gatsby was at war, met Tom Buchanan. He was smart and part of a wealthy family. When he asked her to marry him, she didn't hesitate at once, and took his offering. Here, the reader first encounters how shallow Daisy is, making her a dislikeable character. Another event that Daisy is a dislikeable character is when she did not show up to Gatsby's funeral. When Daisy and Gatsby reunite, their love for each other rekindle. She often visited Gatsby at his mansion, and they were inseparable. This led Gatsby on because he dedicated his whole life into getting Daisy back, and she had no gratitude towards it. At the hotel suite scene, Daisy reveals to all that she loves Gatsby, but then also says that she loves Tom as well. This leaves the reader at awe, because after...
Many people in the 1920s lived very extravagant lives. The time of the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s” where girls were flappers and the men were bootleggers. People loved to have fun and be carefree. However, alcohol dependence was becoming a problem and many started realizing that. Taking action to stop this was the hard part. Alcohol was corrupting the 1920s even though some did not recognize it. In the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the corruption during the 1902s through his main character, Jay Gatsby, and his illustration of prohibition.
Courtly love—an expression of passion, a token of intimacy, and a vibrant theme which permeates the spirit of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Energetic and enterprising, young James Gatz ascends the social ladder to become a grossly successful and affluent businessman, all driven by a single purpose: to win the beautiful Daisy’s heart. Gatsby plays his role as Daisy’s courtly lover by his ambitions to satisfy his sincere, undying ardor and to prove his commitment to Daisy’s wellbeing.
The concept of people forging bonds to achieve their own ends is represented in day to day life. As bonding is common any form of relationship, from the professional bonds to interpersonal ones. Bonds works as a great theme encompassing aspects of trust, deceit, and consequence. As Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, explores the idea of bonds in a 1920’s prohibition era. With the loose morals running amok in New York, few can develop a bond that holds more power than an empty face at a speakeasy or party. Those that have developed a deep bond with another hold the same potential to destroy that bond as well. Whether by taking an active role in removing oneself from the bond, or by through inaction and negligence. The theme of bonds is presented through Gatsby’s interactions Nick, Tom and Daisy’s strain within their relationship, and Nick’s presence in the world around him.
Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich couple, seem to have everything they could possibly want. Though their lives are full of anything you could imagine, they are unhappy and seek to change, Tom drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(pg. 10) and reads "deep books with long words in them"(pg. 17) just so he has something to talk about. Even though Tom is married to Daisy he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and has apartment with her in New York.. Daisy is an empty character, someone with hardly any convictions or desires. Even before her relationships with Tom or, Gatsby are seen, Daisy does nothing but sit around all day and wonder what to do with herself and her friend Jordan. She knows that Tom is having an affair, yet she doesn't leave him even when she hears about Gatsby loving her. Daisy lets Gatsby know that she too is in love with him but cant bring herself to tell Tom goodbye except when Gatsby forces her too. Even then, once Tom begs her to stay, even then Daisy forever leaves Gatsby for her old life of comfort. Daisy and Tom are perfect examples of wealth and prosperity, and the American Dream. Yet their lives are empty, and without purpose.
The act of betrayal is first seen when Tom Buchanan cheats on his wife, Daisy Buchanan with Myrtle, who also happens to be George Wilson’s wife. Tom’s actions are inexcusable as betrayal in a marriage is an extremely depraved course of action. Due to this betrayal, Daisy loses hope in their society. After realizing that the world is a very dangerous and bad place, she hopes that her daughter won’t see the world like her mother does. She desires her daughter to be naive and foolish so she can’t see the cruelty that lies within this society.
On one level The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period in which it was set. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby's parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby's involvement in crime all identify the period and the American setting. But as a piece of social commentary The Great Gatsby also describes the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideals conflict with the actual social conditions that exist. For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She scorns people from her own class and loses all sense of morality. And for all her social ambition, Myrtle never succeeds in her attempt to find a place for herself in Tom's class. When it comes to a crisis, the rich stand together against all outsiders.
Throughout the novel, one of Tom 's biggest careless acts was when he cheated on Daisy. Tom is a cocky, confident man shown many times throughout the novel like when Nick arrived at his house and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch" (Fitzgerald 6). His stance showed his arrogance, and how highly he thought of himself because of his wealth. Tom was a man who often acted without thinking things through, like having an affair with Myrtle. Despite both Tom and Myrtle being married, they both had affairs. Tom doesn 't hide his affair from Nick and introduces him to his mistress Myrtle at Wilson 's garage. Tom doesn 't seem to care if anyone finds out because he feels as though nothing would change due to his wealth. While at Myrtle 's husbands garage, Tom tells Myrtle to meet him at the train station. They end up going to their apartment in New York City that they keep for their affair. While at the Morningside Height 's apartment Myrtle starts to talk about Tom 's wife Daisy, ""Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I 'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-"" (Fitzgerald 37). Tom didn 't like Myrtle overstepping her boundaries and to show
Daisy Buchanan, this woman is crazy, uncaring, and many would argue cold hearted. She is married to Tom and yet, has an affair with Gatsby. Tom is her husband, a very well-off man that goes off and has affairs, and never attempts to hide the fact. Then there is Gatsby. Ah, Gatsby. The young man she was so in love with as a teenage girl. Tom and Gatsby have many similarities; from the fact that both Tom and Gatsby want Daisy all to themselves to the fact that they both love her. While they share many similarities they have far more numerable differences between them. The differences range from how they treat her to how rich they and what social class they are in, to the simple fact that Tom lives in “East Egg” and Gatsby in “West Egg.” Both the similarities and differences between these two men are what ultimately cause Daisy to believe that she is in love with Tom more than she is with Gatsby.