gatsby's obsession with daisy essay

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The Great Gatsby

Obsession anonymous.

In his book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the psychology of love's fantasies and realities through the character of Jay Gatsby. During their five-year separation, Gatsby pines for his love, Daisy Buchanan, rearranging his entire life in order to retain her love and eventually creating a sublime, intangible image of her in his head. "No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart" (p. 101) and this presents complications for Gatsby's psyche as he faces Daisy's flawed humanity. In his mind, the fantasy of Daisy and of their relationship outweighs the reality, while in real life it is quite the opposite. This theme of Gatsby's powerful yet elusive and sometimes unrequited love for Daisy is prevalent throughout the book. The eventual consequences of living in a false world catch up to Gatsby at the end of the novel, where he dies miserable and despairing for the only person he wants and the one person he cannot have---Daisy.

Gatsby's insurmountable love for Daisy begins after their first kiss. He [Gatsby] knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like...

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Examining Gatsby’s Pursuit of Daisy: Love or Obsession?

• Icon Calendar 18 May 2024
• Icon Page 773 words
• Icon Clock 4 min read

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Introduction

The novel “The Great Gatsby,” authored by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the pursuit of Daisy Buchanan by the character of Jay Gatsby. In particular, Fitzgerald’s novel depicts Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy as primarily obsessive because he idealizes the woman and is deluded and extremely focused on her.

Idealization

Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is characterized as obsessive because he idealizes her. In the novel, Gatsby perceives Daisy’s voice as “full of money.” 1 Consequently, this aspect of glamorizing Daisy portrays Gatsby’s perception of her voice as perfect. People who are excessively obsessed with someone feel a constant crippling urge to think about, idealize, and connect to that person. 2 Gatsby is overly obsessed with Daisy, which makes him glamourize her voice. Therefore, Gatsby has an obsessive attachment to Daisy, which is justified by his idealized perception of her voice as one that means money.

1. Francis S. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925), 128, https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-great-gatsby.pdf.

2. Brandy E. Wyant, “Treatment of Limerence Using a Cognitive Behavioral Approach: A Case Study,” Journal of Patient Experience 8 (2021): 4, https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211060812.

Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is portrayed as obsessive because of his delusion about Daisy. According to the novel, Gatsby believes that Daisy loves him even though she is married to Tom. 3 In this context, Gatsby’s belief in Daisy is deluded because she is married to Tom instead of him. Furthermore, the person with erotomania, a delusional disease, thinks that another individual is in love with him. 4 Under these circumstances, Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is motivated by erotomania. Thus, Gatsby is obsessed with pursuing Daisy because of erotomania, which makes him believe that Daisy is in love with him.

3. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby , 139.

4. Maria Teresa Valadas Tavares Rodrigues Tomaz and Lucilia Eduarda Abrantes Bravo, “De Clérambault’s Syndrome Revisited: A Case Report of Erotomania in a Male,” BMC Psychiatry 20, no. 1 (2020): 2, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02921-5.

Extreme Fixation

Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is depicted as obsessive because of his extreme focus on her. For instance, Gatsby replies to Nick, “I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed,” when Nick suggests that he should go to bed. 5 In this situation, Gatsby portrays an extreme level of interest in Daisy. Moreover, this fixation is described as an obsession with a subject or cause pursued to an absurd degree. 6 Gatsby’s act of waiting for Daisy to go to bed before he does is absurd. Hence, Gatsby is obsessed with pursuing Daisy because he does it extremely by waiting for her to go to bed before he goes to sleep.

5. Fitzgerald, 156.

6. Felicity J. Riddle et al., “Towards a National Strategy for Managing Fixated Persons in Australia . ” Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 26, no. 3 (2019): 457, https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2018.1506722.

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Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is primarily obsessive because it is based on idealization, delusion, and extreme fixation. Firstly, Gatsby idealizes Daisy because he perceives her voice as perfect by describing it as full of money. Secondly, Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy is motivated by a delusion that she is in love with him. Finally, Gatsby pursues Daisy in an extremely fixated manner by not going to sleep until she does.

Bibliography

Fitzgerald, Francis S. The Great Gatsby . New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925. https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-great-gatsby.pdf.

Riddle, Felicity J., Matthew Ferriman, David G. Farmer, and Kym M. Baillie. “Towards a National Strategy for Managing Fixated Persons in Australia.” Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law 26, no. 3 (2019): 457-467. https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2018.1506722

Valadas, Maria Teresa Tavares Rodrigues Tomaz, and Lucilia Eduarda Abrantes Bravo. “De Clérambault’s Syndrome Revisited: A Case Report of Erotomania in a Male.” BMC Psychiatry 20, no. 1 (2020): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02921-5

Wyant, Brandy E. “Treatment of Limerence Using a Cognitive Behavioral Approach: A Case Study.” Journal of Patient Experience 8, (2021): 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/23743735211060812

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, best analysis: love and relationships in the great gatsby.

Book Guides

Love, desire, and sex are a major motivators for nearly every character in The Great Gatsby . However, none of Gatsby's five major relationships is depicted as healthy or stable.

So what can we make of this? Is Fitzgerald arguing that love itself is unstable, or is it just that experiencing love and desire the way the characters do is problematic?

Gatsby's portrayal of love and desire is complex. So we will explore and analyze each of Gatsby's five major relationships: Daisy/Tom, George/Myrtle, Gatsby/Daisy, Tom/Myrtle, and Jordan/Nick. We will also note how each relationship develops through the story, the power dynamics involved, and what each particular relationship seems to say about Fitzgerald's depiction of love.

We will also include analysis of important quotes for each of the five major couples. Finally, we will go over some common essay questions about love, desire, and relationships to help you with class assignments.

Keep reading for the ultimate guide to love in the time of Gatsby!

• George/Myrtle
• Daisy/Gatsby
• Nick/Jordan
• Common Essay Prompts/Discussion Topics

Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

Analyzing The Great Gatsby Relationships

We will discuss the romantic pairings in the novel first through the lens of marriage. Then we will turn our attention to relationships that occur outside of marriage.

Marriage 1: Daisy and Tom Buchanan

Tom and Daisy Buchanan were married in 1919, three years before the start of the novel. They both come from incredibly wealthy families, and live on fashionable East Egg, marking them as members of the "old money" class.

Daisy and Tom Marriage Description

As Jordan relates in a flashback, Daisy almost changed her mind about marrying Tom after receiving a letter from Gatsby (an earlier relationship of hers, discussed below), but eventually went through with the ceremony "without so much as a shiver" (4.142).

Daisy appeared quite in love when they first got married, but the realities of the marriage, including Tom's multiple affairs, have worn on her. Tom even cheated on her soon after their honeymoon, according to Jordan: "It was touching to see them together—it made you laugh in a hushed, fascinated way. That was in August. A week after I left Santa Barbara Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night and ripped a front wheel off his car. The girl who was with him got into the papers too because her arm was broken—she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel" (1.143).

So what makes the Buchanans tick? Why has their marriage survived multiple affairs and even a hit-and-run? Find out through our analysis of key quotes from the novel.

Daisy and Tom Marriage Quotes

Why they came east I don't know. 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. (1.17)

Nick introduces Tom and Daisy as restless, rich, and as a singular unit: they. Despite all of the revelations about the affairs and other unhappiness in their marriage, and the events of the novel, it's important to note our first and last descriptions of Tom and Daisy describe them as a close, if bored, couple . In fact, Nick only doubles down on this observation later in Chapter 1.

Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. 'All right,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

"You see I think everything's terrible anyhow," she went on in a convinced way. "Everybody thinks so—the most advanced people. And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything." Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom's, and she laughed with thrilling scorn. "Sophisticated—God, I'm sophisticated!"

"The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributory emotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged." (1.118-120)

In this passage, Daisy pulls Nick aside in Chapter 1 and claims, despite her outward happiness and luxurious lifestyle, she's quite depressed by her current situation. At first, it seems Daisy is revealing the cracks in her marriage —Tom was "God knows where" at the birth of their daughter, Pammy—as well as a general malaise about society in general ("everything's terrible anyhow").

However, right after this confession, Nick doubts her sincerity. And indeed, she follows up her apparently serious complaint with "an absolute smirk." What's going on here?

Well, Nick goes on to observe that the smirk "asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged." In other words, despite Daisy's performance, she seems content to remain with Tom, part of the "secret society" of the ultra-rich.

So the question is: can anyone—or anything—lift Daisy out of her complacency?

"I never loved him," she said, with perceptible reluctance.

"Not at Kapiolani?" demanded Tom suddenly.

From the ballroom beneath, muffled and suffocating chords were drifting up on hot waves of air.

"Not that day I carried you down from the Punch Bowl to keep your shoes dry?" There was a husky tenderness in his tone. ". . . Daisy?" (7.258-62)

Over the course of the novel, both Tom and Daisy enter or continue affairs, pulling away from each other instead of confronting the problems in their marriage.

However, Gatsby forces them to confront their feelings in the Plaza Hotel when he demands Daisy say she never loved Tom. Although she gets the words out, she immediately rescinds them—"I did love [Tom] once but I loved you too!"—after Tom questions her.

Here, Tom—usually presented as a swaggering, brutish, and unkind—breaks down, speaking with "husky tenderness" and recalling some of the few happy moments in his and Daisy's marriage. This is a key moment because it shows despite the dysfunction of their marriage, Tom and Daisy seem to both seek solace in happy early memories. Between those few happy memories and the fact that they both come from the same social class, their marriage ends up weathering multiple affairs.

