Great Gatsby Literary Analysis | Teen Ink

Great Gatsby Literary Analysis

February 20, 2013
By Edwin Rodriguez BRONZE, Mayaguez, Other
Edwin Rodriguez BRONZE, Mayaguez, Other
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Have you ever felt deceived where a person is nice to you and pretends to be your friend or lover just to use you at the end? People are being used in many ways these days, it may be to make other people feel bad or for the person to benefit out of you or just to get pleasure out of seeing you getting hurt. In the Great Gatsby written by J.D. Salinger theres an example of this. The relationship that Daisy had with Gatsby was out of pity as well as to cause Tom to feel jealousy and guilt for cheating on her, leaving Gatsby with an illusion that she loved him. And at the end, it all ended so badly and tragic.

Throughout the whole book, the reader can interpret Gatsby’s great illusion of what Daisy is or used to be to him. She symbolized high-class society, purity and almost perfection in Gatsby’s eyes. When Gatsby tells Nick about Daisy back in the day in Louisville, it seems like he idolizes her. The author wrote, “When they met again, two days later, it was Gatsby who was breathless…” (Fitzgerald 139). In this quote, the diction used clearly suggests that Gatsby was really impressed and attracted to Daisy. Not only in chapter 8, but Fitzgerald portrays a Gatsby that justifies all his actions to be able to get and marry Daisy. Daisy says she loves Gatsby, but her love towards Gatsby is not nearly mentioned as much as Gatsby’s is.

The book’s resolution comes in a very interesting day. The tension of the scene in the hot day in New York City helps the reader feel like if he was present in the room. Gatsby asks and begs Daisy to tell Tom that she will leave Tom and run away with Gatsby. Before this, Daisy seems pretty sure and certain that she will have the courage to do this, but when it came to the right time, she said, “I did love him once-but I loved you too” (Fitzgerald 132). In this point of the conversation, Daisy says she “loved” Gatsby, but not anymore. She realized her destiny was to be with her husband Tom.

With this evidence, the reader can argue that Daisy might have stopped loving Gatsby a long time ago. The fact that she got married quick after Gatsby left also suggests that she might have never truly loved him, and that she had this affair only to show Tom that she had to be the only woman in his life. As the novel goes very deep on the feeling that Gatsby feels for Daisy, it really doesn't express or show that same way about Daisy's feelings about Gatsby. Yes, it say's that Gatsby and Daisy used to be lovers, and we are clear that Gatsby loves Daisy, but it is not clear that the reason Daisy is flirting with Gatsby is for love, or maybe just for making Tom jealous.

In conclusion there is a lot of evidence that gets the reader to think that that love that Daisy has towards Gatsby is clearly not real. Yes, there used to be a real love between them, but Daisy moved on and now loves her husband Tom. The only love in the relationship that is real, is the love that is well explained and well detailed is the love that Gatsby has for Daisy. But not the other way around. At the end there of the novel Daisy has no concern about Gatsby, and left with her husband without saying or telling anyone of where they are going, or a known address. Leaving Gatsby to be murdered. Gatsby was clearly used by Daisy to make Tom jealous, and for Tom to respect Daisy as a wife. At the end of the novel, Gatsby had to pay with his life proving that he truly loved Daisy by taking the blame of the Murder of Myrtle.



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