In this excerpt from The Great Gatsby, Gatsby's dream of Daisy is finally coming to fruition. Nick has invited Daisy over to his house, and Gatsby, in turn, invites the two of them to his house. “I want you and Daisy to come over to my house.” Gatsby uses Nick to get Daisy to go to his place, and Nick uses the opportunity to glean more information about the mysterious Gatsby. When Daisy arrives and Gatsby gets caught up in the version of Daisy he has created in his mind, Nick is no longer needed. Each man is characterized as somewhat self-serving as he attempts to use the opportunity at hand to get what he wants. Because Gatsby is visibly nervous at the idea of finally seeing Daisy again, Nick’s questioning about his suspicious background throws Gatsby further off-kilter. Nick says, “I thought you inherited your money.” Gatsby responds, “I did, old sport. but I lost most of it in the big panic—the panic of the war.” He tries to worm his way out of the questioning by stating, “That’s my affair,” but he quickly realizes that it is an ambiguous answer that might make Nick suspicious and lists a few ventures he was involved with. Gatsby’s thoughts are clearly on Daisy, and he almost forgets the pretense he must keep up in order to impress her. …show more content…
Gatsby's full attention and confidence are restored when Daisy lays eyes on his huge house and exclaims, “That huge place THERE?” As Gatsby walks her through the house, the reader is given the layout through Nick’s eyes: the Marie Antoinette music rooms, the Restoration salons, the Marton College Library, and Gatsby’s own bedroom. Gatsby gains more confidence as Daisy becomes more enamored. She even cries when she sees the contents of Gatsby's closet, claiming, “They’re such beautiful shirts.” Gatsby’s visions of Daisy become more real. He predicted that the more wealth and material possessions he acquired, the better chance he’d have to win Daisy
“ Its attitude is one of disillusionment and detachment; Fitzgerald is still able to evoke the glitter of the 1920s but he is no longer dazzled by it; he sees its underlying emptiness and impoverishment” (Trendell 23)The story is narrated from the point of view of Nick, one of Gatsby’s friends. The problematic and hopeless romantic, Gatsby, sets out to fulfill his dream in acquiring Daisy, his lifelong love, through his many tactics and ideas. Gatsby is introduced extending his arms mysteriously toward a green light in the direction of the water. Later, Gatsby is shown to be the host of many parties for the rich and Nick is invited to one of these parties where Gatsby and Nick meet. When Gatsby later confesses his love for Daisy he explains she was a loved one who was separated from him and hopes to get her again explained when he says, “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”(Fitzgerald 56). There are several obstacles that Gatsby must overcome and the biggest one that is Daisy’s current fiancé but that still does not get in the way of him trying to recover Daisy’s old feelings. His attempts are made through money and wealth because he tries to buy her love back instead of letting it happen naturally.
The central focus of the story is the enigma of Gatsby, his past life, and his perusal of Daisy. Desperate to rekindle their former love, Gatsby works tirelessly to achieve the pinnacle of the American dream, settles in a large, posh house, throws lavish parties, and seems on excellent terms with the world at large. That, however, is not what makes him truly happy. All he did, he did in pursuit of Daisy, and initially it appears to work. She insists that she still loves him ardently. However, when pressed, she chooses Tom once more, and Gatsby is shattered. Nick says that, “If that was true, he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream,” (161). In the end, Gatsby’s dream turns on him, betraying him to the caprice of the world. He had sincerely believed in the American Dream, and believed it would help him secure Daisy’s love. When both failed him, he was left with a lavish but empty house, and to Gatsby, his wealth and prosperity were nothing without someone to share them with. The final nail in the coffin is Gatsby’s funeral, where it becomes clear what his immense wealth gained him in terms of the human affection he was truly after. Nick Carraway jumps through all sorts of hoops and harasses many people in order to get them to go to Gatsby’s funeral, to no avail. When it came time for the burial,
Gatsby’s quest to acquire Daisy was enlarged by his colossal obsession with the idea of being reunited with her, until the time actually came in which something so simple as a tea date was all he asked for in order to meet her. The purpose of acquiring such wealth and an extravagant home seems so pointless when Gatsby decides to meet with Daisy in Nick’s underwhelming cabin. The extravagancy of his vision deeply contrasts the modesty of the acquisition of his goal in this case. This shows a different side of Gatsby and his visions on what he thought would happen when he reached his goal and what actually occurred. Gatsby starts to panic when his visions do not occur when Nick and Gatsby are sat in Nick’s home, waiting for Daisy, Gatsby argues “Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late...I can’t wait all day” Fitzgerald 85). Gatsby is clearly very antsy and nervous about seeing Daisy again. He was very deeply in love with her and after 5 long years of waiting to see her again and they are finally reunited. All of his plans will be put into action and all of this planning will make him terribly self conscious
Jay Gatsby is a man of great fortune and power, with only one unobtainable dream. The dream that Gatsby is chasing is Daisy, his love from before the war. Gatsby and Nick are two contrasting characters; this is because while Nick also has one goal his is obtainable in that he wishes to earn his own wealth (albeit on his influential father's dime). Gatsby and Nick contrast in another fashion, and that is that Gatsby believes that if he works hard enough he can relive the past, and erase the past five years of Daisy's life with Tom; Nick on the other hand has, for his infinite amount of hope, the voice of truth that the past is past and only the present and future can be lived in.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the character of Daisy Buchanan undergoes many noticeable changes. Daisy is a symbol of wealth and of promises broken. She is a character we grow to feel sorry for but probably should not.
