Theme Of Love In The Great Gatsby

How does The Great Gatsby use language and stylistic features to explore the idea of love?

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a legendary novel, considered a critically acclaimed classic around the world, later being made into several cinematic adaptations, the 2013 version being nominated for several Grammys. Known for its depth and symbolism, one of The Great Gatsby’s many literary conventions is the theme of love. Throughout its course, love is commonly intraconnected and analyzed by Fitzgerald, though plot motifs such as romantic affairs, ‘love vs lust’ and even the use of a diegetic narrator. Such a detailed writing style and deep metaphor cements The Great Gatsby as a masterclass in narrative writing.

The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, a stockbroker living in West Egg, New York. During the opening monologue, Nick speaks of a trait inherited from his father, claiming he ‘reserves judgement’ of his peers, as many are less privileged than he. Nick adds that there may be a limit to his unbiased nature, as ‘I come to the admission that it has a limit’. This attitude leads the reader to believe that, at least in a general sense, their narrator will be unbiased throughout his commentary. While this is partially true, Nick’s role as the intradiegetic narrator limits the

overall perspective presented to the reader. This is evident in the way the viewer is officially introduced to Gatsby - his first proper appearance shrouds him in mystery, employing language describing him as ‘emerg[ing] from the shadow’ and, from Nick’s perspective, seemingly vanishing when Nick turns away. He is presented under the guise of being an imposing figure or villain, whereas if the story was being told from the perspective of an extradiegetic narrator, the reader would be initially informed about the purity of Gatsby’s heart from the beginning. Throughout the novel, events are skewed in this manner to influence the reader’s emotions regarding different characters and events. This method of influencing the mood of the reader drastically changes how characters are perceived; the reader’s emotions are manipulated and increased through sneaky illusions such as this throughout the story.

Many relationships in The Great Gatsby are fickle as they are driven by lust, rather than love. The duo of affairs taking place during the novel are the prime example. Tom Buchanan cheats on Daisy due to a lust for power; resenting that Daisy is a strong woman. He instead resorts to Myrtle to feed his power-hungry tendencies. Similarly, Gatsby lusted for Daisy long after their farewell, desperately hoping that their love would be rekindled, despite their relationship being so lost in time. The married Daisy would debate whether this new, passionate lust was more appetizing than the dreary life inhabited with Tom. All of these affairs in The Great Gatsby are compared to the less plot-crucial relationship between Nick and Jordan Baker. Although the relationship was more casual than those aforementioned, it began with a true spark, and as their relationship developed, this genuine connection is contrasted with the weak threads linking the hearts of other shallow relationships. The recurring theme of disloyalty in The Great Gatsby demonstrates how fickle love truly is throughout the story, and its common appearance reinforces how vital a theme it is to the book.

Gatsby’s parties are a large part of The Great Gatsby’s plot; many important events occur here, where characters meet, talk, and unfold their intricacies. These parties represent love both figuratively during the novel: in a literal sense, Gatsby is attempting to attract Daisy to his parties with their luxury and glamour, where he would attempt to rekindle their love. This approach is abandoned as he instead uses Nick to stage a coincidental meeting. Later in the story, the parties are becoming less enjoyable: while Nick enjoyed his first attendance, this occasion ended poorly, with men carrying their furious wives out of Gatsby’s mansion. The second party was a mess from the start; Gatsby and Tom were in an unspoken feud from the start, and Gatsby ended the evening dejected, believing Daisy hadn’t enjoyed the night. The gradual decline of these parties mirrors the decline of Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy, and the eventual disastrous ending to his public reputation. Fitzgerald’s writing, motifs and heavily refers to the overall theme of love in this section, just like his choice of motifs and conventions through the rest of the book.

An interesting difference between The Great Gatsby and other similar stories is the distinct lack of a traditional ‘true love’ relationship. Even in adulterous relationships, the two parties are driven together due to an insatiable lust, rather than any true emotional connection (as previously mentioned). Each relationship is introduced with the intention of leading the viewer into believing it may have true love, while each of them reveal the downsides. Tom/Daisy has both parties cheating on one another. Tom/Myrtle is borderline abusive by the hands of Tom. Gatsby/Daisy showed great promise, but ultimately reached a tragic end. Nick/Jordan was also promising, but early in the relationship, Nick comments on some of Jordan’s negative character flaws, regarding her as ‘incurably dishonest’, and by the end of the novel, decides he is ‘too old to lie to [him]self and call it honour’. Such a contrast from many other stories assists The Great Gatsby remaining entertaining for both study and casual reading.

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald had been subtly commented on love; perhaps true love doesn’t exist, and each relationship may have a fatal flaw due to a particular party, such as Tom’s lust for power or Myrtle’s craving of glitz and glamour.

Perhaps Fitzgerald was suggesting relationships require mutual effort; Tom, Myrtle and Jordan all have a lax attitude regarding their partner, the reason their relationships are fickle in the first place. The use of Nick as a narrator assists in shrouding The Great Gatsby’s true message in mystery. It’s unknown what Fitzgerald originally meant as he wrote the book, but The Great Gatsby’s depth allows it to be discussed

eternally.