Daisy and Tom were sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table with a plate of cold fried chicken between them and two bottles of ale. He was talking intently across the table at her and in his earnestness his hand had fallen upon and covered her own. Once in a while she looked up at him and nodded in agreement.

They weren't happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale—and yet they weren't unhappy either. There was an unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the picture and anybody would have said that they were conspiring together. (7.409-10)

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. . . . (9.146)

By the end of the novel, after Daisy's murder of Myrtle as well as Gatsby's death, she and Tom are firmly back together, "conspiring" and "careless" once again, despite the deaths of their lovers.

As Nick notes, they "weren't happy…and yet they weren't unhappy either." Their marriage is important to both of them, since it reassures their status as old money aristocracy and brings stability to their lives. So the novel ends with them once again described as a unit, a "they," perhaps even more strongly bonded since they've survived not only another round of affairs but murder, as well.

Daisy and Tom Marriage Analysis

Neither Myrtle's infatuation with Tom or Gatsby's deep longing for Daisy can drive a wedge between the couple. Despite the lying, cheating, and murdering that occurs during the summer, Tom and Daisy end the novel just like they began it: careless, restless, and yet, firmly united.

The stubborn closeness of Tom and Daisy's marriage, despite Daisy's exaggerated unhappiness and Tom's philandering, reinforces the dominance of the old money class over the world of Gatsby. Despite so many troubles, for Tom and Daisy, their marriage guarantees their continued membership in the exclusive world of the old money rich. In other words, class is a much stronger bond than love in the novel.

Marriage 2: Myrtle and George Wilson

In contrast to Tom and Daisy, Myrtle and George were married 12 years before the start of the novel. You might think that since they've been married for four times as long, their marriage is more stable. In fact, in contrast from Tom and Daisy's unified front, Myrtle and George's marriage appears fractured from the beginning .

Myrtle and George Marriage Description

Although Myrtle was taken with George at first, she overestimated his money and "breeding" and found herself married to a mechanic and living over a garage in Queens, a situation she's apparently unhappy with (2.112).

However, divorce was uncommon in the 1920s, and furthermore, the working-class Myrtle doesn't have access to wealthy family members or any other real options, so she stays married—perhaps because George is quite devoted and even in some ways subservient to her.

A few months before the beginning of the novel in 1922, she begins an affair with Tom Buchanan, her first affair (2.117). She sees the affair as a way out of her marriage, but Tom sees her as just another disposable mistress, leaving her desperate and vulnerable once George finds out about the affair.

Myrtle and George Marriage Quotes

I heard footsteps on a stairs and in a moment the thickish figure of a woman blocked out the light from the office door. She was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crepe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering. She smiled slowly and walking through her husband as if he were a ghost shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye. Then she wet her lips and without turning around spoke to her husband in a soft, coarse voice:

"Get some chairs, why don't you, so somebody can sit down."

"Oh, sure," agreed Wilson hurriedly and went toward the little office, mingling immediately with the cement color of the walls. A white ashen dust veiled his dark suit and his pale hair as it veiled everything in the vicinity—except his wife, who moved close to Tom. (2.15-17)

As we discuss in our article on the symbolic valley of ashes , George is coated by the dust of despair and thus seems mired in the hopelessness and depression of that bleak place, while Myrtle is alluring and full of vitality. Her first action is to order her husband to get chairs, and the second is to move away from him, closer to Tom.

In contrast to Tom and Daisy, who are initially presented as a unit, our first introduction to George and Myrtle shows them fractured, with vastly different personalities and motivations. We get the sense right away that their marriage is in trouble, and conflict between the two is imminent.

"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman," she said finally. "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe."

"You were crazy about him for a while," said Catherine.

"Crazy about him!" cried Myrtle incredulously. "Who said I was crazy about him? I never was any more crazy about him than I was about that man there." (2.112-4)

Here we get a bit of back-story about George and Myrtle's marriage: like Daisy, Myrtle was crazy about her husband at first but the marriage has since soured. But while Daisy doesn't have any real desire to leave Tom, here we see Myrtle eager to leave, and very dismissive of her husband. Myrtle seems to suggest that even having her husband wait on her is unacceptable—it's clear she thinks she is finally headed for bigger and better things.

Generally he was one of these worn-out men: when he wasn't working he sat on a chair in the doorway and stared at the people and the cars that passed along the road. When any one spoke to him he invariably laughed in an agreeable, colorless way. He was his wife's man and not his own. (7.312)

Again, in contrast to the strangely unshakeable partnership of Tom and Daisy, the co-conspirators, Michaelis (briefly taking over narrator duties) observes that George "was his wife's man," "worn out." Obviously, this situation gets turned on its head when George locks Myrtle up when he discovers the affair, but Michaelis's observation speaks to instability in the Wilson's marriage, in which each fights for control over the other . Rather than face the world as a unified front, the Wilsons each struggle for dominance within the marriage.

"Beat me!" he heard her cry. "Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!"

A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting; before he could move from his door the business was over. (7.314-5)

We don't know what happened in the fight before this crucial moment, but we do know George locked Myrtle in a room once he figured out she was having an affair. So despite the outward appearance of being ruled by his wife, he does, in fact, have the ability to physically control her. However, he apparently doesn't hit her, the way Tom does, and Myrtle taunts him for it—perhaps insinuating he's less a man than Tom.

This outbreak of both physical violence (George locking up Myrtle) and emotional abuse (probably on both sides) fulfills the earlier sense of the marriage being headed for conflict. Still, it's disturbing to witness the last few minutes of this fractured, unstable partnership.

Myrtle and George Marriage Analysis

While Tom and Daisy's marriage ends up being oddly stable thanks to their money, despite multiple affairs, Myrtle and George's marriage goes from strained to violent after just one.

In other words, Tom and Daisy can patch things up over and over by retreating into their status and money, while Myrtle and George don't have that luxury . While George wants to retreat out west, he doesn't have the money, leaving him and Myrtle in Queens and vulnerable to the dangerous antics of the other characters. The instability of their marriage thus seems to come from the instability of their financial situation, as well as the fact that Myrtle is more ambitious than George.

Fitzgerald seems to be arguing that anyone who is not wealthy is much more vulnerable to tragedy and strife. As a song sung in Chapter 5 goes, "The rich get richer and the poor get—children"—the rich get richer and the poor can't escape their poverty, or tragedy (5.150). The contrasting marriages of the Buchanans and the Wilsons help illustrate the novel's critique of the wealthy, old-money class.

Relationship 1: Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby

The relationship at the very heart of The Great Gatsby is, of course, Gatsby and Daisy , or more specifically, Gatsby's tragic love of (or obsession with) Daisy, a love that drives the novel's plot. So how did this ill-fated love story begin?

Daisy and Gatsby Relationship Description

Five years before the start of the novel, Jay Gatsby (who had learned from Dan Cody how to act like one of the wealthy) was stationed in Louisville before going to fight in WWI. In Louisville, he met Daisy Fay, a beautiful young heiress (10 years his junior), who took him for someone of her social class. Gatsby maintained the lie, which allowed their relationship to progress.

Gatsby fell in love with Daisy and the wealth she represents, and she with him (though apparently not to the same excessive extent ), but he had to leave for the war and by the time he returned to the US in 1919, Daisy has married Tom Buchanan.

Determined to get her back, Gatsby falls in with Meyer Wolfshiem, a gangster, and gets into bootlegging and other criminal enterprises to make enough money to finally be able to provide for her. By the beginning of the novel, he is ready to try and win her back over, ignoring the fact she has been married to Tom for three years and has a child. So does this genius plan turn out the way Gatsby hopes? Can he repeat the past? Not exactly.

Daisy and Gatsby Relationship Quotes

"You must know Gatsby."

"Gatsby?" demanded Daisy. "What Gatsby?" (1.60-1)

In the first chapter, we get a few mentions and glimpses of Gatsby, but one of the most interesting is Daisy immediately perking up at his name. She obviously still remembers him and perhaps even thinks about him, but her surprise suggests that she thinks he's long gone, buried deep in her past.

This is in sharp contrast to the image we get of Gatsby himself at the end of the Chapter, reaching actively across the bay to Daisy's house (1.152). While Daisy views Gatsby as a memory, Daisy is Gatsby's past, present, and future. It's clear even in Chapter 1 that Gatsby's love for Daisy is much more intense than her love for him.

"Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay."

Then it had not been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor. (4.151-2)

In Chapter 4, we learn Daisy and Gatsby's story from Jordan: specifically, how they dated in Louisville but it ended when Gatsby went to the front. She also explains how Daisy threatened to call off her marriage to Tom after receiving a letter from Gatsby, but of course ended up marrying him anyway (4.140).

Here we also learn that Gatsby's primary motivation is to get Daisy back, while Daisy is of course in the dark about all of this. This sets the stage for their affair being on unequal footing: while each has love and affection for the other, Gatsby has thought of little else but Daisy for five years while Daisy has created a whole other life for herself .

"We haven't met for many years," said Daisy, her voice as matter-of-fact as it could ever be.

"Five years next November." (5.69-70)

Daisy and Gatsby finally reunite in Chapter 5, the book's mid-point. The entire chapter is obviously important for understanding the Daisy/Gatsby relationship, since we actually see them interact for the first time. But this initial dialogue is fascinating, because we see that Daisy's memories of Gatsby are more abstract and clouded, while Gatsby has been so obsessed with her he knows the exact month they parted and has clearly been counting down the days until their reunion.

