ipl-logo

Boundaries In The Great Gatsby

1398 Words6 Pages

In the book “The Great Gatsby” the story centers around a character named Gatsby, and the story of his dreams being reached, but there are many hardships that need to be pushed through in order to reach his dream. This dream is something he wants, but can’t reach for it is but a fantasy created to help cope with the reality of the harsh world. This same statement could be used on the dreams of many illegal immigrants, or just people coming to the united states, and that’s the American dream. These two dreams seem to be reachable, by the eyes of the person, but there are many boundaries that are in the way, for the American dream there is the social boundaries, and also racial boundaries. Gatsby has his own boundaries too, because his lover, …show more content…

At the early 1920’s society’s view on divorce was not good, women who wanted to get away from their husbands would be looked down upon and ignored by the people, not having a job or a place to go the women had no choice to but to bare with the men they lived with. In the case of Daisy and Tom, they were both very attractive and wealthy people, they should had been a perfect couple in the eyes of the public, but the truth was far from it, Tom also explained to his mistress on why he didn’t think Daisy would ever want to get divorced. “You see,” cried Catherine. Triumphantly, she lowered her voice again. “It’s really his wife that’s keeping them apart. She’s Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce”. Because Tom didn’t want to be with his mistress, in marriage that is, he lied to her and her sister telling them that the only reason there wasn’t a divorce yet, was because Daisy’s religious views keeps them from getting a divorce, but clearly Daisy isn’t catholic. To conclude, Daisy is well aware that being a female is not the best thing to be in that time. The segregation of race and sex was beginning to decline, but was still very prominent with most societal issues. and Daisy is just hoping that her child wouldn’t have to go through the same hardships she had to with Tom. Daisy and Nick were at her house for diner, Daisy goes on about her child. “She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. “All right,” I said, “I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool- that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”. Daisy wishes that he little baby girl wouldn’t have to grow up, and live the humiliations Daisy

Show More
Related
935 Words | 4 Pages

In essence, the wedding of Tom and Daisy Buchanan was a rash, superficial choice that led to the inevitable development of discontented tensions building in the couple’s

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Furthermore, on page 37 it says, "She's a Catholic and they don't believe in divorce.' Daisy was not a Catholic." This example shows in order for Daisy to not go through an embarrassing,

Read More
1323 Words | 6 Pages

In the novel, she is well aware of Tom’s affair with Myrtle, a married woman and if she was a fool, she wouldn’t care, making her life easier. It’s disappointing to know that being a careless fool was the smartest choice for women in this era. Above all, women put so much emphasis on materialism that it was important for men to show off their wealth to win someone’s heart, increasing the materialistic views that damaged the morality of the majority in the 20’s. To continue, Daisy marries Tom though

Read More
811 Words | 4 Pages

The novel shows the reader that Tom Buchanan’s wife isn’t staying with him for love but for greed-filled reasons. One of those reasons being her not wanting to let go of the life she lives; Daisy was

Read More
1619 Words | 7 Pages

6. Daisy only married Tom because he was easy and available, not because she was actually in love with him. She wanted her life shaped now and the closest thing to a perfect life is with Tom. Women in this time either got married or lived with their

Read More
487 Words | 2 Pages

Jesse Zapata 3/7/16 Ms. Pruitt Seminar Questions: The Great Gatsby 1. Fitzgerald uses setting to emphasize various aspects of his social classes in the novel. The Valley of Ashes is a dark place, and it is home to the poor, unfortunate lower class then was exploited during the 1920s. West Egg is tacky and looming, representing how many of the young millionaires (The "New Money") in the novel have found themselves suddenly rich and upper class without preparation. East Egg is just the opposite.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

On the the other hand, Nick finds discovers that Daisy is miserable in her marriage with Tom. on page 39, Daisy says “The only CRAZY I was when i married him. I knew right away i made a mistake.” This shows the misery in her marriage with Tom. This was the opportunity James was waiting for.

Read More
1421 Words | 6 Pages

Daisy shows her struggles with the social status of women through her daughter and relationship with Tom. Jordan proves that being a “new” women of the 1920s comes with a price of judgment and accusations of dishonesty. Myrtle seeks to become a member of the

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Daisy could have married the man that she truly loved if she was not wealthy. It is easy for a wealthy person to not care about other people and live an extravagant life. After he meets up with Tom, Nick declares, “... Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness... let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 179).

Read More
2034 Words | 9 Pages

Breaking Social Boundaries The era of the 1920s was a pinnacle time in American History and the literature that was produced from this era showcases the social change happening. This was the time of social upheaval where the people were challenging social boundaries. The values that had been sought after in the period before this were becoming less and else prevalent in the new society. There are many viewpoints of this time period so the literature of this time was very diverse and many works showed the changing cultures.

Read More
387 Words | 2 Pages

1) The book starts out with Nick remembering how the last year or so went; him moving into West Egg in an attempt to make himself a “well- rounded young man,” moving in next to and meeting Gatsby, etc. He then goes over to visit Daisy across the bay and meets professional golfer and childhood best friend of Daisy’s, Jordan Baker. When he returns home from his cousin’s home that night, he sees a strange figure at the end of Gatsby’s dock.

Read More
844 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby Literary Comparative Essay “Say goodbye to white picket fences, say hello to palm trees and Benzes, say we gotta fall to have it all. We don’t want two kids and a wife, I just want a job I just want a life. And the underdogs rise and the mighty will fall.” With over 10 million views, American Dream by MKTO has become a world-renowned song, only to find that the actual lyrics attack the American Dream and how it is unattainable. The American Dream was once thought of as an achievable task by everybody, but it has been proven that this is untrue.

Read More
1062 Words | 5 Pages

In the present time, Daisy is moved on and married, with a child in a beautiful grand home. Her relationship with Tom can be speculated to be based on her wanting to gain his finances or that he can support her like no one else can. Daisy portrays an idealistic vision of herself, and , throughout the story, shows a selfish and narcissistic persona at times. Daisy and Gatsby

Read More
635 Words | 3 Pages

(151) this demonstrates how Daisy was so materialistic and how hard and sad it was because it wasn’t a real way of living life. Daisy throughout the story we realize is very fake and worked with her beauty up to wealth and then got married to

Read More
1399 Words | 6 Pages

Myrtle is accustomed to living an underprivileged life where feminine power engulfs her, but Tom is too egotistical to allow Myrtle to speak with such authority to him. Similarly, Gatsby’s need for assurance from Daisy pressures her into revealing to Tom that she never loved him (Fitzgerald 132). Deep down, Daisy knows that she truly did love Tom once, but Gatsby’s assertiveness and persistence drives her over the edge to telling Tom that what the two of them shared meant nothing to her. Daisy’s attribute of being a pushover is revealed immensely because she refuses to stand up for herself. Daisy is used to enabling Tom to constantly control all aspects of her life, and that leaves her powerless in society.

Read More

More about Boundaries In The Great Gatsby

Open Document