Examples Of Love In The Great Gatsby

Love is subjective. What people feel is not a perfect template relevant to every individual. Even though ideas of love greatly vary, a general consensus defines it as an extreme attraction to someones not only physical being but also their mentality. While Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is often portrayed as a beautifully tragic love story between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, the reality of their ‘love’ is that it was built on nothing more than lust, greed, and an unattainable idealistic future. Characters desire for more almost always outweighs their reality, causing them to believe in something not really there. They are never satisfied. Jay Gatsby had come from nothing—dirt poor parents whom he refused to be associated with. He believed

When he met Daisy, he was able to catch a glimpse into the possibility of this expensive future he so desperately wanted. Some may argue that Gatsby loved her because why else would he do all this? However, after looking back at the book, it is clear Gatsby was never in love with Daisy but rather the idea of her. The point in the book where the true reason for his obsession is revealed was crucial to understanding the dynamics of their relationship. “‘Her voice is full of money,’ [Gatsby] said suddenly”(Fitzgerald 120). Gatsby compares Daisy’s enchanting voice to money. Not music, happiness, or anything even remotely romantic. He compares it to money. The voice of the woman he has ‘loved’ for the last 5 years reminds him simply of wealth. Their entire relationship is based on the idea of having money. Respected author Matthew J. Bruccoli commented on Gatsby’s delusional love, by writing, “Gatsby believes that he lost Daisy only because he was poor and that his new wealth will recapture her. He does not understand that Buchanan money is better than Gatsby money.” Gatsby believes his original lack of money is how he lost her and that his new found wealth alone will bring her back. This,

Especially with Daisy. The ingenue love between Gatsby and Daisy is Daisy’s greed and quick shift back to who she was and who she surrounded herself with. Daisy wanted nothing more than a happily ever after. Without a decisive bone in her body, her whole life had been planned out for her. She would marry rich, be a mother, and never work a day in her life. Everyone saw her as perfect, mesmerizing, intoxicating — a siren. Yet a personality seemed to be nonexistent. Daisy had not done anything to justify Gatsby’s obsession with her. All she had was her money and her looks, which in Gatsby’s eyes made her perfect. When Gatsby left, “suddenly she was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men, and drowsing asleep at dawn with the beads and chiffon of an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the floor beside her bed”(Fitzgerald 150). Without a thought of Gatsby she returned to what she was used to. She saw him as something new, something different. However, when given the chance to be with him, her selfishness led her to return to the comfort of her cookie cutter life. True love for someone will lead a person to the depths of the earth to be with them. Not for what they can be given, but simply for who they are. Daisy does not do this. After Gatsby leaves she immediately returns to her old life. She had never been held accountable for her actions and so because of this she has