Theme Of Curiosity In The Great Gatsby

There is a reason for everything in this world. What drives every experience in life is one simple element, curiosity. If our world was not curious then we would never progress, never come across new discoveries, and never succeed. The word has little meaning, but serves a severe purpose. “Curiosity” has been around for quite a while now. According to Dictionary.com, the word was first used in 1350 in ancient Rome. In its original sense, the noun represented “the quality of being careful” (Agnes 355). The word has changed over time and now means “desire to learn or know” (Curiosity). The word is used in phrases such as, “Curiosity killed the cat,” which means that being curious can sometimes result in trouble. Whether it is the curious monkey

The word “curious” is used thirteen times in The Great Gatsby. “Curiosity” is used only four times in the book. On page 162 in the book, Nick states that Gatsby “came out with a curious remark.” The way he uses the word in this sense causes it to possess more of a meaning of the third definition which means, “anything strange, or novel” (Curious). The majority of the book consists of numerous people’s curiosity revolving around one question, “Who is Gatsby?” Each character has their own reason to be curious. As one progresses through the book, every character’s reason for curiosity will be revealed. For instance, at first, Nick is curious about who his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, is. On page 49, it reads, “her tone reminded me of the other girl’s “I think he killed a man,” and had the effect of stimulating my curiosity.” What Nick is saying here is that all the talk about who Gatsby is and what he does is only making him more eager and curious to find out the truth. Gatsby is curious about Daisy. He wants to know all about her and have her for himself. Daisy is curious about Gatsby after the war because he never comes back. Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, starts to notice feelings between Gatsby and Daisy, which causes him to become curious of Gatsby’s intentions with his wife. As mentioned before, curiosity is within all of us. The usage of this word in the book has neither a positive nor negative connotation. It is solely used to describe the characters’ desire to know or