They say happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed – it is the spiritual experience of living ever minute with love, grace and gratitude. We seem to forget that though, and many spend their lives searching for happiness where it cannot be found. The Great Gatsby follows the journeys of stereotypical individuals living in the Jazz Age - consumed by social classes and public awareness, on their quests for real, lasting, happiness. They look for happiness in the only places where happiness can be found; and that is love, money, the American Dream, and somewhere in their past. However, happiness cannot be found in such sublunary means. Jordan Baker was the sole character who captured her happiness, and the difference between her and the other characters is visible throughout the novel. In essence, happiness is envied by all, but achieved by few. …show more content…
However, we can see that he is yearning for something beyond his reach. Through assessing this complex character, we must notice his obsession with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lived his life to relive the past. Every party he threw, every purchase he made, everyone he interacted with, was all a part of the grander scheme to bring back Daisy. Gatsby believed his happiness was somewhere behind him. Nick writes, “Gatsby believed in the green light” (180; ch.9) and this has more than just a surface meaning. The green light symbolized his past love; and that is exactly where their love was – in the past. Yet he stood there, nearly every night, staring at the green light that glowed far beyond the water. He did this so frequently that a dream was created in his mind and it became his sole purpose for living. Daisy herself couldn’t even live up to his standards. Gatsby wanted the past without all the future luggage. He needed Daisy to profess her love for him and confess to never