They were sitting at either end of the couch looking at each other as if some question had been asked or was in the air, and every vestige of embarrassment was gone. Daisy's face was smeared with tears and when I came in she jumped up and began wiping at it with her handkerchief before a mirror. But there was a change in Gatsby that was simply confounding. He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room. (5.87)

After the initially awkward re-introduction, Nick leaves Daisy and Gatsby alone and comes back to find them talking candidly and emotionally. Gatsby has transformed—he is radiant and glowing. In contrast, we don't see Daisy as radically transformed except for her tears. Although our narrator, Nick, pays much closer attention to Gatsby than Daisy, these different reactions suggest Gatsby is much more intensely invested in the relationship.

"They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before." (5.118).

Gatsby gets the chance to show off his mansion and enormous wealthy to Daisy, and she breaks down after a very conspicuous display of Gatsby's wealth, through his many-colored shirts.

In Daisy's tears, you might sense a bit of guilt—that Gatsby attained so much just for her—or perhaps regret, that she might have been able to be with him had she had the strength to walk away from her marriage with Tom.

Still, unlike Gatsby, whose motivations are laid bare, it's hard to know what Daisy is thinking and how invested she is in their relationship, despite how openly emotional she is during this reunion. Perhaps she's just overcome with emotion due to reliving the emotions of their first encounters.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. (6.134)

In flashback, we hear about Daisy and Gatsby's first kiss, through Gatsby's point of view. We see explicitly in this scene that, for Gatsby, Daisy has come to represent all of his larger hopes and dreams about wealth and a better life—she is literally the incarnation of his dreams . There is no analogous passage on Daisy's behalf, because we actually don't know that much of Daisy's inner life, or certainly not much compared to Gatsby.

So we see, again, the relationship is very uneven—Gatsby has literally poured his heart and soul into it, while Daisy, though she obviously has love and affection for Gatsby, hasn't idolized him in the same way. It becomes clear here that Daisy—who is human and fallible—can never live up to Gatsby's huge projection of her .

"Oh, you want too much!" she cried to Gatsby. "I love you now—isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." She began to sob helplessly. "I did love him once—but I loved you too."

Gatsby's eyes opened and closed.

"You loved me too?" he repeated. (7.264-66)

Here we finally get a glimpse at Daisy's real feelings— she loved Gatsby, but also Tom, and to her those were equal loves . She hasn't put that initial love with Gatsby on a pedestal the way Gatsby has. Gatsby's obsession with her appears shockingly one-sided at this point, and it's clear to the reader she will not leave Tom for him. You can also see why this confession is such a blow to Gatsby: he's been dreaming about Daisy for years and sees her as his one true love, while she can't even rank her love for Gatsby above her love for Tom.

"Was Daisy driving?"

"Yes," he said after a moment, "but of course I'll say I was." (7.397-8)

Despite Daisy's rejection of Gatsby back at the Plaza Hotel, he refuses to believe that it was real and is sure that he can still get her back. His devotion is so intense he doesn't think twice about covering for her and taking the blame for Myrtle's death. In fact, his obsession is so strong he barely seems to register that there's been a death, or to feel any guilt at all. This moment further underscores how much Daisy means to Gatsby, and how comparatively little he means to her.

She was the first "nice" girl he had ever known. In various unrevealed capacities he had come in contact with such people but always with indiscernible barbed wire between. He found her excitingly desirable. He went to her house, at first with other officers from Camp Taylor, then alone. It amazed him—he had never been in such a beautiful house before. But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there—it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered. It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy—it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their presence all about the house, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions. (8.10, emphasis added)

In Chapter 8, when we get the rest of Gatsby's backstory, we learn more about what drew him to Daisy—her wealth, and specifically the world that opened up to Gatsby as he got to know her. Interestingly, we also learn that her "value increased" in Gatsby's eyes when it became clear that many other men had also loved her. We see then how Daisy got all tied up in Gatsby's ambitions for a better, wealthier life.

You also know, as a reader, that Daisy obviously is human and fallible and can never realistically live up to Gatsby's inflated images of her and what she represents to him. So in these last pages, before Gatsby's death as we learn the rest of Gatsby's story, we sense that his obsessive longing for Daisy was as much about his longing for another, better life, than it was about a single woman.

Gatsby and Daisy Relationship Analysis

Daisy and Gatsby's relationship is definitely lopsided. There is an uneven degree of love on both sides (Gatsby seems much more obsessively in love with Daisy than Daisy is with him). We also have difficulty deciphering both sides of the relationship, since we know far more about Gatsby, his past, and his internal life than about Daisy.

Because of this, it's hard to criticize Daisy for not choosing Gatsby over Tom—as an actual, flesh-and-blood person, she never could have fulfilled Gatsby's rose-tinted memory of her and all she represents. Furthermore, during her brief introduction into Gatsby's world in Chapter 6, she seemed pretty unhappy. "She was appalled by West Egg, this unprecedented "place" that Broadway had begotten upon a Long Island fishing village—appalled by its raw vigor that chafed under the old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand" (6.96). So could Daisy have really been happy if she ran off with Gatsby? Unlikely.

Many people tie Gatsby's obsessive pursuit of Daisy to the American Dream itself—the dream is as alluring as Daisy but as ultimately elusive and even deadly.

Their relationship is also a meditation on change —as much as Gatsby wants to repeat the past, he can't. Daisy has moved on and he can never return to that beautiful, perfect moment when he kissed her for the first time and wedded all her hopes and dreams to her.

Relationship 2: Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson

In contrast to Gatsby and Daisy's long history, the novel's other affair began much more recently: Tom and Myrtle start their relationship a few months before the novel opens.

Tom and Myrtle Relationship Description

Myrtle sees the affair as romantic and a ticket out of her marriage, while Tom sees it as just another affair, and Myrtle as one of a string of mistresses.

The pair has undeniable physical chemistry and attraction to each other, perhaps more than any other pairing in the book.

Perhaps due to Myrtle's tragic and unexpected death, Tom does display some emotional attachment to her, which complicates a reading of him as a purely antagonistic figure—or of their relationship as purely physical. So what drives this affair? What does it reveal about Tom and Myrtle? Let's find out.

Tom and Myrtle Relationship Quotes

"I think it's cute," said Mrs. Wilson enthusiastically. "How much is it?"

"That dog?" He looked at it admiringly. "That dog will cost you ten dollars."

The airedale—undoubtedly there was an airedale concerned in it somewhere though its feet were startlingly white—changed hands and settled down into Mrs. Wilson's lap, where she fondled the weather-proof coat with rapture.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked delicately.

"That dog? That dog's a boy."

"It's a bitch," said Tom decisively. "Here's your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it." (2.38-43)

This passage is great because it neatly displays Tom and Myrtle's different attitudes toward the affair . Myrtle thinks that Tom is spoiling her specifically, and that he cares about her more than he really does—after all, he stops to buy her a dog just because she says it's cute and insists she wants one on a whim.

But to Tom, the money isn't a big deal. He casually throws away the 10 dollars, aware he's being scammed but not caring, since he has so much money at his disposal. He also insists that he knows more than the dog seller and Myrtle, showing how he looks down at people below his own class—but Myrtle misses this because she's infatuated with both the new puppy and Tom himself.

Myrtle pulled her chair close to mine, and suddenly her warm breath poured over me the story of her first meeting with Tom.

"It was on the two little seats facing each other that are always the last ones left on the train. I was going up to New York to see my sister and spend the night. He had on a dress suit and patent leather shoes and I couldn't keep my eyes off him but every time he looked at me I had to pretend to be looking at the advertisement over his head. When we came into the station he was next to me and his white shirt-front pressed against my arm—and so I told him I'd have to call a policeman, but he knew I lied. I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn't hardly know I wasn't getting into a subway train. All I kept thinking about, over and over, was 'You can't live forever, you can't live forever.' " (2.119-20)

Myrtle, twelve years into a marriage she's unhappy in, sees her affair with Tom as a romantic escape. She tells the story of how she and Tom met like it's the beginning of a love story. In reality, it's pretty creepy —Tom sees a woman he finds attractive on a train and immediately goes and presses up to her like and convinces her to go sleep with him immediately. Not exactly the stuff of classic romance!

Combined with the fact Myrtle believes Daisy's Catholicism (a lie) is what keeps her and Tom apart, you see that despite Myrtle's pretensions of worldliness, she actually knows very little about Tom or the upper classes, and is a poor judge of character. She is an easy person for Tom to take advantage of.

Some time toward midnight Tom Buchanan and Mrs. Wilson stood face to face discussing in impassioned voices whether Mrs. Wilson had any right to mention Daisy's name.

"Daisy! Daisy! Daisy!" shouted Mrs. Wilson. "I'll say it whenever I want to! Daisy! Dai——"

Making a short deft movement Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand. (2.124-6)

In case the reader was still wondering that perhaps Myrtle's take on the relationship had some basis in truth, this is a cold hard dose of reality. Tom's vicious treatment of Myrtle reminds the reader of his brutality and the fact that, to him, Myrtle is just another affair, and he would never in a million years leave Daisy for her.

Despite the violence of this scene, the affair continues. Myrtle is either so desperate to escape her marriage or so self-deluded about what Tom thinks of her (or both) that she stays with Tom after this ugly scene.

