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the great gatsby themes thesis
is the great gatsby a love story, issues fitzgerald is exploring about love essay
is the great gatsby a love story, issues fitzgerald is exploring about love essay
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Crossing the porch where we had dined that June night three months before, I came to a small rectangle of light which I guessed was the pantry window. The blind was drawn, but I found a rift at the sill. Tom and Daisy were sitting across one another at the kitchen table. They were engaged in a conversation. Tom was talking intently across the table to Daisy with his hand covering her own, as she stared at the cold chicken that lay on the table. “Daisy, are you okay?” Tom asked her in a gentle tone. “Yes, I’m fine Tom. Why wouldn’t I be?” she replied after a moment. “Daisy, I saw some trouble on the road. George Wilson’s wife was killed. You know the fella that owns that garage? A car killed her. They described it as a new big yellow car. It was Gatsby’s car.” Daisy’s face was filled with fear as she slowly stood up and walked around the room. “She was…she was killed?” Daisy questioned in a trembling voice. After a moment, Daisy went to sit back in her chair and stared at the cold chicken that lay on the table again. She then faced Tom with a struggle to keep a convincing face. “Tom, it was an accident,” she finally said. “Now listen Daisy, I don’t want you seeing this Gatsby fella anymore. The coward didn’t even stop his car.” There was a sense of sadness in Tom’s eyes as he had said those words. Although Myrtle was killed, Tom was still very concerned about Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. “Daisy do you want to tell me what has been going on with you and Gatsby all this time?” Tom asked her. Daisy suddenly turned sharply at Tom, “speak for yourself Tom. What about your little affairs? How many times have you gone on one of your sprees?” I saw Tom as a hypocrite. Even though he was off having a shameless affair with Myrtle, he still condemns Daisy for having an affair with Gatsby. Daisy turned from Tom and began to sob, “did it ever come to your mind Tom that I need a little some love too?” Tom’s enormous masculine body rose and moved closer towards her. His powerful arms touched her affectionately and he said, “Daisy, you know that I love you. You’re worth a three hundred thousand dollar pearl necklace to me.” I could see that Tom and Daisy weren’t happy, but yet they weren’t unhappy either, and maybe they really did love each other.
During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich.
She ignored all the deep breaths she was neglecting herself of and continued the story, which I thought would never end. “Of course the poor man handed the letter to me faster than a bullet. The envelope was spruced up with blue ink specked with ‘I’s’ dotted with hearts. And on the corner was a tiny lipstick stain that she kissed with the small lips of her. The servant hid it with his thumb, it made me furious. I practically ripped the envelope in half for what I can remember. My anger and pettiness got the hold of me- I read the first line- ‘Dear Tom, you ought to come visit me soon, I’ve been rather lonely in the last few weeks.’- I was absolutely furious. I threw the letter through the window, and off the balcony. I hoped it had floated on the bay and sunk deep down and dissolved like it was written on toilet
When she hears Tom talking on the phone to his mistress, she throws “her napkin on the table” (14) and goes into the house. Since, Daisy throws “her napkin,” this shows how upset Tom’s actions makes her. However, she never confronts Tom about his affair because that might mean giving up the great lifestyle she is living, thus showing her selfish nature. Also, Daisy assumes that Nick did not come to her wedding because “[they] don’t know each other very well,” (16) when it was in fact because Nick was fighting in the war. Daisy is too self-centered to realize that Nick was in the war which is why he could to come to her wedding, implying that her wedding holds more significance. Also, Daisy’s comment to Nick shows her spoiled personality because she does not seem to care about other peoples’ life, only her own life, portraying her to be self-absorbed. Furthermore, when she finds out her newborn is a girl, Daisy “hopes she’ll be a fool” because “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (17) This shows how Daisy does not really have an emotional attachment with her child; she just wants her to be beautiful so she will attract people with her looks. Evidently, Daisy does not value intelligence in women and she thinks women should be able to get through the world using their looks. Moreover, Daisy treats Pammy as an object; she tells her to say hi to the guests and
Tom functions under the illusion that Daisy not only loves him now, but has always loved him and been completely devoted to him. Daisy does admit that she once loved him, but he was not her first choice; Gatsby was. Tom is also under the illusion that Daisy will never leave him. He has an ongoing, almost public affair with Myrtle but still wants to be devoted to Daisy and demands her devotion to him. Tom feels as if he will never lose anything: his money, Daisy, or his social status.
Tom is the reason Daisy can’t have what she wants. Daisy wants to be with Gatsby, but Tom intervenes to convince her otherwise. Tom stays married to Daisy, and cheats on her, almost everyone knows that he is cheating on her, when Jordan and Nick are talking at she talks about the affair “”You mean to say you don’t know?” said Miss Baker, honestly
Myrtle is unhappy in her life with her husband George and desires more, especially more money. Tom’s actions caused Myrtle to create the delusion that he would soon be leaving Daisy to be with her, further claiming that it is Daisy keeping them apart because “‘She’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce’” (Fitzgerald 33). Although, Nick, Daisy’s cousin, said, “Daisy was not a Catholic” and expressed his shock “at the elaborateness of the lie” (Fitzgerald 33). Tom was never planning to leave Daisy to be with Myrtle, he only planned to use her to cheat on his wife, yet Myrtle becomes so attached to this lie it becomes her life. Tom’s true intentions are revealed when he buys Myrtle a dog. She is “enthusiastic” about the idea expressing how she thinks “it’s cute” (Fitzgerald 28). By buying her the dog she wants, Myrtle believes Tom is spoiling her, since he bought her a dog on a whim, because she thought it was cute. Tom, on the other hand, does not think it is a big deal to spend ten dollars on a dog since he has an abundance of wealth at his disposal. All the while, he is fully aware of the scam the man is pulling recognizing, “It’s a bitch”, not a boy like the man claimed (Fitzgerald 28). Furthermore, Tom understands that his money will be used to “buy ten more dogs”, through his tone looking down on the
...ted how much Gatsby had accomplished for her the love of his life. “I called up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them ‘Left no address?’ ‘No.’ ‘Say when they’d be back?’ ‘No.’ ‘Any idea where they are? How I could reach them?’ ‘I don’t know. Can’t say’” (Fitzgerald 172). Daisy did not even make a call to ask about Gatsby she only cared about her life and not the harm she had caused. Daisy’s carelessness ended up causing a death of the person who loved her more than anything in the world.
