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What Does Happiness Mean In The Great Gatsby

548 Words3 Pages

What is something that everyone searches for but never finds? True happiness. The characters in The Great Gatsby have that goal even if they don't know it. They live extravagant lifestyles, in search of a meaning in their life. Tom Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby's goals and values show that they just want to be happy. Jay Gatsby tries to gain the love of Daisy throughout the book and thinks that it is all he needs. Gatsby throws a party almost every night in hopes that Daisy will end up at one and they will be reunited. When that does not work he has Nick invite her over. Daisy is reintroduced to Jay and she is shown around his mansion. As they walk around, Mr. Gatsby shows Daisy his huge collection of fancy and very expensive clothes. …show more content…

Tom is rich for his entire life, so he gets whatever he wants. First he got Daisy, the most beautiful woman in Louisville. For the entire time that Tom was married he was moving and looking for a good time. "They had spent a year in France for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together. . . I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking, . . . for a dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game" (6). Mr. Buchanan is restless and is looking for joy in his life. When he can't find it in Daisy, he gets a girlfriend named Myrtle. Tom finds excitement in cheating on Daisy. Although this feeling is only temporary because Myrtle later dies, and Tom shows that he did not care too much about her in the end. Tom's search for happiness never seems to be in his grasp. Daisy is a smart character whose hunt for happiness is shown by her behavior and lifestyle. She finds contentment n her life when she first meets Gatsby. After Jay leaves for the war Daisy needs someone else to make her happy so she marries Tom. At first Tom is a dream, but he turns out to be too wild for

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