Examples Of People Are Never Satisfied In The Great Gatsby

“People are never satisfied. If they have a little, they want more. If they have a lot, they want still more. Once they have more, they wish they could be happy with little, but are incapable of making the slightest effort in that direction” (Paulo Coelho). Coelho is claiming people are never satisfied with their efforts. After reaching one goal, it becomes a new standard for normal, obligating humans to reach further and higher. Using this reasoning, he furthers his assertion by saying satisfaction and happiness are unattainable. Similarly, in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes the argument that humans never reach a point of satisfaction with their desires. Through the individual journeys of the main characters, Daisy and Gatsby,

When he sees that she had changed, he and Nick analyze her. “‘She’s got an indiscreet voice,’ I remarked ‘It’s full of-- I hesitated. ‘Her voice is full of money’ He said suddenly. That was it I’d never understood before.It was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals’ song of it. High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl”(120). In the quote, Gatsby’s characterization is added to when saying he only wanted Daisy because she was the manifestation of his life goals. Daisy was the final piece in Gatsby’s dream of having it all. His desire for her was no more than an ambition to fulfill his dreams. He finds himself disenchanted when she is not who he expected her to be. He often depicted her as a trophy to obtain. In his strive to reach a higher level of status, he aims for daisy. The trophy wife. However he fails to acknowledge that Daisy was a person who had her own life, such as a kid and a husband. Thus because of his expectations for Daisy, he ends up not being satisfied with what she was able to give him, her love. Gatsby demands to be her sole love. “‘’Oh you want too much! She cried to Gatsby. ‘I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past!’ she began to sob helplessly. ‘I did love him once-but I loved you too’ Gatsby’s eyes opened and closed. ‘You love me too?’”(132). Gatsby demands that she loves him only with the fullest of hearts. He demands that she admit that she never loved Tom, this is too much to say because it is not true. Gatsby is upset by this and emphasizes that she loved him TOO. Not necessarily the only one she ever loved. This adds to the characterization of Gatsby clearly presenting what he wants from Daisy, that she is a prize to be won. Nothing else really. He only wants her as a sign that he has achieved the American dream. Furthermore this proves Fitzgerald’s claim