Daisy’s actions and words contrast greatly with her husband, Tom, and his grave nature. Her impression on the reader is frivolous with her “charming little laugh'; (13), and her light manner. In addition, Daisy’s tendency to murmur, rumored to make people lean closer to her, also reflects on her coquettish personality. Nick’s ability to read Daisy so well from her facial expressions and body language attests that her mannerisms are very illustrative; “Daisy took her face in her hands…I saw that turbulent emotions possessed her, so I asked what I thought would be some sedative questions. She also welcomes Nick’s charming but cheesy flattery, when talking about Chicago and she treats him the same way in return by referring to him as a rose and also by saying “I am p-paralyzed with happiness'; (13).
To start off, Gatsby was convinced he was in love with Daisy, however that’s not the case. Jay Gatsby was a twisted man who was obsessed not with Daisy but with the idea of having her. Gatsby’s feelings for Daisy were not genuine; he just loved the crazy notion of having her. She played along with it and made him think that she would leave Tom, but lets face it, it was never going to happen. Daisy did not give a crap about Gatsby and everyone knows it, except for him. Daisy used Gatsby to make her husband jealous because she knew that Gatsby would do anything for her.
The Great Gatsby illustrates Tom getting irritated and angry while driving to the city as a result of noticing the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby, and no one informing him of it: “Did you see that?” …“You think I’m pretty dumb, don’t you?”… He paused. The immediate contingency overtook him, pulled him back from the edge of the theoretical abyss” (121). Tom is starting to catch on that Daisy might be cheating on him with Gatsby, but he has no right to be upset; he is doing the same thing with Myrtle!
Tom’s affairs with other women are the first dissolute relationship in the novel. A call from one of the women Tom was cheating on Daisy with during the dinner with Nick and Jordan is one of the first signs of something awry in Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Daisy becomes suspicious almost immediately and is observably distraught. He also cheated on Daisy in Santa Barbara before, forcing them to move to New York, which is revealed later in the novel. Tom cheating makes Daisy rightfully paranoid that anytime she is not with Tom he may be
Throughout the novel, one of Tom 's biggest careless acts was when he cheated on Daisy. Tom is a cocky, confident man shown many times throughout the novel like when Nick arrived at his house and "Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch" (Fitzgerald 6). His stance showed his arrogance, and how highly he thought of himself because of his wealth. Tom was a man who often acted without thinking things through, like having an affair with Myrtle. Despite both Tom and Myrtle being married, they both had affairs. Tom doesn 't hide his affair from Nick and introduces him to his mistress Myrtle at Wilson 's garage. Tom doesn 't seem to care if anyone finds out because he feels as though nothing would change due to his wealth. While at Myrtle 's husbands garage, Tom tells Myrtle to meet him at the train station. They end up going to their apartment in New York City that they keep for their affair. While at the Morningside Height 's apartment Myrtle starts to talk about Tom 's wife Daisy, ""Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I 'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-"" (Fitzgerald 37). Tom didn 't like Myrtle overstepping her boundaries and to show
Throughout the novel Tom manages to speak sensitively to Daisy. For example, when Tom and Daisy are in the kitchen eating chicken, he takes time to remind her of all the intimate moments they have had together. I think that this scene shows that Tom really does love Daisy in his own way.
But as soon as he met Daisy, his priority changed because now, he loved her immensely. Jay Gatsby had gone for war and promised Daisy that he would return as soon as possible. Daisy was so obsessed with having a comfortable life with a financial security; that she couldn’t even wait for the person whom she loved to return back from the war. While Gatsby was gone for war, “all the time something within her was crying for a decision. She wanted her life shaped now, immediately – and the decision must be made by some force – of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality – that was close to hand (p151).” The decision she made was for Tom Buchanan. This is a considerable evidence of Daisy being so obsessed with money and luxury which resulted in betraying Jay Gatsby who loved her like no one else did. The death of Myrtle Wilson was caused by a series of events. But evidently, it was Daisy who accidently hit Myrtle with Gatsby’s car. Myrtle’s husband George thought that it was Jay Gatsby who killed his wife Myrtle. The murderer of “The Great Gatsby” was George Wilson, who physically shot and killed Gatsby in order to seek a revenge. When Nick Caraway found out that Gatsby was no longer alive, he was completely shattered and broken. When he telephones Daisy to tell her of Gatsby’s death, he learns that she and Tom have left on a trip leaving no other information. She and Tom would have resolved
Daisy has several conflicts that she holds inside. For instance, she is aware that Tom has a mistress but does not know how to deal with it. Nick does not understand why Daisy is still married to Tom knowing what he does. At one point, Daisy chose to confess her true feelings to Nick. Daisy says that she rather be a foolincapable of and invulnerable to ideas and emotionsand she hopes that her daughter will be a fool also in order to shield her from the pain and suffering that she went through (160).