There is no confusion like the confusion of a simple mind, and as we drove away Tom was feeling the hot whips of panic. His wife and his mistress, until an hour ago secure and inviolate, were slipping precipitately from his control. (7.164)

Chapter 2 gives us lots of insight into Myrtle's character and how she sees her affair with Tom. But other than Tom's physical attraction to Myrtle, we don't get as clear of a view of his motivations until later on. In Chapter 7, Tom panics once he finds out George knows about his wife's affair. We learn here that control is incredibly important to Tom—control of his wife, control of his mistress, and control of society more generally (see his rant in Chapter 1 about the "Rise of the Colored Empires" ).

So just as he passionately rants and raves against the "colored races," he also gets panicked and angry when he sees that he is losing control both over Myrtle and Daisy. This speaks to Tom's entitlement —both as a wealthy person, as a man, and as a white person—and shows how his relationship with Myrtle is just another display of power. It has very little to do with his feelings for Myrtle herself. So as the relationship begins to slip from his fingers, he panics—not because he's scared of losing Myrtle, but because he's scared of losing a possession.

"And if you think I didn't have my share of suffering—look here, when I went to give up that flat and saw that damn box of dog biscuits sitting there on the sideboard I sat down and cried like a baby. By God it was awful——" (9.145)

Despite Tom's abhorrent behavior throughout the novel, at the very end, Nick leaves us with an image of Tom confessing to crying over Myrtle. This complicates the reader's desire to see Tom as a straightforward villain. This confession of emotion certainly doesn't redeem Tom, but it does prevent you from seeing him as a complete monster.

Tom and Myrtle Relationship Analysis

Just as George and Myrtle's marriage serves as a foil to Tom and Daisy's, Tom and Myrtle's affair is a foil for Daisy and Gatsby's . While Daisy and Gatsby have history, Tom and Myrtle got together recently. And while their relationship seems to be driven by physical attraction, Gatsby is attracted to Daisy's wealth and status.

The tragic end to this affair, as well as Daisy and Gatsby's, reinforces the idea that class is an enormous, insurmountable barrier , and that when people try to circumvent the barrier by dating across classes, they end up endangering themselves.

Tom and Myrtle's affair also speaks to the unfair advantages that Tom has as a wealthy, white man. Even though for a moment he felt himself losing control over his life, he quickly got it back and was able to hide in his money while Gatsby, Myrtle, and George all ended up dead thanks to their connection to the Buchanans.

In short, Tom and Myrtle's relationship allows Fitzgerald to sharply critique the world of the wealthy, old-money class in 1920s New York . By showing Tom's affair with a working-class woman, Nick reveals Tom's ugliest behavior as well as the cruelty of class divisions during the roaring twenties.

Relationship 3: Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker

We've covered the novel's two married couples—the Buchanans and the Wilsons—as well as the affairs of three out of four of those married parties. But there is one more relationship in the novel, one that is a bit disconnected to the others. I'm talking, of course, about Nick and Jordan.

Nick and Jordan Relationship Description

Nick and Jordan are the only couple without any prior contact before the novel begins (aside from Nick apparently seeing her photo once in a magazine and hearing about her attempt to cheat). Jordan is a friend of Daisy's who is staying with her, and Nick meets Jordan when he goes to have dinner with the Buchanans.

We can observe their relationship most closely in Chapters 3 and 4, as Nick gets closer to Jordan despite needing to break off his relationship back home first. However, their relationship takes a back seat in the middle and end of the novel as the drama of Daisy's affair with Gatsby, and Tom's with Myrtle, plays out. So by the end of the novel, Nick sees Jordan is just as self-centered and immoral as Tom and Daisy, and his earlier infatuation fades to disgust. She, in turn, calls him out for not being as honest and careful as he presents himself as.

So what's the story with Nick and Jordan? Why include their relationship at all? Let's dig into what sparks the relationship and the insights they give us into the other characters.

Nick and Jordan Relationship Quotes

I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. (1.57)

As Nick eyes Jordan in Chapter 1, we see his immediate physical attraction to her , though it's not as potent as Tom's to Myrtle. And similarly to Gatsby's attraction to Daisy being to her money and voice, Nick is pulled in by Jordan's posture, her "wan, charming discontented face"— her attitude and status are more alluring than her looks alone . So Nick's attraction to Jordan gives us a bit of insight both in how Tom sees Myrtle and how Gatsby sees Daisy.

"Good night, Mr. Carraway. See you anon."

"Of course you will," confirmed Daisy. "In fact I think I'll arrange a marriage. Come over often, Nick, and I'll sort of—oh—fling you together. You know—lock you up accidentally in linen closets and push you out to sea in a boat, and all that sort of thing——" (1.131-2)

Throughout the novel, we see Nick avoiding getting caught up in relationships—the woman he mentions back home, the woman he dates briefly in his office, Myrtle's sister—though he doesn't protest to being "flung together" with Jordan. Perhaps this is because Jordan would be a step up for Nick in terms of money and class, which speaks to Nick's ambition and class-consciousness , despite the way he paints himself as an everyman. Furthermore, unlike these other women, Jordan isn't clingy—she lets Nick come to her. Nick sees attracted to how detached and cool she is.

"You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all."

"I am careful."

"No, you're not."

"Well, other people are," she said lightly.

"What's that got to do with it?"

"They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. "It takes two to make an accident."

"Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself."

"I hope I never will," she answered. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you."

Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. (3.162-70)

Here, Nick is attracted to Jordan's blasé attitude and her confidence that others will avoid her careless behavior—an attitude she can afford because of her money. In other words, Nick seems fascinated by the world of the super-wealthy and the privilege it grants its members.

So just as Gatsby falls in love with Daisy and her wealthy status, Nick also seems attracted to Jordan for similar reasons. However, this conversation not only foreshadows the tragic car accident later in the novel, but it also hints at what Nick will come to find repulsive about Jordan: her callous disregard for everyone but herself .

It was dark now, and as we dipped under a little bridge I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder and drew her toward me and asked her to dinner. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." (4.164)

Nick, again with Jordan, seems exhilarated to be with someone who is a step above him in terms of social class, exhilarated to be a "pursuing" person, rather than just busy or tired . Seeing the usually level-headed Nick this enthralled gives us some insight into Gatsby's infatuation with Daisy, and also allows us to glimpse Nick-the-person, rather than Nick-the-narrator.

And again, we get a sense of what attracts him to Jordan—her clean, hard, limited self, her skepticism, and jaunty attitude. It's interesting to see these qualities become repulsive to Nick just a few chapters later.

Just before noon the phone woke me and I started up with sweat breaking out on my forehead. It was Jordan Baker; she often called me up at this hour because the uncertainty of her own movements between hotels and clubs and private houses made her hard to find in any other way. Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool as if a divot from a green golf links had come sailing in at the office window but this morning it seemed harsh and dry.

"I've left Daisy's house," she said. "I'm at Hempstead and I'm going down to Southampton this afternoon."

Probably it had been tactful to leave Daisy's house, but the act annoyed me and her next remark made me rigid.

"You weren't so nice to me last night."

"How could it have mattered then?" (8.49-53)

Later in the novel, after Myrtle's tragic death, Jordan's casual, devil-may-care attitude is no longer cute—in fact, Nick finds it disgusting . How can Jordan care so little about the fact that someone died, and instead be most concerned with Nick acting cold and distant right after the accident?

In this brief phone conversation, we thus see Nick's infatuation with Jordan ending, replaced with the realization that Jordan's casual attitude is indicative of everything Nick hates about the rich, old money group . So by extension, Nick's relationship with Jordan represents how his feelings about the wealthy have evolved—at first he was drawn in by their cool, detached attitudes, but eventually found himself repulsed by their carelessness and cruelty.

She was dressed to play golf and I remember thinking she looked like a good illustration, her chin raised a little, jauntily, her hair the color of an autumn leaf, her face the same brown tint as the fingerless glove on her knee. When I had finished she told me without comment that she was engaged to another man. I doubted that though there were several she could have married at a nod of her head but I pretended to be surprised. For just a minute I wondered if I wasn't making a mistake, then I thought it all over again quickly and got up to say goodbye.

"Nevertheless you did throw me over," said Jordan suddenly. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while."

We shook hands.

"Oh, and do you remember—" she added, "——a conversation we had once about driving a car?"

"Why—not exactly."

"You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride."

"I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor." (9.129-135)

In their official break-up, Jordan calls out Nick for claiming to be honest and straightforward but in fact being prone to lying himself . So even as Nick is disappointed in Jordan's behavior, Jordan is disappointed to find just another "bad driver" in Nick, and both seem to mutually agree they would never work as a couple. It's interesting to see Nick called out for dishonest behavior for once. For all of his judging of others, he's clearly not a paragon of virtue, and Jordan clearly recognizes that.

This break-up is also interesting because it's the only time we see a relationship end because the two members choose to walk away from each other—all the other failed relationships (Daisy/Gatsby, Tom/Myrtle, Myrtle/George) ended because one or both members died . So perhaps there is a safe way out of a bad relationship in Gatsby—to walk away early, even if it's difficult and you're still "half in love" with the other person (9.136).

If only Gatsby could have realized the same thing.

Nick and Jordan Relationship Analysis

Nick and Jordan's relationship is interesting, because it's the only straightforward dating we see in the novel (it's neither a marriage nor an illicit affair), and it doesn't serve as an obvious foil to the other relationships. But it does echo Daisy and Gatsby's relationship , in that a poorer man desires a richer girl, and for that reason gives us additional insight into Gatsby's love for Daisy. But it also quietly echoes Tom's relationship with Myrtle , since we Nick seems physically drawn to Jordan as well.

