Multiple Themes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The book “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott. Fitzgerald deals with multiple themes: wealth, love, mysterious backgrounds, American dream, and power. The story is told by the narrator, Nick Caraway, he moved East and became a neighbor to Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire that throws lavish parties in hopes to win back his former love Daisy Buchanan. Daisy Buchanan is a young, wealthy woman who is married to a wealthy brute of a man named Tom Buchanan; they live across the bay from Nick and Gatsby’s house. Throughout the book there are secrets, murder, death, affairs, and greed. F. Scott. Fitzgerald, the author who wrote “The Great Gatsby” in 1925 based on the American Dream. Fitzgerald represented himself in the character Jay Gatsby;

“My dear” she cried, “I’m going to give you this dress as soon as I’m through with it. I’ve got to get another one tomorrow. I’m going to make a list of all the things I’ve got to go get. A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog, and one of those cut little ash-trays where you touch a spring, and a wreath with a black silk bow for mother’s grave that’ll last all summer. I got to write down a list so I won’t forget all the things I got to do” (Fitzgerald,29). Myrtle uses her affair with the rich Tom Buchanan as a way to climb up the social ladder. When she’s with Tom she uses his wealth to buy her stuff and even to rent out an apartment for her. "He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drugstores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts” (Fitzgerald,83). Gatsby used those side businesses as a way to socially climb up the ladder. Gatsby met many powerful people and became wealthy through his businesses that he had. As a result, Gatsby and Myrtle had their different ways of climbing up the ladder but had met the powerful people they needed to get to the

“Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!” shouted Mrs. Wilson. “I’ll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai-” (Fitzgerald,30). Tom thinks that Myrtle has no business of mentioning Daisy’s name because she is the mistress and that's his wife. Tom feels strongly for both of them but Myrtle thinks that Tom can’t stand her and that Daisy is standing in her way of marrying Tom. Daisy says, “I love you now-isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past.” She began to sob helplessly. “I did love him once-but I loved you too” (Fitzgerald,82). Daisy loved Gatsby in the past but when she met Tom she began to love him too. When Gatsby hears this he’s shocked because he thought Daisy always loved him like he has for the last five years. However, Gatsby and Myrtle both fall in love with people they can't have, something they want but they can’t