Even though he had some thought that the meeting would provoke harmful tensions between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby, he went along with it anyways, further demonstrating his own innate lack of reservation. Ultimately, Nick is an unreliable narrator who overlooks Gatsby’s lies because of his biased judgment of him. Nick portrays Gatsby as a generous and charismatic figure while in reality, he is a duplicative and obsessed man entangled in illegal business who is determined on an unattainable goal. It is highly ironic that Nick judges others for their lack of morality and honesty; his own character is plagued by lies as he abets Gatsby in many of his schemes.
Based on the consequences of the past, Gatsby’s priority is to earn a place in high ranks in order to win Daisy. Remaining faithful through the years he endures apart from her, Gatsby builds a reputation of being affluent, for her. He expresses his loyalty towards Daisy through the wealth he establishes, for her. In the hopes that she will return to him after seeing his newly gained assets, Gatsby flaunts his mansion and possessions to Daisy. Everything he earns plays an important role in displaying his wealth to Daisy, as well as his dedication to her. Gatsby devotes several years to earning a fortune for Daisy, never deviating from his original motive of living the past, except with Daisy. However, Gatsby becomes “dazed” because her physical existence erases the importance of his belongings. Even though Gatsby’s valuables once signified the path to Daisy, because Daisy is now with him, the items mean nothing. Gatsby proves consistency in his love for Daisy as she is the motivating force that occupies his life. Gatsby’s persistent hope gives him the belief that he can and will live his happy ending with Daisy. When Gatsby’s imagination of Daisy does not align with the existing Daisy, he tells Nick, “Can’t repeat the past?...Why of course you can!” (110).
For five years, Gatsby was denied the one thing that he desired more than anything in the world: Daisy. While she was willing to wait for him until after the war, he did not want to return to her a poor man who would, in his eyes, be unworthy of her love. Gatsby did not want to force Daisy to choose between the comfortable lifestyle she was used to and his love. Before he would return to her, he was determined to make something of himself so that Daisy would not lose the affluence that she was accustomed to possessing. His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions...
Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental necessities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity.
Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor and close friend, considers Gatsby to have achieved greatness. Nick sees greatness in Gatsby that he has never seen in any other man; unfortunately, all great characters do not always have happy endings. Gatsby’s ambition from a young age, along with his desire to please others, pave the road to his prosperity, but, ultimately, his enduring heroic love for Daisy, steers him to his demise. Several individuals mark Gatsby as a man of great wealth, with a beautiful estate, and an abundance of friends.
The uncomfortable relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is evidenced during a meeting that might be compared to that of two school children. Both characters seem to rely on the presence of a third person (Nick), who supplies some sort of reassurance and security, especially for Gatsby. The reader is first confronted with a suspicion that the meeting will be filled with nervousness, when Gatsby subtly tries to ask Nick to be present throughout Daisy's visit, and to organize the meeting. Nick is rather reluctant to get involved, but Gatsby persists, and even goes as far as offering to "bribe" Nick to do so.
Gatsby overwinds himself when he makes over-the-top preparations, in which he spends years preparing for Daisy, but the expectations and dreams Gatsby prepares for are disproportionate to reality; now, Gatsby’s feelings are running down with dissatisfaction because he has overwound himself by expecting too much from Daisy. As Nick goes over to Gatsby and Daisy to say goodbye, he notices that the “expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his happiness”
By far, the smartest character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan. Despite this, Daisy is still a careless person who cowers behind her money. Because of this she falls short of Gatsby's expectation of her, while she is still beautiful and happy, she is also sadistic and shallow. At the end of the novel, Gatsby and Tom get into a huge fight about their love for Daisy, at the end of this fight, Gatsby tries to get Daisy to tell Tom she never loved him but she could not do that.
The 1920s, otherwise known as the “Roaring 20’s” was a period post-WW1 in which American society shifted from its traditional agricultural origins to a more business-minded industrial country. With this shift came remarkable changes in culture and fashion. With the economic boost of post-WW1 and technological advancements, the rising middle class had more time to participate in leisure activities. These leisure activities include indulging in movies, sports, parties, and new music. Jazz was the common party music, as it was new and exciting.
“Guided only by Nick’s limited view of her, readers often judge Daisy solely on the basis of her superficial qualities” (Fryer 43). What the reader sees through the eyes of Nick only appears as a woman whose impatience and desire for wealth and luxury cost her the love of her life, Gatsby. Nick’s narrow perception does not allow one to see that “. [Daisy’s] silly manner conceals a woman of feeling or that her final ‘irresponsibility’ towards Gatsby stems from an acute sense of responsibility towards herself” and that Nick “.clearly does not understand what motivates her” (Fryer 43).