Examples Of Relationships In The Great Gatsby

Mackenzie Evans

Ms. Huff

Composition 1, Period 8

5 March 2023

Relationships Dissected in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby explores the roaring 20’s, a time of parties, stocks, and the never-ending chase of the American Dream, through the varying relationships of several characters. The narrator, Nick Carraway is a bonds salesman who moves to the West Egg in hopes of finding success in the bustling stock market of New York City. Nick ends up neighboring with the infamous Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man who throws extravagant parties every weekend in hope of finding his long lost love, Daisy Buccanan. Daisy and Tom Buccanan are a married couple living in East Egg with generations of old money supporting their comfortable yet complacent lives. In

Tom is characterized as a brute wealthy man who has little care for his wife and all the care in the world for his wealth and status, while Daisy is introduced as a pleasant woman who loves her husband. Daisy previously engages in a passionate relationship with Jay Gatsby before she encounters Tom; however, when Gatsby is shipped off to war, she is left behind with a promise to return to him after he got his life and finances together. Despite their promise, she chooses Tom on account of the comfort that “the crude force of Tom's money” (Person) brings to her lifestyle. It is revealed in the first chapter that Tom is cheating on Daisy through his very obvious disinterest in her. Everyone is painfully aware of Tom’s affair, and he apprises that the reason he and Daisy do not divorce is due to the fact that Daisy is Catholic. On the contrary, the truth is far more superficial. Daisy greatly desires that she is oblivious to Tom’s infidelity. She expresses to Nick when her daughter is born, that she “hope[d] she’[d] be a fool” (20), because it is so difficult being aware of the discrepancy between Tom and herself. Daisy knows that she is not truly in love with Tom, but still she remains

At first, Daisy and Gatsby’s affair is displayed as two lovers who have waited years to reconnect with one another. Nevertheless, it is revealed that their relationship is purely based on what the other represents, not their true qualities. For Gatsby, Daisy represents “green light that signals him into the heart of his ultimate vision” (Bewley), his vision being notoriety and success. It is made obvious from the beginning that the “old money” class of East Egg look down upon the likes of Gatsby due to his unsavory methods of acquiring wealth. They also generally look down upon the "new money” class because of their flashiness and almost adolescent nature of spending their freshly earned dollars. Gatsby realizes this, and craves the adoration and respect of the “old money” citizens.While he may feel some of the fondness they had when they were young, Daisy’s status is a significant motive towards his obsession. His chauvinistic gestures of parties and flashy cars are only set to prove to Daisy, and even himself, that he is just as wealthy as the East Egg citizens and should be respected as such. Gatsby verifies that money is the primary factor to his endearment towards Daisy when he remarks that "her voice is full of money" (Fitzgerald 128). With that money comes esteem, which is