“Obsession is the single most wasteful human activity, because with an obsession you keep coming back and back and back to the same question and never get an answer.” (Norman Mailer). In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the illusion and reality of Gatsby and Daisy's relationship unfolds. Their relationship is supposed to be romantic but in fact it is the exact opposite. Gatsby is not the loving man we think he is; he is an obsessive, stalking, manipulative, dishonest man. His relationship with Daisy is not the one people would want to wish for themselves. The protagonist of the novel named Jay Gatsby is not truly in love with Daisy, instead he has an unhealthy obsession with her.
Firstly, Gatsby is obsessed with
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“expensive objects”, and cares very deeply about material wealth.
Gatsby tries to use the expensive things that he owns and his wealthy image as the foundation for his rekindled love with Daisy. Gatsby believes his rekindled relationship with Daisy will stem from the seeds of wealth. Gatsby threw his infamous parties specifically hoping that Daisy would take notice and decide to attend. Jordan expresses Gatsby's expectations when she says "I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night" (Fitzgerald 77). Gatsby could have cared less about hosting parties; he had the option of doing whatever he wants such as travel to another grand city, or go to luxurious restaurants that serve the most exquisite food one can possibly taste. This is not the case though for Gatsby, instead he hosted those large parties just in hopes that perhaps one day Daisy will attend. Gatsby used his grand mansion to impress Daisy. Nick expresses Gatsby's motives when he says “ He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.” (Fitzgerald 88). Not only is Gatsby's love for Daisy an obsession but it also shares some of the qualities of a stalker. First off, a stalker is a person who harasses or persecutes …show more content…
someone with unwanted and obsessive attention. Gatsby looked at the newspaper everyday just to see if Daisy’s name will appear which would help identify where her whereabouts are, and how her relationship is going with Tom. Gatsby’s love for Daisy is very obsessive because the definition of obsession is an idea or thought that continually intrudes a person's mind and in this case, it is Daisy. Gatsby expresses this when he mentions “Her voice is full of money... 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.” (Fitzgerald 115). The most glaring and telling part of this quote is when Gatsby says that Daisy’s voice is “full of money”. Again, he does not mention anything about Daisy’s personality, her values, or their chemistry together; Gatsby simply compares her voice to money. This shallow description of Gatsby’s love for Daisy directly correlates with Gatsby’s shallow feelings for Daisy. Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy because Daisy personifies money and wealth (she is old money, something Gatsby can never have). This merely fits right into one of Gatsby’s core values which is wealth. Secondly, Gatsby is dishonest with Daisy.
One of the fundamental stepping stones to having a healthy relationship with someone is honesty. Gatsby is not honest with Daisy at all. It first starts off with Gatsby's name. Jay Gatsby's name is not even Jay; his real name is James Gatz. Even though Gatsby likes the name Jay better, it would still be a good idea to let Daisy know what his real name is, even if he had changed it a long time ago. There should be nothing embarrassing or humiliating about sharing to Daisy that he changed his name it if it was a healthy relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. Honesty is about telling the truth, but also about telling the truth without questioning to do so or not. We can see Gatsby lie to Daisy again when he talks about how he got his wealth. Gatsby expresses this when Nick questions it. “I thought you inherited your money. I did old sport, he said automatically.” (Fitzgerald 87). Gatsby mentions he inherited his money, but later when Tom interrogates Gatsby about his job. Tom then reveals to Daisy that Gatsby has a secret and illegal business with Wolfshiem. Tom expresses his anger when he says “ I found out what your ‘drug stores’ were...He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter.” (Fitzgerald 127). Daisy responded this in surprise and seemed very hurt because at this point she knew nothing real about Gatsby. The way Gatsby lies about how he
got his money is a very odd thing to lie about, it almost seems like he is in competition with Daisy to prove he is wealthier than her even though he has "new money" and she has "old money". Gatsby also lied to Daisy about the education he has, and then later when he was being questioned by Tom he blurted out the truth. He lied to everyone saying he was an Oxford man, but the truth is that he wasn't necessarily one because he barely stayed there. Gatsby expresses his frustration when he says "It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That's why I can't really call myself an oxford man" (Fitzgerald 123). It is not a healthy relationship when one person tells lies, and the other person tells the truth (a one sided relationship). Gatsby lies to Daisy more than once, if he truly loves Daisy, he would be a very honest and fair man. Thirdly, Gatsby is manipulative and very controlling of Daisy's life and her decisions. Gatsby barely acknowledged that Daisy has a life