In the year 2017, I believe the most relevant message we as a society need to hear is to not let temporary happiness interfere with our overall life goals. Today there are so many insignificant events that we allow to run and shape our entire existence. As a population we are driven by temporary desires; ones of wealth, lust, love, popularity, beauty, and many other shallow traits we view as important. Through these temporary outpourings of happiness we loose track of our overall life goals. As portrayed in The Great Gatsby, we gain insight about how these temporary reliefs, can cause our utmost downfall. Exemplified by Jay Gatsby himself, we view first hand how lust, wealth, and love can cause our life to be majorly drawn off course. We witness how Gatsby’s lust over Daisy costs him his entire life, not only in death but in the alteration of his lifestyle. …show more content…
I believe we need to learn from our mistakes, as demonstrated by Gatsby, and apply this lesson to our current generation. Living in the 21st century, we need to take control of our lives and not let other people interfere in the achievement of our personal goals. I believe we as a world should unite in independence of the fraudulent escapes; such as drugs, alcohol, sex, and love; and truly focus on obtaining a life worth living. If we as a society continue to let these immature decisions take priority over our actions, we will end up digging ourself into an eternal habit of wasting away our limited time on earth. Instead, we should learn from our history and apply our mistakes into bettering our future. We need to learn how to live for ourselves and not for the enjoyment and desire of
Gatsby’s wealth did not bring him happiness nor did it bring him Daisy. Gatsby was so devoted to his love for Daisy that when she ran over her husband’s mistress, he took the blame. It was that last act of gallantry that cost him his life. In a mad rage the husband of the woman Daisy ran down killed Gatsby. It was only then that the truth that Gatsby’s new life was superficial came to light. His so called friends were users. His love affair a farce. Instead of staying by his side Daisy returned to her husband. None of the hundreds of people who came to his parties ventured to his funeral. Not even his partner in crime, Meyer Wolfsheim, cared about him in the end. He was no longer of value to any of
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him. Initially, Gatsby stirs up sympathetic feelings because of his obsession with wealth.
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
Happiness means different things to different people. Some people find happiness in a sense of joy or excitement, and others find it in warmth, and goodness. This is why people pursue happiness; to feel a sense of completion. In The novel The Great Gatsby and in the film The Life of Pi, the characters Jay Gatsby and Pi Patel both pursue and compromise their happiness through love, determination, and adversity or hope. To some people, the most important of these is love.
As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man. This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards. He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick." Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth. Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively. His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly. Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention. A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.
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
When reflecting on his memories of the man he knew as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway recalls the unique individual’s finest quality: “It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again” (Fitzgerald 2). Although Gatsby occasionally stepped off the straight and narrow, he never lost sight of his ultimate goal: Daisy’s love. Even when it seemed as though everything was working against him and that he would never regain his lost love, Gatsby kept going, knowing that the strength of his hope would see him through. His childlike determination, while ultimately his downfall, was what made Gatsby truly “great.”
When people hear the words “romantic hero,” they imagine one of those fake characters from cheesy love stories, holding roses while kneeling below the heroine`s balcony. Gatsby is no better than those fake and desperate heroes because his love is untrue and obsessive. James Gatz, who is also known as Jay Gatsby, is a poor young man who acquires wealth for the purpose of gaining the love of a rich girl named Daisy. Gatsby lives and breathes for Daisy, the “nice” girl he loves, even though she is married to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby`s love may sound dedicated, but it is more obsessive because he lives in his dreams and will literally do anything to win Daisy`s heart. In Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is not portrayed as being a romantic hero due to his attempts in trying to be someone he is not by faking his identity, by his selfish acts in desperation for Daisy`s love, and his fixation with wealth, proving that love is not the same as obsession.
Have you ever been in a situation where you have almost met your goal, but something in the way is preventing you from fully accomplishing it? Jay Gatsby, one of the protagonists in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, loses the love of his life, Daisy, due to years of separation and is trying to win her back. Daisy’s husband, Tom, however, won’t let her go that easy. Gatsby fights his way to get back the lover he waits so many years for. Preceding Gatsby’s risky quest, his main goal in life is to obtain a great wealth in order to impress the beautiful Daisy. He only thinks about Daisy and their life together. He will do anything to be reunited, no matter the consequences. Jay’s shadow side is revealed and anima is present throughout his journey. Gatsby appears to be an altruistic, benevolent, stately young man. Upon close scrutiny, it’s unveiled that he is malicious and selfish because he wants Daisy for himself and he is wiling to ruin a family for her. But, his anima shows how caring, romantic, and vulnerable he really is through his devotion and passion for Daisy. Gatsby is unsuccessful in completing a traditional hero’s journey, but he does create his own unique version of the archetype. In this unorthodox interpretation, Gatsby learns the repercussions of wanting what you can’t have and dishonesty throughout the course of his battle for his lover.
Jay Gatsby’s dream became corrupted by money and dishonesty. Gatsby’s obsession with wealth and social standing defined his greatness. Ironically, it was this perceived importance which became his downfall. He gained money and social riches, and the obsession with Daisy continued. Gatsby presents an image of a classy, fun-loving and generous man, but in reality, he is lonely, vulnerable and unhappy. He even felt it necessary to make up his entire identity. Gatsby’s dream of life with Daisy is beyond his reach and unattainable.
Jay Gatsby believes that wealth and power can lead to love and happiness. He spends his entire life trying to create himself and change his past so that he can rekindle his love affair with the love of his life Daisy Buchanan. The two were young lovers, unable to be together because of very different social statuses. After Gatsby learns that he cannot be with Daisy because of this, he spends the rest of his life attempting to acquire wealth and power.
The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of having everything they worked and struggled for redefined if the reality fails them. Just like strivers who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spend his whole life in persue of his American dream, which Daisy was a major component of it. Gatsby’s “American dream” seems actualized when Daisy comments him “resemble the advertisement of the man(Ch7).” But Daisy eventually betrays Gatsby and went back to the arms of Tom. This is the final nail in the coffin, with Gatsby’s dr...
As a romantic, Jay Gatsby does not understand how money actually works in American life. He believes that if he is rich, then Daisy can be his. This is displayed most powerfully and poignantly in the scene where Gatsby shows Daisy and ...
The author illustrates through the characters that the search for wealth, love, or fame or going after the past ideals may not lead to true happiness. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly, he devotes most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Jay had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards.
Gatsby’s failure to achieve his dream may be blamed on his romantic views of life. Every one of his actions was directed towards his dream. His view of the perfect lifestyle is encouraged by a beautiful and wealthy woman. Daisy Buchanan, whom Gatsby knew during World War I, is seen as the golden girl. She is who Gatsby desir...