Nothing is more dejecting than being caught up in a habit that destroys the chance to achieve happiness. This concept is evident throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby. The novel takes place during the Jazz Age; among the glitter and the scandal of the era, the book portrays several characters and their struggles in searching for what brings them happiness or how to avoid the miseries of their lives. The Great Gatsby reveals that when people use vices such as pride, revenge, and lust in an attempt to numb or eschew the realities of life, the denouement is more pain. After winning WW1, the 1920s became a time of great American pride. However, pride, with one definition being an intense emotion of being proud of one’s accomplishments, …show more content…
However, in the moment, the characters have a hard time telling the difference. There are three relationships that are based on love, lust, or both. For example, the relationship between Tom and Myrtle is based solely on lust. “His wife and his mistress . . . were slipping precipitately from his control. Instinct made him step on the accelerator with the double purpose of overtaking Daisy and leaving Wilson behind . . . ” (Fitzgerald 125). If Tom is in love with daisy, he should be able to focus on the love he has for her rather than being distracted and feeling carnel by another woman. Some could also argue that Gatsby and Daisy are really in love with each other, however, there are some factors that can contribute to the fact that they are only lusted by each other – especially Gatsby. In love, you can be patient and wait; in lust you are impatient and want things to speed up as quickly as possible. Gatsby is extremely eager to start a life with Daisy and does several things to try to speed up the process – he works hard to be able to own a huge mansion and throw big parties, he gets Nick to re-introduce Daisy to him , he gives Daisy a tour of his house in hopes of her loving it enough to imagine living with him,