I saw a few similarities in the beginning of my grandparents romance and the romance between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy had an “unmistakable air of natural intimacy”() from the beginning. Much like how my grandparents fell in love at first sight. I truly believe that if Daisy was less of a gold digger than she would have ended up in a happy marriage with Gatsby. They may not have had much but they would have each had a partner to help them through the ups and downs of life.
This reflects entirely on the utter careless in which Daisy and Tom live; Nick says that Tom and Daisy are “careless people… they [smash] up things and creatures and then [retreat] back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever… and let other people clean up the mess they [have] made” (Fitzgerald 187). The Buchanans and the ultra-rich live their lives without any purpose or care. They simply drift through the world spending their endless amounts of money without contributing anything to society. Fitzgerald incorporates both the universal and more profound of white to critique the carelessness and hollowness of the
"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made." This quote by Nick shows the relationship between Tom and Daisy throughout the entire book. Also how their problems dramatically impacted the lives of others. How they were not just creating their own messes, but messes for those around them to fix. Also how they managed to escape with no consequences.
He seems to be living the American dream with a nice house, wife, child, and all the money anyone could want. However, even with all this fortune, he is still unhappy with his life. To fix this, he goes and gets a lover, Myrtle Wilson, to be a second
His father’s excellent invention and its possible effects were completely wiped out with a quiet splash in the water; a splash that would be completely unheard: “his voice was smothered in the dark blue sea” (357-358). This sad situation would be replicated in The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby was a marvellous man who achieved success despite growing up in a poor household. All of his success was snatched away by a bullet and no one would even acknowledge his greatness due to his prior shady business
The dysfunctional couple comprised of George and Myrtle Wilson is an example Fitzgerald uses to portray the grief and plight of the poor due to the disregard by the rich. They inhabit the Valley of Ashes, barely making enough money to support themselves. They lust after riches, specifically Myrtle, who seems to disregard her husband in favor of attempting to climb the social ladder by being with Tom, regardless of Daisy. She even proclaims, “I married him [George Wilson] because I thought he was a gentleman...I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (39). By Fitzgerald’s showcasing of Myrtle Wilson’s characterization, he gets the point across to the readers that social climbing and greed---chasing your version of the “American Dream”---can inundate any person with a need to be accepted by peers and
“This is the way the world ends.” These are the beginning words of the famous lines of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” detailing the emotional changes within American soldiers post World War I. This words also speak to the changes that society can face for the worst. Changes like these are rarely obvious but instead are small; small enough to weave their way into the fabric of society, until one day, everything has changed. A multitude of novels and other famous literary works how easily society can become a dystopia.
Due to the lack of a loving relationship, the Buchanans cheat on each other constantly without care. Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, who is engaged to George Wilson. Daisy forgives Tom for doing so because of his affluence: “Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time." (Fitzgerald 251-252). Daisy was a trophy wife; Tom did not truly love her, for he is married to her because of her beauty.
The Great Gatsby is a well-structured story that represents the decline of the American dream in the 1920’s. Not only does it tell about the facade between the east and west egg, but also the dreams and hope that are corrupted by the false idea of their own utopia. Not to mention the Valley of Ashes demonstrates the wasteland of America’s obsession and waste that shows the ugly consequence that occurred. As the green light vanished, the rusty billboard saw the interactions that took place throughout a land full of dust. Ultimately the symbols represent a life that was unattainable to reach which led to a tragedy in the end.
Cordelia stood up for what she believed in and as a result got banished from her family and kingdom. The Fool didn’t have much respect because of his job as the court jester. Though these two lacked the respect of the others, they held the most loyalty and wisdom for the king. William Shakespeare teaches that power and wealth do not provide wisdom, but wisdom can be hidden in the words of a loyal fool. The Fool and Cordelia are the primary caretakers of King Lear in the play.