In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the love that the titular character, Jay Gatsby, feels for Daisy Buchanan serves as a driving point for the plot as a whole and for Gatsby’s character. His feelings for her dramatically alter the course of the lives of all characters, and most notably that of his own life. However, this essay argues that Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is more of an act of obsession than a love. His relentless and ambitious personality blurs the thin lines between love and obsession, specifically in his plan to take back the woman that he once loved. In his quest for Daisy, Gatsby goes to extreme lengths just to gain her attention, the most obvious examples being the parties he throws at his mansion that sits right …show more content…
Whilst love is an extremely strong emotion, this and him stretching “out his arms toward” and embracing the “single green light” emitting from across the bay hint that his feelings may be more sinister than just love. Gatsby’s main motivation for amassing his wealth seems to be removing the possible obstacle between him and Daisy- their social status. Meeting and falling in love with Daisy before his financial successes and later losing her to Tom, a man from a very rich background, must have motivated him to gain his riches. There is no telling how far he would go to “fix everything just the way it was before” but considering the factors at play it is very likely that he would not stop in pursuit of his goal, even if it meant breaking the law. The era in which the book is set and the speed in which he acquired his wealth suggests that he earned his money by abusing the prohibition era laws and illegally smuggling alcohol into America. Taking part in illegal activity just to spend it on gaining the attention of Daisy suggests once again that his feelings were of obsession more so than those of