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Examples Of Desire In The Great Gatsby

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Desire can make or break an individual. It is the foundation that results in either greatness or destruction. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays the myriad of outcomes that may unfold due to desire. The novel tells the story of James Gatz, a man who goes into the army shortly after falling in love. Daisy Fay becomes the center of his affections. James changes to Jay Gatsby when he chases the American Dream in order to win Daisy back. She marries Tom Buchanan during Gatsby’s deployment, and Gatsby spends the rest of his life attempting to impress her. The story tells of the desires of each character and how they go about achieving them. Fitzgerald captures the essence of desire, the pursuit of desire, and the outcomes of desire throughout The Great Gatsby.

An element of the essence …show more content…

The characters of Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle, again, show these aspects. They all chase after the American Dream. Things they thirst for about the American Dream are plenty of money, luxurious vehicles, extravagant homes, expensive clothing, and a picture perfect family (“Pursuit”). Throughout The Great Gatsby the characters strive for these aspects of the American Dream. Once they discern what the essence of desire means to them, the pursuit of their desires soon precedes.

The storyline of The Great Gatsby almost entirely consists of the pursuit of desire. Fitzgerald portrays three main topics of desire in the novel. The characters desire the American Dream, love, and perfection. However, the American Dream stands as the primary subject throughout The Great Gatsby. In the 1920’s, the American Dream could be defined as the achievement of equality, fairness, unity, and financial and material success, but the characters in the novel make the assumption of a separate meaning (Hearne 189). Fitzgerald defines the American Dream as the “idealistic quest for unworthy goals,” because more often than not, individuals strive for things that they do not deserve due to

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