Examples Of Enchantment In The Great Gatsby

The Dark Nature of Enchantment In The Great Gatsby In The Great Gatsby, Daisy enchants both Nick and Gatsby; Nick’s grandiose diction and detailed, descriptive imagery portrays how Daisy captures both his and Gatsby’s attention through her distinct self expression and presentation. This enchantment permanently alters the characters’ desires—making their life purpose revolve around Daisy and thus revealing the darker, less magical nature of enchantment: a life revolving around one person isn’t enchanting at all.
Nick, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, uses superfluous vocabulary and extensive, intimate descriptions of every aspect of Daisy’s life in her initial introduction. Nick presents the reader with a detailed explanation of how seemingly

The wealth and status that radiate from Daisy initially pull Gatsby in during his youth; growing up impoverished, Gatsby sees Daisy as the status symbol for success that he’s always longed for. Moreover, when the two finally reconcile, Gatsby constantly tries to impress Daisy in an attempt to win her over and repeat the past. Nick goes into great detail about Daisy’s reaction to Gatsby’s new life when they first reunite: “Daisy came out of the house and two rows of brass buttons on her dress gleamed in the sunlight. ‘That huge place THERE?... Do you like it?’ ‘I love it, but I don’t see how you live there all alone.’ ‘I keep it always full of interesting people, night and day. People who do interesting things. Celebrated people’” (70). In many moments like this one throughout the novel, Gatsby gets defensive of himself, his life, and the work he’d done to get there. He highlights the celebrated people that appear at his parties, and the interesting things that they do in hopes to level with Daisy. In Gatsby’s mind, he must be an upper-class person with upper-class friends, and an upper-class house and host upper-class parties to get with an upper-class girl. Gatsby’s defense must be airtight in order to convince Daisy to stay with him, so he focuses on defending his name and his reputation and loses sight of everyone around him—especially Nick. It’s ironic: when

Daisy’s enchantment ruins Gatsby’s life, whereas Nick’s enchantment piques his curiosity and is a unique attraction. Daisy changes both Gatsby’s and Nick’s life forever–with her effects on Gatsby being particularly negative. Gatsby’s only fulfillment comes from pleasing Daisy, so he dies on her behalf at the end of the novel. Without Daisy, Gatsby would be a successful man; he would probably have friends and be in a healthy, happy relationship. Gatsby’s failed relations with Daisy, and his failed life teach a lesson to us all about enchantments, regardless of how magical they appear. Sometimes we have to let go of the past, despite how enchanting and enticing it was. In both The Great Gatsby and the real world, when one hopes to rekindle an enchantment that has lost its spark, the effects will be