While ambitions can make dreams come to life, they can also create insincere relationships. In Sullivan’s essay If Love Were All, he highlights the failures of false friendships and fleeting romances. Sullivan’s observations hold true in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald as Gatsby’s ambitions for his future prevent him from having a true friendship with Nick or a successful relationship with Daisy.
According to Sullivan’s observations, the criteria for true friendship are similarity and equality. Sullivan says that the core of friendship “rests in ... similarity” and that “in the deepest friendships what is shared is something more profound” such as “the same principles”. Gatsby and Nick’s friendship, however, does not meet
…show more content…
While Gatsby saw Daisy as his past, present and future, Daisy saw her reunion with Gatsby as a way to rekindle a flame with her past lover. She enjoys the excitement of such meeting since her marriage with Tom was distant and boring. The difference between Daisy and Gatsby’s views on their relationship becomes apparent when Gatsby waits outside her house after the car accident. He tells Nick “I’m just going to wait here and see if [Tom] tries to bother her about that unpleasantness this afternoon” (153) even planning to wait “All night, if necessary” (153). While Gatsby waits outside, Daisy does not think of Gatsby as she and Tom work out their differences inside. Nick observes that “They weren’t happy .... and yet they weren’t unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture” (154). Again Daisy shows her superficial side as she decides to stay with Tom because he has the same social status as she has. Daisy accepts her future with Tom and casts Gatsby aside. Daisy could never live up to Gatsby’s expectations because he created illusions of her based on his misconceptions. Gatsby’s failure to realize his misconceptions of Daisy lead to his