of her own, a husband and a daughter. As soon as Gatsby and Daisy reconnected after the 5 years they've been apart, he kept trying to persuade Daisy to leave Tom and move in with him. That is a lot to ask right after Daisy was just reunited with him, and realizes he is a total new person. Gatsby also does not consider the fact that Daisy might actually love Tom; after all they got married, and had a daughter which is something special they share together. When Gatsby first found out about Daisy's child, he was struck by complete surprise because he has set expectations that Daisy would only love him. Nick expresses Gatsby's surprise when he says “I don't think he had ever really believed in its existence before.” (Fitzgerald 111). Then again, we see Gatsby's forceful behavior when he keeps trying to persuade Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him, and that she should move in with him. Gatsby was taking full control over what Daisy should say, and what she should do. Gatsby expresses his commanding personality when he says “Just tell him the truth- that you never loved him- and it's all wiped out forever.” (Fitzgerald 125). Gatsby thinks it's easy for Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him, and to completely wipe out all the experiences they shared together which is very demanding and ignorant. Daisy expresses how confused she is when she says “Oh you want too much!..I love you now-isn’t that enough? I can’t help what's past. I did love him once-but i loved you too.” (Fitzgerald 126). Gatsby keeps demanding Daisy to spend the rest of her life with him, and she was barely given the opportunity to speak her mind about her feelings. In conclusion Gatsby is not truly in love with Daisy, and instead he has an unhealthy obsession with her. Love is supposed to be pure, and natural. It is not supposed to be forced, and must be shown and taken by both sides. If love is demanded then it means it is an obsession. This is exactly what Gatsby has done to Daisy, stalked her, obsessed over her, and created a vision and expectations for what her life has to look like with him. Gatsby’s type of love for Daisy is not healthy and is far from being real type of love. Therefore, Gatsby does not truly love Daisy.
How they treat each other shows how selfish both of them are and how they only care about themselves. Gatsby finds himself falling in love with Daisy, and the idea of her, when he returns to Long Island and discovers the lavish lifestyles that are being led. Jay Gatsby is a man who has been obsessed with the idea of being wealthy ever since the age of seventeen, when he met an older gentleman named Dan Cody. Gatsby was supposed to inherit all of Cody’s money but was cheated out of it at the last minute. Ever since then, Gatsby has been obsessed with the idea of being wealthy and he would do whatever it would take for him to be wealthy. Once Gatsby and Daisy begin a relationship, Bloom points out that, “Gatsby, with his boundless capacity for love, a capacity unique in the sterile world he inhabits, sees that the pursuit of money is a substitute for love. He knows himself well enough to see that his own attraction toward wealth is tied to his love for Daisy.”. It is hard for Gatsby to admit, but it becomes evident to the reader that Gatsby values wealth and status over human love and affection. Gatsby had an obsession with money that unfortunately he was never able to shake, and ultimately led to a lonely life and eventually to his
Gatsby is a very goal oriented man so “he could hardly fail to grasp it”(180), unfortunately “he did not know that it was already behind him”(180). His goal is to have Daisy as his wife and his strategy is to devote everything he will ever do to Daisy. He thinks this is love but it is certainly obsession. He becomes so obsessed that he objectifies her by thinking she's just another thing he has to obtain and call his own. Gatsby shows his obsession for Daisy when he tries to degrade Tom by saying, “your wife doesn't love you… she's never loved you. She loves me”(130). Gatsby is so obsessed that he finds it necessary to emasculate Tom by putting himself on a pedestal and saying that Tom’s own wife has never loved him. His obsession eventually leads to objectification. Gatsby says “oh you want to much”(132), which is ironic because Gatsby has the problem of being materialistic and he then says that Daisy wants to
Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy and wants to spend the rest of his life with her but unfortunately, when they first met, he couldn’t. In the novel, Gatsby says that the only reason Daisy didn’t marry him was because he was poor. So in order to win Daisy, Gatsby had to be rich. However, to keep his illegal way of earning his riches a secret Gatsby has to lie. Gatsby even has to lie about his past. On page 65 Nick says “…and I knew why Jordan Baker believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford” or swallowed it, or choked on it…” Gatsby has to lie about his family, childhood, and education just to name a few. In fact, Gatsby even lies about his name, which is actually James Gatz, so Daisy wouldn’t find out about his poor past. He had to lie and cheat about everything to get his dream girl. Throughout the book many of the people at the party spread rumors about Gatsby and how he got his money. He doesn’t correct them though because he doesn’t want anyone to find the truth, otherwise he won’t get Daisy. Gatsby lies so much that he has to cover up the old lies with new ones. On page 90, for ...
