The Great Gatsby Greed Essay

Jay Gatsby is a mysterious love interest to Daisy in "The Great Gatsby," which takes place in the 1920s or the “Jazz Age.” In the tragic novel, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates that greed betrays love if people do not value their significant other as much as they value a lifestyle of comfort and familiarity through Fitzgerald's depiction of Gatsby’s obsession over Daisy, his corrupt methods of gaining wealth, and his shallow relationship with Daisy.
His corrupt methods of gaining wealth in hopes of building a relationship with Daisy exemplify Gatsby's disregard for the law. Gatsby is willing to go to any lengths to attain a relationship with Daisy: “Unaware of the distance between the corruption in his life as a gangster

The youth that Gatsby aims to overcome represents the fundamental differences between Daisy and Gatsby that stem from the contrast in how they each acquired wealth: “Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor ...” (Xiangqi). Daisy will never be able to understand the effort and risks it took for Gatsby to become wealthy. Daisy never had to work or break the law to become worthy of Gatsby. He was always fascinated by her, and he felt he had to earn her affection. This unveils the imbalance of power between Daisy and Gatsby that results from how their relationship began. Daisy holds all the power in the relationship because Gatsby is struggling for her approval and love, while his love for her is unconditional. The author questions, “However, when Daisy remarks that she is “p-paralyzed with happiness” (9) the hesitancy in her voice and the inappropriateness of the comment imply that she is frozen in a reality that is neither happy nor charming” (Wolfe). Through Daisy’s subtle body language, we can tell that she is not fully happy in her reality. Although Gatsby causes confusion in her life, he provides her with an escape from the reality she does not feel comfortable in. Gatsby was willing to alter his entire life to be worthy of Daisy, but she will not leave her husband. She may love the excitement he brings to her life, but her lack of

Gatsby believes the only thing keeping him and Daisy apart is money: “He believes money can buy anything, including love, time, and youth” (Arbor). Gatsby became wealthy and started throwing extravagant parties and eventually attracting Daisy. However, he was adamant that she leave Tom. He believed now that he was ready to support her that she should give up her own life. He thinks his money is the only thing of importance in his relationship with Daisy. No matter what he believes, he couldn’t get rid of the years Daisy spent with Tom instead of him with money. The author states, “Gatsby's continuous pursuit of his pure dream - repeating his love with Daisy - is in sharp contrast with Tom's infidelity” (Xiangqi). Daisy is not looking specifically to be in love with Gatsby or for a relationship with him. She is searching for what is missing from her marriage with Tom. She believes she can get this from Gatsby. Her motivations for pursuing him are not pure. Her love for Gatsby is just love for the attention and treatment he gives her that she does not get from her husband Tom. However, because she has no intentions of leaving Tom, we are shown that she does not want to be with Gatsby. Her greedy decision to maintain relationships with both Tom and Gatbsy shows that she is not truly content with either