The relationship also is one of the ways we get insight into Nick. For instance, he only really admits to his situation with the woman back at home when he's talking about being attracted to Jordan. "I'd been writing letters once a week and signing them: "Love, Nick," and all I could think of was how, when that certain girl played tennis, a faint mustache of perspiration appeared on her upper lip. Nevertheless there was a vague understanding that had to be tactfully broken off before I was free" (3.170). Through Jordan, we actually see Nick experience exhilaration and love and attraction.

Finally, through his relationship with Jordan, we can easily see Nick's evolving attitude toward the wealthy elite. While he allows himself to be charmed at first by this fast-moving, wealthy, and careless world, he eventually becomes disgusted by the utter lack of morality or compassion for others.

Discussion and Essay Topics on Love in The Great Gatsby

These are a few typical essay topics surrounding issues of love, desire, and relationships you should be prepared to write about. Some of them give you the opportunity to zoom in on just one couple, while others have you analyze the relationships in the book more generally. As always, it will be important to close-read, find key lines to use as evidence, and argue your point with a clearly-organized essay. (You can read more of our essay writing tips in our Character Analysis article .) So let's take a look at a few common love and relationships prompts to see this analysis in action!

Is there any couple in The Great Gatsby that has true love?

For any essay topic that asks if characters in a book represent some kind of virtue (whether that's true love, honesty, morality, or anything else), you should start by coming up with a definition of the value . For example, in this case, you should give a definition of "true love," since how you define true love will affect who you choose and how you make your argument.

For example, if you argue that true love comes down to stability, you could potentially argue Tom and Daisy have true love, since they actually remain together, unlike any of the other couples. But if you argue true love is based on strong emotion, you might say Gatsby's love for Daisy is the truest. So however you define true love, make sure to clearly state that definition, since it will shape your argument!

Remember it's also possible in a prompt like this to argue that no one in the book has true love. You would still start by defining true love, but then you would explain why each of the major couples does not have real love, and perhaps briefly explain what element each couple is missing.

Is The Great Gatsby a love story or a satire?

Some essays have you zoom way out and consider what The Great Gatsby's overall genre (or type) is. The most common argument is that, while Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface (the love of Gatsby and Daisy), it's really more of a satire of wealthy New York society, or a broader critique of the American Dream. This is because the themes of money , society and class, and the American Dream are pretty constant, while the relationships are more of a vehicle to examine those themes.

To argue which genre Gatsby is (whether you say "it's more of a love story" or "it's more of a satire"), define your chosen genre and explain why Gatsby fits the definition . Make sure to include some evidence from the novel's final chapter, no matter what you argue. Endings are important, so make sure you link Gatsby's ending to the genre you believe it is. For example, if you're arguing "Gatsby is a love story," you could emphasize the more hopeful, optimistic parts of Nick's final lines. But if you argue "Gatsby is satire," you would look at the sad, harsh details of the final chapter—Gatsby's sparsely-attended funeral, the crude word scrawled against his back steps, etc. Also, be sure to check out our post on the novel's ending for more analysis.

Is what Gatsby feels for Daisy love, obsession, affection, or accumulation/objectification? What is Fitzgerald's message here?

A really common essay topic/topic of discussion is the question of Gatsby's love for Daisy (and sometimes, Daisy's love for Gatsby): is it real, is it a symbol for something else, and what does it reveal about both Daisy and Gatsby's characters?

As we discussed above, Gatsby's love for Daisy is definitely more intense than Daisy's love for Gatsby, and furthermore, Gatsby's love for Daisy seems tied up in an obsession with her wealth and the status she represents . From there, it's up to you how you argue how you see Gatsby's love for Daisy—whether it's primarily an obsession with wealth, whether Daisy is just an object to be collected, or whether you think Gatsby actually loves Daisy the person, not just Daisy the golden girl.

Analyze the nature of male-female relationships in the novel.

This is a zoomed-out prompt that wants you to talk about the nature of relationships in general in the novel. Still, even though we have clearly identified the five major relationships, it might be complicated for you to try and talk about every single one in depth in just one essay. Instead, it will be more manageable for you to use evidence from two to three of the couples to make your point .

You could explore how the relationships expose that America is in fact a classist society. After all, the only relationship that lasts (Tom and Daisy's) lasts because of the security of being in the same class, while the others fail either due to cross-class dating or one member (Myrtle) desperately trying to break out of her given class.

You could also talk about how the power dynamics within the relationships vary wildly , but only the couple that seems to have a stable relationship is also described as "conspiratorial" and often as a "they"—that is, Tom and Daisy Buchanan. So perhaps Fitzgerald does envision a sort of lasting partnership being possible, if certain conditions (like both members being happy with the amount of money in the marriage) are met.

This prompt and ones like it give you a lot of freedom, but make sure not to bite off more than you chew!

What's Next?

Wondering how else you can pair these characters in an essay? Check out our article on comparing and contrasting the most common character pairings in The Great Gatsby .

Why is money so crucial in the world of the novel? Read more about money and materialism in Gatsby to find out.

Need to get the events of the book straight? Check out our chapter summaries to get a handle on the various parties, liaisons, flashbacks, and deaths. Get started with our book summary here !

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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The Great Gatsby Obsession

How it works

Jay Gatsby was not great, in fact he was weak. He made a fortune to do the one thing that he believed was impossible, win the love of Daisy. Gatsby was a dreamer and was to lost in the past to be able to stay in the present or wonder about the future. In truth he was a man lost in a world he didn’t belong to wanting acceptance. Unfortunately he did not look inside himself, he judged his worth on Daisy’s approval.

He was the perfect picture of a sad man with a wasted life.

Daisy being of the over privileged had nothing to offer, if Gatsby had looked deep enough he would have seen that Daisy was a plain woman. However, his own insecurities drove him to try to be the man he thought Daisy would want. She was attached to her life of tennis courts, gauzy white dresses, oversized hats to protect her bone china skin, and no meaning. If Gatsby had wanted to do something for Daisy he should have found a way to introduce her to the real world, where people work, feel, and grow. But this was impossible, for Daisy had no interest, and Gatsby had no thought beyond winning her heart. Something that in actuality she could not give. Daisy belonged to Daisy alone. That was the way she wanted it. No depth, no effort. But to Gatsby, Daisy was the biggest prize, the proof that he had finally become someone, the answer to his insecurities.

Gatsby wanted to go back to the time that he and Daisy were in love. Not only can you not repeat the past, you probably shouldn’t. Gatsby is only remembering the nice parts of the past. After all, a hot rich girl liked him and it made him feel wealthy and powerful. He’s blocking out the part where he was born into poverty, or when a rich girl dumped him or where soldiers were dying in trenches while Tom and Daisy were married, going to parties, and having a kid. Fantasizing about the nice parts of the past and ignoring the nasty parts doesn’t work out.

It was foolish to commit the actions that Gatsby did for a love that was not reciprocated. Daisy told Gatsby that she loved him, but she was hesitant to act on the love that she claimed to have. Gatsby was so blinded by his own affection that he was unable to see how much he was throwing away in giving his life to Daisy. Fitzgerald, being the modernist that he was, well depicted the insanity in the destructive love that Gatsby had for Daisy. Which in turn showed how Gatsby was not great, since he would do anything to achieve what he wanted.

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Critique of “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ai generator.

Title and Author: “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Introduction: Published in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a seminal work of American literature that explores themes of ambition, love, and the American Dream. The novel is set in the Roaring Twenties and is narrated by Nick Carraway, who provides a firsthand account of his interactions with the enigmatic Jay Gatsby.

Summary: The novel follows Nick Carraway as he moves to Long Island and becomes entangled in the world of his wealthy and mysterious neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s lavish parties and secretive background intrigue Nick. As Gatsby’s past and his love for Daisy Buchanan are revealed, the novel examines the disillusionment of the American Dream.

• Themes: “The Great Gatsby” critiques the notion of the American Dream, highlighting the emptiness and moral decay behind the facade of wealth and success. Fitzgerald explores themes of love, idealism, and social stratification, illustrating the hollowness of the pursuit of materialism.
• Character Development: Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a tragic figure whose relentless pursuit of a flawed dream leads to his downfall. His idealization of Daisy Buchanan and his obsession with recreating the past underscore his inability to accept reality. Daisy represents the unattainable ideal and the superficiality of the upper class, while Nick Carraway’s moral introspection provides a counterpoint to the characters’ excesses.
• Writing Style: Fitzgerald’s lyrical and evocative prose captures the decadence and excess of the Jazz Age. His use of symbolism, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, adds depth to the narrative. The novel’s rich descriptions and vibrant imagery bring the opulent world of Gatsby to life.

Interpretation: “The Great Gatsby” can be interpreted as a critical examination of the American Dream and the moral and social decline that accompanied the pursuit of wealth in the 1920s. Through Gatsby’s tragic story, Fitzgerald highlights the disillusionment and emptiness that often accompany material success. The novel also reflects on themes of identity, illusion, and the passage of time.

Evaluation: “The Great Gatsby” is a poignant critique of the American Dream and a beautifully crafted narrative that captures the spirit of an era. Fitzgerald’s exploration of human desires and societal flaws continues to resonate with readers today. The novel’s enduring appeal and influence on American literature affirm its status as a timeless classic.

Conclusion: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” remains a landmark in American literature, celebrated for its exploration of themes related to ambition, love, and the American Dream. Through the eyes of Nick Carraway, readers are invited to reflect on the complexities of human behavior and the moral implications of the pursuit of wealth and success. The novel’s rich symbolism and evocative prose ensure its place as a timeless and relevant work that continues to captivate and inspire readers.