The character of Jay Gatsby was a wealthy business man, who the author developed as arrogant and tasteless. Gatsby's love interest, Daisy Buchanan, was a subdued socialite who was married to the dim witted Tom Buchanan. She is the perfect example of how women of her level of society were supposed to act in her day. The circumstances surrounding Gatsby and Daisy's relationship kept them eternally apart. For Daisy to have been with Gatsby would have been forbidden, due to the fact that she was married. That very concept of their love being forbidden, also made it all the more intense, for the idea of having a prohibited love, like William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, made it all the more desirable. Gatsby was remembering back five years to when Daisy was not married and they were together:
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
Nothing is more important, to most people, than friendships and family, thus, by breaking those bonds, it draws an emotional response from the readers. Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan had a relationship before he went off to fight in the war. When he returned home, he finds her with Tom Buchanan, which seems to make him jealous since he still has feelings for Daisy. He wanted Daisy “to go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you” (Fitzgerald 118) Gatsby eventually tells Tom that his “wife doesn’t love [him]” and that she only loves Gatsby (Fitzgerald 121). But the unpleasant truth is that Daisy never loved anyone, but she loved something: money. Daisy “wanted her life shaped and the decision made by some force of of money, of unquestionable practicality” (Fitzgerald 161). The Roaring Twenties were a time where economic growth swept the nation and Daisy was looking to capitalize on that opportunity. Her greed for material goods put her in a bind between two wealthy men, yet they are still foolish enough to believe that she loved them. Jay Gatsby is a man who has no relationships other than one with Nick Caraway, so he is trying to use his wealth to lure in a greedy individual to have love mend his
As defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, an obsession is “a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling” or “compelling motivation” (Obsession). Gatsby was obsessed with gaining wealth in order to draw Daisy back to him and he lived an illusion of love with Daisy. Though Jay Gatsby’s obsessions are the most prominent, they are not the only ones present. Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson also have obsessions, but it is the combination of them that causes problems. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the fixations of wealth and love of many characters, lead to the downfall of many lives and create chaos in others.
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
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.
In the Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy Buchanan prevents him from seeing clearly. When he was a young boy, Gatsby hoped and strived to become a man
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.
Unlike those cheesy romantic heroes from soap operas and films, Gatsby believes that by attempting to be someone he is not and by faking his identity, he will be able to win Daisy`s heart . Nick Caraway, the narrator of the novel, informs readers about Gatsby`s past and his first reaction to Daisy. He tells readers, “…he let her believe that he was a person from the same stratum as herself…that he was fully capable to take care of her. As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities…” (Fitzgerald 149). Gatsby basically lies about his social status to win Daisy`s heart, which shows how his relationship is based on dishonesty and lies rather than trust. Gatsby changes himself in order to make room for Daisy in his life. A romantic hero never lies beca...
The Great Gatsby presents the main character Jay Gatsby, as a poor man who is in love with his best friends cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby was in love with Daisy, his first real love. He was impressed with what she represented, great comfort with extravagant living. Gatsby knew he was not good enough for her, but he was deeply in love. “For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man’s”(Fitzgerald 107). Gatsby could not think of the right words to say. Daisy was too perfect beyond anything he was able to think of. Soon Gatsby and Daisy went their separate ways. Jay Gatsby went into the war while telling Daisy to find someone better for her, someone that will be able to keep her happy and provide for her. Gatsby and Daisy loved one another, but he had to do what was best for her. Gatsby knew the two might not meet again, but if they did, he wanted things to be the same. “I 'm going to fix everything just the way it was before”(Fitzgerald 106). He wanted Daisy to fall in love with him all over again. Unsure if Daisy would ever see Gatsby again, she got married while he was away. The two were still hugely in love with one another, but had to go separate ways in their
At the heart of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, there is a theme of desire, an unshakable quest by Jay Gatsby set in motion by the beauty of Daisy Buchanan. Yet, when Jay and Daisy are together, considerable awkwardness is displayed between these two characters, and this awkward atmosphere is primarily the result of the actions of Jay Gatsby.
Gatsby has all the money yet he is not happy when he throws gigantic parties at his house. Daisy, the one he tried to lure in with his parties, never cared to show up. The love shown by Gatsby towards Daisy, “’I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed. Good night, old sport.’ He put his hands in his coat pockets and turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil. So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight – watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145).