The Great Gatsby Research Paper

In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald published his world-renowned novel, The Great Gatsby. In this novel, Jay Gatsby is a newly rich man, originally born to an impoverished family. The novel made me think about how one could, in the pursuit of love, pour all of their life into a person, and receive nothing from it. Gatsby, for five years, followed Daisy wherever she went, working to be at the same status she was, to marry her. He tried to show Daisy he could give her everything Tom could, and more, yet in the end, Daisy chose Tom Buchanan. Gatsby, who thought himself destined for greatness since birth, worked his whole life to achieve that status. In adolescence, he found a new motivation to obtain wealth; his incentive was now more than getting out

Though Gatsby had good intentions for his relationship with Daisy, he romanticized their reality, believing he was the only man she ever loved. Nick narrates, “[Gatsby] must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (Fitzgerald 161). His belief is unfounded, and Daisy, though conflicted, refutes the claim. This crushes Gatsby, and among other things, makes him violent with Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband. After feuding with Tom Buchanan for Daisy’s affections, Daisy, with Gatsby in the car, kills Myrtle in a hit-and-run. Nick recollects, “‘Well, I tried to swing the wheel——’ [Gatsby] broke off, and suddenly I guessed the truth. ‘Was Daisy driving?’ ‘Yes,’ he said after a moment, ‘but of course I’ll say I was’ (Fitzgerald 154). Gatsby takes the blame for Daisy's crime, prompting Tom to send Myrtle's vengeful husband to Gatsby's house, where he's killed. Despite his innocence in the murder and affair with Myrtle, he dies, ultimately due to his selflessness. If Gatsby had let the Buchanans face the consequences of their negligence, (specifically, Daisy for killing Myrtle, and Tom for having the affair with Myrtle), he would’ve still been