Daniel Crites Mrs. Michaud English III 18 April 2023 Disillusionment in The Great Gatsby Finally achieving goals is underwhelming, the feeling that more could be done always present, the chase of the goal is significantly more entertaining than reaching goals. This concept is portrayed beautifully in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby has wanted Daisy for nearly 5 years and once he has her he is underwhelmed by her and misses chasing her. Gatsby was completely disillusioned with Daisy. When he was younger he was chasing money and status, when he was older he was chasing Daisy. During the pursuit of these two things was when he was the happiest he’s ever been. The chase gave him a goal to work for, without this goal he had no reason to do anything because he had everything he wanted. Gatsby could not be happy having everything he wanted because he is extremely …show more content…
Gatsby stretching his arms toward the green light across the water symbolizes the chase of goals and how one can be so enthralled in the chase of their goal that they let everything else go, it also portrays the desperation that comes with chasing goals. Gatsby would do anything to have Daisy in his grasp, he does not care about his money, his status, his possessions, or his parties, all he wants in this moment is Daisy and he would do anything to have her. Gatsby had unrealistic expectations of Daisy, this led to disappointment “when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). No matter how hard Daisy tried, she could never equate to Gatsby’s wild expectations. He had put her on a massive pedestal. Gatsby’s unrealistic expectations are not only delegated to him but are delegated to