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Home — Guides — The Great Gatsby — The Quotes That Define The Great Gatsby: Unleashing the Power of Fitzgerald’s Language

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Introduction
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Nick Carraway

Daisy buchanan, tom buchanan, jordan baker, myrtle wilson.

• George Wilson
• Klipspringer
• Meyer Wolfsheim

The American Dream

• Social Class
• Money and Wealth
• All Literary Devices
• Foreshadowing

By character

• All Infographics
• Character Map
• Old Money vs New Money
• Biography of author

The Great Gatsby: Quotes

Table of contents.

"Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!"

This quote reveals Gatsby's obsession with the past and his belief that he can recreate it. Gatsby is so fixated on his romanticized past with Daisy that he is willing to go to great lengths to try to relive it, even if it means deceiving himself and others.

This quote also reflects Gatsby's naivete and idealism. He believes that he can recreate the past simply by accumulating wealth and status, which is an illusion that ultimately leads to his downfall. Gatsby's attempt to relive the past with Daisy ultimately fails because he is unable to fully let go of his obsession with the past and embrace the present.

Furthermore, this quote can also be seen as a commentary on the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that anyone can achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. Gatsby embodies this idea, as he is able to transform himself from a poor soldier to a wealthy socialite. However, his pursuit of the American Dream is misguided, as he believes that wealth and status will bring him happiness and fulfill his desires.

"He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced – or seemed to face – the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey."

This quote from Nick Carraway's description of Jay Gatsby's smile highlights the charismatic and charming nature of the titular character. The smile is described as having a quality of "eternal reassurance" and a belief in the person being smiled at that they may not even have in themselves. This aligns with Gatsby's role as a symbol of the American Dream and the idea that through hard work and determination, one can achieve anything.

"He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night."

This quote from the end of Chapter 1 highlights Gatsby's ambition and relentless pursuit of his dream. It is also a metaphor for the American Dream, which is always just out of reach but continues to drive individuals to pursue it. The phrase "vast obscurity beyond the city" also alludes to the emptiness and loneliness that Gatsby may have felt in his pursuit of his dream.

"If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away."

This quote, spoken by Nick Carraway, offers a deep insight into the character of Jay Gatsby. Nick's comment about Gatsby's personality being an "unbroken series of successful gestures" emphasizes his charismatic nature and the effortless way he moves through life, always impressing those around him. The phrase "something gorgeous about him" further reinforces Gatsby's allure and charm, highlighting how people are drawn to him.

The latter half of the quote compares Gatsby to "one of those intricate machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away," a metaphor that emphasizes Gatsby's sensitivity to the world around him. This metaphorical machine implies that Gatsby has a heightened ability to perceive things that others might miss, and that he is attuned to the tremors of the world, always on the lookout for new opportunities.

Moreover, the phrase "the promises of life" conveys the idea that Gatsby is a dreamer who believes that anything is possible. He has an unwavering optimism about the future, and this idealism fuels his relentless pursuit of his goals. This quote, therefore, encapsulates Gatsby's enduring appeal, which lies in his ability to embody the American Dream.

"It was testimony to the romantic speculation [Gatsby] inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world."

This quote is a reflection of the mystery and intrigue that surround Jay Gatsby. It highlights how Gatsby is viewed by others, particularly by those who are not familiar with his true identity and background. The phrase "romantic speculation" suggests that people are drawn to Gatsby's mysterious and alluring persona. He is seen as a figure who is shrouded in mystery and whose past is shrouded in obscurity.

The use of the word "testimony" implies that Gatsby's enigmatic presence has a significant impact on those around him. The whispers mentioned in the quote reveal how people are fascinated by Gatsby, and this fascination is rooted in a sense of romantic longing and idealization. People view Gatsby as a symbol of hope and possibility, someone who represents the possibility of a better life and a brighter future.

Moreover, the quote suggests that Gatsby is different from those around him. The phrase "those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world" implies that Gatsby is a figure who stands out from the crowd. He is not just another member of high society; he is a unique and extraordinary individual who captures people's imagination.

"I was looking at an elegant young roughneck, a year or two over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd."

This quote is Nick Carraway's description of Jay Gatsby, highlighting the apparent dichotomy between Gatsby's refined manners and his rough, criminal past. The phrase "elegant young roughneck" seems paradoxical, but it captures Gatsby's unique persona, which blends aristocratic grace and criminal toughness. Gatsby has cultivated a persona of refinement, which Nick perceives as "elaborate formality of speech." However, Nick also senses that Gatsby's refinement is a veneer that masks something rougher, suggesting that he is not entirely genuine in his speech.

The phrase "a year or two over thirty" indicates that Gatsby has already lived a substantial part of his life, but his formality of speech betrays a sense of insecurity, hinting at a deeper psychological struggle. Gatsby's speech is not merely a superficial affectation; it reveals his desire to be accepted by high society, which he views as the key to winning Daisy's heart. The phrase "just missed being absurd" suggests that Gatsby's formality is excessive, hinting at his social awkwardness and his insecurity. Gatsby's manners are almost comical, but they also indicate the lengths to which he has gone to become the kind of person he thinks he needs to be to win Daisy's love.

"He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him now. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him, after all."

In this quote, Nick is describing a conversation he has with Tom Buchanan about Jay Gatsby. Tom is trying to discredit Gatsby and reveals that Gatsby is not who he claims to be. When Tom mentions that Gatsby is "educated at Oxford," Nick notices that Gatsby seems to have a negative reaction to this information. This reaction leads Nick to question Gatsby's character and wonder if there is something sinister about him.

The mention of Gatsby being educated at Oxford is important because it speaks to his desire to escape his past and become part of the upper class. By claiming to be educated at such a prestigious institution, Gatsby is trying to elevate his social status and fit in with the elite. However, his reaction to this information suggests that he may be hiding something, which adds to the mystery surrounding his character.

The phrase "hurried the phrase" suggests that Gatsby is uncomfortable with the mention of Oxford and wants to move past it quickly. He either swallows or chokes on the words, which further emphasizes his discomfort. Nick's observation that Gatsby's "whole statement fell to pieces" suggests that Gatsby is not as confident or polished as he appears to be.

"I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth."

In this quote from The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway reflects on the idea of social privilege and the unequal distribution of basic morality. He mentions his father's suggestion that some people are born with a greater sense of decency than others, implying that this is a snobbish and elitist belief. However, Nick admits that he himself is afraid of missing out on something important if he forgets this idea.

This quote reveals Nick's complex relationship with social class and his own position within it. On one hand, he is critical of those who believe in inherent superiority based on birth or wealth. On the other hand, he recognizes that his own upbringing and education have given him a certain level of privilege and access to opportunities that others may not have.

By acknowledging the unequal distribution of moral values, Nick also highlights the corrupting influence of wealth and social status. He recognizes that those who are born into privilege may not have the same sense of responsibility or accountability as others, and that this can lead to a lack of empathy or consideration for those less fortunate.

"I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all – Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life."

In this quote, Nick Carraway reflects on the nature of the characters in The Great Gatsby, recognizing that they are all from the West and may share a common deficiency that makes them unadaptable to Eastern life. The quote highlights the East-West divide that is a major theme in the novel, with the East representing wealth, excess, and decadence, while the West represents simplicity, honesty, and a more rugged individualism.

By framing the story as "a story of the West," Nick suggests that the characters' origins in the West may have shaped their behavior and their ability to adapt to the fast-paced, materialistic culture of the East. He implies that their deficiencies may stem from a lack of exposure to the culture of the East, which is vastly different from the culture of their homeland. This quote suggests that the characters are struggling to reconcile their own values with the values of the society they find themselves in.

Furthermore, Nick's use of the word "subtly" implies that the deficiency he sees is not readily apparent, but is instead a subtle, underlying issue that manifests itself in their behavior and actions. This could be interpreted as a commentary on the hollowness and superficiality of the East, and how it corrupts those who are not equipped to deal with it.

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

This quote encapsulates Nick Carraway's experience in the world. It highlights the duality of his perception of life, where he is both mesmerized and disgusted by the people and events he encounters.

The phrase "within and without" suggests that Nick is both an observer and a participant in the world, suggesting a sense of detachment and objectivity in his observations. This detachment allows him to take in the diverse aspects of life, from the parties of the wealthy elite to the poverty and struggle of the working class.

The use of the word "enchantment" implies that Nick is captivated by the glamour and excess of the lifestyle he witnesses, while the word "repelled" suggests that he is also disturbed by the corruption and superficiality he encounters. This duality reflects the contradictory nature of the society in which Nick lives, where the pursuit of wealth and pleasure is celebrated, but ultimately leads to emptiness and disillusionment.

Moreover, the phrase "inexhaustible variety of life" suggests that Nick recognizes the infinite complexity of human experience. This complexity, with all its joys and sorrows, is a central theme of the novel. Nick is fascinated by the human drama he observes and is drawn into the lives of the characters he encounters, but he is also aware of the dark underbelly of their world.

"Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope."

This quote is a reflection of Nick Carraway's philosophy and his approach to life. Nick is the narrator of the story, and throughout the novel, he presents himself as an objective observer who tries to be non-judgmental towards the people he encounters. In this quote, Nick suggests that by holding back his opinions and assessments, he is able to maintain an optimistic outlook on life.

