Examples Of Quotes In The Great Gatsby

Katie Newell

Honors English

Mr. LaChimia

May 16th 2023

Gatsby’s Intentions

The story of hot shot Gatsby focuses on the journey of Gatsby trying to repeat the past and rekindle the flame between him and socialight Daisy Bucchian. He had been so smitten with her that once they had separated he devoted his entire life climbing the rungs of the social ladder to get her back. Gatsby takes the genuine love he and her once shared and obsessed over it. This is why I believe once they separated that love dissipated as she moved on and he reminisced in the past. Gatsby proves he isn't truly in love with her by only really loving the idea of Daisy,not truly connecting with Daisy, and the fact that he simply likes the idea of competing with a man like

After separating, his deep infatuation with her just grew stronger. He didn’t mind the fact that she had moved on and had begun a new life with a new husband and child. Daisy becomes this idealized woman of his past. A quote from Nick Calloway proves he realized this, “we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past” (Great Gatsby 141), describing the adamant pull the past with Daisy has on Gatsby. Other scholars came to the conclusion that Gatsby's obsession was really a pathological state of grieving that enslaves him. He displays the symptomatology of melancholic depression which is a form of repetition compulsion (Freud 18:21). Putting reasoning behind the supposed true love he displays for Daisy, and unveiling it as what it really is: melancholia. It becomes more clear that Gatsby's feelings for Daisy were something other than love, “‘Look at this, said Gatsby quickly. ‘Here’s a lot of clippings-about you’” (Great Gatsby 59), gives you more of a look into Gatsby's obsession with the idea of Daisy as he goes to the lengths of collecting newspaper clippings involving

The contradicting upbringings of the two is what will inevitably drive them apart. James Gatz was born the son of poor farmers who was determined to be successful, and with the help of a wealthy man (Dan Cody) he was able to learn the manners of the rich. Daisy on the other hand, born into wealth and constantly being surrounded by it, simply has a different perspective of the world that differs from Gatsby's own, one that he simply will never be able to grasp because he never experienced it, no matter how much he pretends to understand. This is evident during Gatsby and Tom's fight over Daisy, “Gatsby leans into his melancholia, adamantly insisting she admit that she ‘never loved’ Tom. The desperation of the melancholia upends itself. Gatsby's virulence climaxes, he loses his composure , and the illegitimate swamp boy rises from The Valley of ashes. Once Daisy sees the bastardy his new wealth has been concealed (Pekarofski 65-66). Daisy also further proves the connection between the two is not strong enough as she realizes what she was getting herself into, “she hesitated. Her eyes fell on Jordan and me with a sort of appeal, as though she realized at last what she was doing-and as though she had never, all along, intended doing anything at all. But it was done now. It was too late.” (Great Gatsby