From a young age, humans are taught to pursue their dreams and to achieve their goals. They are taught to look into the future and to always have something to strive for. People also pursue others when it comes to interpersonal relationships. When Nick says "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired, “ he is saying that there are roles each person plays in every situation. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is one of the main examples of a character who is a constant pursuer, along with Myrtle. Daisy is the one that Gatsby constantly pursued, and she is also pursued by her husband, Tom, although it is mildly obvious she does not return the energy. Nick and Jordan are both busy with their work and George Wilson is tired of being …show more content…
He longed to be wealthy and to achieve the suave persona he had in his mind. Gatsby was born into a life he wasn’t satisfied with and he wanted to be rich and successful. He didn’t care how he obtained the wealth. He hated the idea that he was poor, so much so that he dropped out of college after two weeks because he despised the measly job he had as a janitor. He always wanted to pursue a wealthy life. He wanted a life full of success and prosperity. Gatsby was never satisfied with what he had and always pursued more. He became wealthy by bootlegging, and even when he did so, he never felt like a high-class citizen. He had the money he wanted so badly, but he still wasn’t satisfied. He always wanted more. Gatsby had been a pursuer since his …show more content…
She was a classy, wealthy woman, and she carried herself as such. Yes, Gatsby was wealthy, but he had to make his wealth, dishonestly at that. Daisy was born with it, so to him, Daisy was wealth and pursuing her was him pursuing his dream. Even after Daisy became married to Tom, Gatsby still wanted her. He knew she was unattainable, but he couldn’t help but fawn over her; she was the object of his hope. Gatsby’s love for Daisy ran so deep because it was about more than a girl for him. Daisy symbolized the identity he had gained for himself when he achieved his wealth and his new life. She symbolized the man he had striven to become and everything he still wanted to be. It is obvious that Daisy is pursued, but so is her husband, Tom. Tom is pursued by his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Myrtle decided it was time to pursue a more enticing, wealthy man than her husband, so she became infatuated with Tom. Even after Tom hit Myrtle in the face for mentioning Daisy’s name, breaking her nose in the process, she still stays with him. She seems to forget about the abuse and how easily Tom hit her. Myrtle is an example of someone who is both the pursued and the pursuer because her husband, George, continues to be submissive and pursue her, even though she cheats on him with
The Character Gatsby in The Great Gatsby highlights the emptiness of wealth and in chasing to be someone grand, it fails him miserably in
He was born wealthy but chose to work himself to get where the old money men were at. This is a large reason why he is so grateful for everything he has since he knows what life is like with nothing. Even though Gatsby has nice things, he isn’t really focused on money or showing off his nice things, but he is focused on Daisy living the lavish life with him. In the
This quote explains that Gatsby had to work hard for his money. " The concept of the American Dream is based on righteousness and equality. However, the characters in The Great Gatsby are indifferent to both. Fundamentally, their selfishness and carelessness have negative influence on their relationship with other people and their surroundings." (Rubin 14)
Finally, The Rise and Fall of Gatsby say that pursuing wealth and status does not guarantee happiness. Evidence from the novel says '"Nothing happened," he said wanly. "I waited, and about four o'clock, she came to the window and stood there for a minute and then turned out the light." ' This proves that although Gatsby was wealthy and able to buy everything he wanted and everything he thought would impress or persuade Daisy into loving him as she did before, he still couldn't obtain his main goal, which was to live happily ever after with Daisy
He wants to use his wealthiness to go back to what they had in the past. " He wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was…" (page 110). This quote shows how Gatsby's identity is affected by his love for Daisy. He feels that he is lost without her and that his life is crazy because of it.
The true motive for Gatsby’s pursuit is revealed in chapter seven when he states, “‘Her voice is full of money'” (120). Putting aside redeeming qualities, the reason Gatsby was initially attracted to Daisy was because of the wealth that came with her and her lineage. She was the golden girl, and Gatsby was willing to do anything to win her affection, including creating this wealthy facade. This direct influence of wealth is what made their relationship possible in the first place.
He gained his wealth and material things to win her over again. He brought Daisy to his home and showed off everything he had to impress her. Gatsby showed her all of his magnificent and elegant artifacts and belongings but to him, she was only just another object he longed to acquire. His desire to obtain Daisy to fulfill the American dream shows how obsessed he is with her.
Additionally, Gatsby engages in questionable and unethical behavior in order to achieve his
He had the opportunity of creating a big life for himself on his own, but he never took it. This is similar to Sean Parker in the Social Network because he had went to Harvard, but also did not finish. (Find example in movie scene). This shows that neither of the characters valued education, and were somehow brought up and ended up making a lot of money. Their american dream came to them at the time, and didn’t have to work much for until they realized it wasn’t enough and had to try for what they really wanted, which for Gatsby was to have Daisy, and for Parker to have a big website and to be known along with
He compares to Lawrence R. Samuel’s idea of the American Dream when Lawrence states, “The usual answers-financial stability or, more specifically, making enough money to be able to retire(still often one million dollars, despite inflation), the ‘good life’ (usually a nice house in the suburbs with all the consumer trappings), to work for oneself, to have (at least) fifteen minutes of fame, the ‘pursuit of happiness.” Gatsby's identity goes through extreme change while he transforms through the story trying to fit into the wealthy upper class. He initially found success in his pursuit of wealth, however this wealth didn’t always come from the most legal means. He became popular socially with his exclusive parties that drew a crowd from all over the world. But his main goal was to get Daisy Buchanan back who he loved.
Gatsby is a rich gentleman for multiple reasons such as he has a organized orchestra group for his mansion parties that he throws every weekend. Gatsby throws all of his parties on the weekend because he hopes to see a girl named daisy. Daisy and Gatsby used to have feelings for each other until Gatsby became broke and she found another man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby loved daisy so much because she was the very first nice girl he had ever met. Gatsby makes Daisy his dream because his heart demands a dream, not because Daisy truly deserves the passion that Gatsby feels for her.
Gatsby says “Her voice was full of money.” This shows that he associated his love with Daisy to his pursuit of wealth and power. He wants Daisy because of the wealth that she represents. Gatsby wanted Daisy more than anything else. He could not move on.
Gatsby was a man who came up from essentially nothing by gaining his money through bootlegging and other illegal acts in order to gain a reputation in society. Gatsby’s constant desire to accomplish more in his life demonstrates the corruption of the American Dream. It is evident that Gatsby has had a thirst for the American dream since a young age, this is shown when Gatsby’s father says: “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind?
One of the many things that makes Gatsby the man he is would have to be his interest in Daisy, a young woman he met at a party and fell in love with. He became so infatuated with her that literally everything he does is to try and please or impress Daisy. The only reason he lives in the spot he does is because it is directly across from Daisy’s home. He throws elaborate parties in the hopes of attracting Daisy’s attention. His life revolves around this woman he is infatuated with.
Gatsby always wanted to be rich and does become rich, but we learn that he did not become rich from his own hard work. To try to earn his wealth Gatsby went to “the small Lutheran college of St. Olaf’s in southern Minnesota. He stayed there two weeks, dismayed at its ferocious indifference to the drums of his destiny, to destiny itself, and despising the janitor’s work with which he was to pay his way” (99). Gatsby, as we learn, had every chance to earn a degree at St. Olaf’s college but choose to leave because he had to be a janitor. Gatsby felt the school did not recognize the dream he had of himself because they were indifferent to his destiny.