By "reserving judgments," Nick is implying that he refrains from passing harsh or negative assessments of people, situations or experiences, which could otherwise impact his perception of the world. Instead, he chooses to look at things with an open mind and hopes for the best possible outcome. This approach allows him to maintain an infinite amount of hope and possibility.

Furthermore, the phrase "a matter of infinite hope" suggests that Nick believes that by holding back judgments, one can maintain an infinite amount of optimism and positivity in life. The word "infinite" emphasizes that this hope is limitless and unbounded, and can bring about endless possibilities and opportunities.

However, this quote also highlights Nick's internal struggle, as it is not always easy to hold back judgments, especially when it comes to his close acquaintances. Throughout the novel, he grapples with his personal biases and moral conflicts, which at times make it difficult for him to maintain his non-judgmental stance.

"I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart."

This quote is spoken by the narrator, Nick Carraway, in Chapter 9 of The Great Gatsby. It is a reflection on the events of the novel and the consequences of his involvement with the wealthy and extravagant people he has encountered in East and West Egg.

Throughout the novel, Nick has been drawn into the world of the wealthy, particularly through his relationship with Gatsby. He has attended extravagant parties, witnessed scandalous behavior, and become embroiled in the love affairs of those around him. However, as the novel progresses, Nick becomes increasingly disillusioned with the wealthy elite and their superficiality. He realizes that the people he has been associating with are not the sophisticated and cultured individuals he once believed them to be, but rather shallow and self-centered.

This quote represents Nick's desire to distance himself from this world and return to a simpler way of life. He has become jaded by the excess and superficiality of the wealthy and is no longer interested in being a part of their world. He wants to focus on more meaningful pursuits and avoid the "riotous excursions" that have dominated his life.

Furthermore, the use of the phrase "privileged glimpses into the human heart" suggests that Nick has come to see the wealthy elite as lacking in depth and true emotion. He no longer wants to be part of a world that is focused on appearance and materialism, but rather seeks something more authentic and genuine.

"I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

This famous quote by Daisy Buchanan highlights the restricted opportunities for women in the early 20th century. Daisy, like many other women of her time, has been raised to prioritize beauty over intelligence and is painfully aware of the limitations that society has placed upon her gender.

Daisy's wish for her daughter to be "a beautiful little fool" stems from her own disillusionment with the world. As a wealthy and privileged woman, Daisy has experienced the freedom that money and status can provide, but she has also been trapped by the expectations placed on her by society. She has been pushed into a loveless marriage with Tom Buchanan, a man who cheats on her openly, but who represents the security and social standing that she craves.

Daisy's desire for her daughter to be a "fool" is a reflection of her own experiences. She believes that if her daughter is ignorant of the harsh realities of the world, she may be happier and better able to navigate her way through life. However, Daisy's hope for her daughter to be a "beautiful" fool suggests that she still values the superficial qualities that society has deemed important for women, despite her own struggles.

This quote also reveals Daisy's resignation to the patriarchal society in which she lives. Instead of fighting against the limitations placed upon her gender, she encourages her daughter to accept them and find happiness within them. This acceptance highlights the powerlessness that women of Daisy's time faced.

"I love you now - isn't that enough? I can't help what's past."

This quote is spoken by Daisy to Gatsby in chapter 7, during a confrontation between the two of them and Tom Buchanan. Gatsby is trying to convince Daisy to leave Tom and be with him instead, but she is hesitant and conflicted. In this moment, she expresses her love for Gatsby but also seems to be trying to distance herself from their past relationship and the events that led up to their current situation.

Daisy's statement "I can't help what's past" suggests that she is aware of the mistakes she has made in the past, particularly in regards to her relationship with Gatsby. She may be acknowledging that she cannot change what has already happened, and that it is up to her to move forward and make the best of the situation she is currently in. However, this statement can also be interpreted as an attempt to absolve herself of any responsibility for her past actions, which have contributed to the complicated and difficult situation she finds herself in.

At the same time, Daisy's declaration of love for Gatsby is significant because it suggests that she does have feelings for him and is not simply using him as a means of escaping her unhappy marriage to Tom. However, her use of the word "now" implies that her feelings may be temporary or conditional, and that she may not be entirely committed to Gatsby in the long term.

"I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything. Sophisticated – God, I'm sophisticated!"

In this quote, Daisy is boasting about her sophistication and worldliness. She is attempting to present herself as a sophisticated woman who has seen and done it all. However, her tone suggests that she is somewhat jaded by her experiences, and that she may not actually feel as fulfilled as she is trying to make herself out to be.

This quote is significant because it highlights one of the major themes of the novel: the emptiness of the wealthy elite. Daisy's assertion that she has "been everywhere and seen everything and done everything" suggests that she has experienced all that life has to offer, yet she still seems to be unfulfilled. This sense of emptiness is echoed throughout the novel, particularly in the lives of the wealthy characters who seem to be constantly searching for something to fill the void in their lives.

Daisy's use of the word "sophisticated" is also noteworthy. She seems to be using it as a sort of shield, a way of protecting herself from criticism and judgment. By presenting herself as a sophisticated woman, she is attempting to convince others that she is worldly and knowledgeable, and therefore deserving of respect and admiration.

However, it is worth noting that Daisy's use of the word "sophisticated" may also be a sign of her own insecurities. By emphasizing her sophistication, she may be trying to compensate for a perceived lack of intelligence or education. This idea is reinforced by her later comment that she is "a beautiful little fool," which suggests that she may feel limited by her gender and social status.

"They're such beautiful shirts," she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before."

This quote reflects Daisy's obsession with materialism and how it has affected her life.

The shirts are a symbol of Gatsby's wealth and success, which is the main reason why Daisy is so impressed by them. This shows how she is attracted to material possessions and wealth, which is a common theme in the novel. The fact that she has never seen such beautiful shirts before also shows her sheltered and privileged upbringing, as well as her ignorance of the outside world.

The use of the word "sad" is also significant, as it suggests that Daisy is not truly happy, despite her wealth and social status. She may be envious of Gatsby's success and wealth, as well as his ability to achieve the American Dream. This quote also suggests that Daisy is capable of feeling emotions beyond superficiality and materialism.

The use of the word "sobbed" is also significant, as it shows the depth of Daisy's emotions and how they can overwhelm her. This suggests that she is not as shallow as she may seem at first, and that she may be capable of deeper emotional connections.

“I’m p-paralyzed with happiness."

This quote is a poignant example of how emotions can overwhelm an individual to the point of physical paralysis. The scene occurs when Daisy is reunited with Jay Gatsby after many years of separation. As she looks upon him, she is filled with a sense of longing, happiness, and perhaps even regret for what might have been.

The stutter in Daisy's speech is indicative of her emotional state. She is so overcome with feelings that her words cannot come out smoothly. The use of the word "paralyzed" suggests that her happiness is so intense that it has left her unable to move or act. This is a powerful image, as it conveys the idea that Daisy's happiness has taken control of her in a physical way.

Additionally, the use of the phrase "with happiness" emphasizes that it is not just any emotion that has caused her paralysis, but specifically joy. This highlights the power of happiness to influence our behavior and reactions.

However, it is also worth noting that Daisy's happiness may be short-lived. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that her relationship with Gatsby is not as idyllic as it may seem. She is torn between her love for him and her desire for security and social status, which leads her to ultimately betray him.

In this way, Daisy's quote can also be interpreted as a foreshadowing of the tragic events that will unfold. She is temporarily paralyzed by happiness, but this happiness will ultimately be fleeting.

"Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white."

Tom Buchanan is a character who represents the upper class and its values, particularly its inherent racism and white supremacy. This quote showcases his beliefs and the way he thinks about social issues. He suggests that people who challenge traditional family structures are on a slippery slope towards promoting interracial marriage. This reveals his own prejudices and the underlying fear that he has about losing power and control over the status quo.

"I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out... Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next thing you know they'll be throwing everything overboard and having intermarriage between black and white."

This quote further emphasizes Tom's beliefs about the sanctity of marriage and traditional family structures. He is threatened by the idea of someone from a lower class, such as Gatsby, making advances towards his wife. This reveals his possessiveness and his belief that he has ownership over Daisy, which is a common trait among wealthy men of the time.

"Civilization's going to pieces... I've gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read 'The Rise of the Colored Empires' by this man Goddard?"

This quote showcases Tom's fear and anxiety about the changing world around him. He is concerned about the perceived threat to white supremacy and the potential for people of color to gain power and influence. His reference to the book by Goddard reveals his belief in eugenics and the superiority of the white race, which was a common belief among wealthy people at the time.

"I've got a nice place here," he said, his eyes flashing about restlessly."

This quote reveals Tom's materialism and his desire for status and power. He takes pride in his wealth and the luxurious lifestyle it affords him. His restless eyes suggest that he is never satisfied with what he has and is always seeking more, which is a common trait among wealthy people of the time.

"I hate careless people. That's why I like you."

Jordan Baker's statement reflects her attitude towards people who are careless, which suggests that she values a certain level of precision and intentionality in her own life. She admires Nick because he is not careless, and she sees in him a kindred spirit who values the same things she does. This also indicates that Jordan is not particularly fond of Gatsby or Daisy, who are both characterized by their carelessness.

"It takes two to make an accident."

This quote shows Jordan's lack of personal responsibility and her tendency to shift blame onto others. She argues that accidents are not caused by one person alone, but by a combination of factors, suggesting that she is unwilling to take full responsibility for her actions. This attitude is also reflected in her tendency to cheat in golf, which shows that she is willing to bend the rules in order to get what she wants.

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

Jordan's statement reflects her belief in the cyclical nature of life, and the idea that change is a natural and necessary part of the human experience. She sees the changing of the seasons as a metaphor for the changes that occur in people's lives, and embraces this idea with a sense of optimism and enthusiasm.

“You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride.”

This quote is spoken by Jordan Baker to Nick Carraway, expressing her disappointment in his behavior towards her. She uses the metaphor of two bad drivers meeting to describe the situation where she believed Nick to be a person of integrity, but he ended up betraying her trust. Jordan's words highlight the theme of deception and dishonesty that runs throughout the novel. She believed that Nick was a person who shared her values and would keep her secrets, but his actions prove otherwise. The quote also reveals Jordan's own arrogance and self-importance, as she believed that her secrets were something to be proud of and that Nick should have felt honored to be entrusted with them.

"I married him because I thought he was a gentleman," Myrtle said finally. "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe."

In this quote, Myrtle expresses her dissatisfaction with her husband and her class status. She married him because she thought he was a gentleman and could provide her with a life of luxury, but she is disappointed in him and his lack of social status. Myrtle is obsessed with the idea of moving up in society and believes that class can be obtained through breeding rather than earned through hard work.

"I want to get one of those dogs," she said, "I want to get one for the apartment. They're nice to have — a dog."

Myrtle's desire for a dog represents her longing for a domestic and refined lifestyle. She believes that having a dog will increase her status and make her life more sophisticated, as she imagines the dogs as symbols of wealth and class.

"[Myrtle] was in the middle thirties, and faintly stout, but she carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can. Her face, above a spotted dress of dark blue crêpe-de-chine, contained no facet or gleam of beauty, but there was an immediately perceptible vitality about her as if the nerves of her body were continually smouldering."

This quote presents a physical description of Myrtle Wilson. The language used portrays Myrtle as a woman who is not conventionally beautiful but has a certain allure nonetheless. The use of words like "surplus flesh" and "stout" suggest that Myrtle is not a thin woman, but she carries herself in a way that is sensual and attractive. This description sets her apart from the other female characters in the novel who are portrayed as conventionally beautiful. The reference to the "smouldering nerves" suggests that Myrtle is a woman of passion and that this passion is evident in her physical appearance. The use of the word "vitality" suggests that Myrtle is a woman who is full of life and energy, which is further emphasized by her sensuous carriage. 

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther...And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." (Chapter 9)

Among all quotes from the Great Gatsby about the American Dream, this quote is arguably the most famous and significant passage in the entire novel, encapsulating the central theme of the American Dream and the disillusionment that inevitably follows. The green light represents the unattainable dreams and desires that Gatsby strives to reach, symbolizing his pursuit of the American Dream. The idea of the "orgastic future" is the dream that Gatsby is chasing, a future where he can finally have the love and happiness he has been seeking.

However, the phrase "year by year recedes before us" suggests that the dream is continually moving away from him, no matter how fast he tries to catch up. The phrase "borne back ceaselessly into the past" highlights the impossibility of escaping the past and how it inevitably affects the present and future. Gatsby's obsession with his past love, Daisy, ultimately leads to his downfall, emphasizing the idea that the American Dream is ultimately unattainable.

The final sentence, "So we beat on, boats against the current," suggests that despite the inevitability of failure and the impossibility of achieving the American Dream, humans continue to strive and struggle against the current. This quote serves as a powerful statement on the nature of human ambition and the human condition, encapsulating the novel's central themes in a few poignant lines.

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." (Chapter 1)

This quote, spoken by the novel's narrator Nick Carraway, reflects a central theme of The Great Gatsby: the tension between fascination and disillusionment with the excess and glamour of the 1920s. The phrase "within and without" suggests a state of ambivalence or duality, as if Nick is both a part of and separate from the world he's describing. The words "enchantment" and "repelled" suggest that Nick is both drawn to and disturbed by the lavish lifestyle he observes in his wealthy neighbors.

The phrase "inexhaustible variety of life" highlights the seemingly endless opportunities for pleasure, excitement, and indulgence that are available to the characters in the novel. However, the word "repelled" suggests that Nick recognizes the emptiness and moral decay that can come with such excess. This ambivalent attitude towards the "inexhaustible variety of life" is a key aspect of the novel's commentary on the American Dream and the pursuit of wealth and status.

"He stretched out his arms toward the dark water. . . . I . . . distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far way. . . . When I looked once more for Gatsby he had vanished. . . ."

The quote highlights the recurring motif of the green light, which represents Gatsby's unattainable dream of being reunited with his lost love, Daisy Buchanan.

The green light, situated at the end of Daisy's dock, represents Gatsby's aspirations and hopes for a better life, symbolizing the American Dream. However, as the light is "minute and far away," it emphasizes that the dream is unattainable and ultimately unfulfilled. The green light also reflects the idea of the past haunting the present, as Gatsby is forever chasing a dream that he can never truly realize.

Furthermore, Gatsby's reaching out his arms towards the green light emphasizes his yearning for his dream, while also highlighting his inability to grasp it. The imagery of the dark water also emphasizes the obscure and murky nature of Gatsby's longing, and how it remains unfulfilled even as he tries to reach out to it. The disappearance of Gatsby also reflects the fragility and ephemeral nature of dreams, as well as the inevitability of the past catching up with the present.

"Anything can happen now that we’ve slid over this bridge,’ I thought; ‘anything at all. . . .’ Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder."

This quote captures the sense of possibility and unpredictability that permeates The Great Gatsby, while also underscoring the theme of illusion and deception that underlies the characters' pursuit of the American Dream.

The bridge, as a physical object, symbolizes a threshold, a point of no return, a gateway to new opportunities and adventures. The idea of "sliding" over the bridge also suggests a sense of ease and smoothness, a seamless transition into a new world. The narrator's thoughts reveal a sense of excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead, as he acknowledges that "anything at all" could happen.

Furthermore, the mention of Gatsby in this context is significant. It implies that even someone as mysterious and elusive as Gatsby could enter into this realm of possibility, without causing any particular wonder or surprise. This reflects the notion that in this world of the rich and powerful, anything is possible, and even someone like Gatsby, who has amassed great wealth and status through dubious means, can become a part of it.

However, this quote can also be seen as ironic, as it comes shortly after the death of Myrtle and the unraveling of Gatsby's world. It suggests that the possibility of anything happening includes both the good and the bad, and that the narrator's excitement for what lies ahead is not always grounded in reality. It also highlights the theme of illusion and deception in the novel, as the characters' desires and aspirations are often built on false dreams and misguided beliefs.

Class and Money

"The rich get richer and the poor get - children." (Chapter 2)

This quote by Myrtle Wilson represents the harsh reality of social mobility in America. Despite the American Dream's promise of upward mobility and success, it is often limited to the wealthy and privileged, leaving the poor and working-class struggling to survive.

"Her voice is full of money." (Chapter 7)

This quote is said by Gatsby in reference to Daisy's voice. It represents the idea that social class is not just about wealth and possessions, but also about the way one speaks and presents themselves. Daisy is from a wealthy and upper-class background, and her voice reflects this privilege. The emphasis on her voice being "full of money" highlights the importance of status and class in the society depicted in the novel.

"I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out. . . . Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white." (Chapter 1)

This quote is spoken by Tom Buchanan and reveals his fear of losing his social status and privilege. He is threatened by Gatsby, who is "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere," because Gatsby has acquired wealth and is now able to enter the upper-class world of the Buchanans. Tom's comment about "intermarriage between black and white" also reveals his racism and reinforces the idea that social class and race are intertwined in the novel.

"I was so excited that when I got into a taxi with him I didn't hardly know I wasn't getting into a subway train." (Chapter 2)

This quote is spoken by Myrtle Wilson and highlights the desire for upward social mobility through money. Myrtle is having an affair with Tom Buchanan and sees him as a ticket to a higher social status. Her comment about the taxi and subway train suggests that she is not used to luxury and is dazzled by the material possessions that come with wealth. This quote reinforces the idea that money and social class are closely linked in the novel and that the pursuit of wealth is often seen as a means of attaining higher social status.

"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."

This quote is Nick's observation of the social hierarchy in the novel that reflects the theme of social class. Those who are "pursued" are often seen as desirable and sought-after due to their wealth or social standing, while those who are "pursuing" are seeking to climb the social ladder and gain access to greater wealth and power. The "busy" are often those who are already at the top of the social ladder, while the "tired" are the lower classes who are unable to advance their social status.

Love and Marriage

"I love you now - isn't that enough? I can't help what's past." (Chapter 7)

In this quote, Daisy is speaking to Gatsby, who is trying to convince her to leave Tom and be with him instead. This quote represents the theme of love because it shows the complicated nature of relationships and how the past can often come back to haunt them. Daisy's statement that she "can't help what's past" suggests that she still has feelings for Gatsby, but her history with Tom and the societal expectations of their class make it difficult for her to fully commit to him. Additionally, her use of the word "now" implies that her feelings may not be as strong as Gatsby's and that she may be conflicted about what she truly wants.

“For a while I lost sight of Jordan Baker, and then in midsummer I found her again . . . . I wasn’t actually in love, but I felt a sort of tender curiosity."

This quote reveals the narrator's ambiguous feelings towards Jordan Baker. He admits that he is not in love with her, but he still feels drawn to her. The phrase "tender curiosity" suggests a mix of emotions, including fondness, fascination, and a desire to know more about her. This suggests that the narrator is not entirely sure about his feelings towards Jordan, and that he may be exploring his emotions as he gets to know her better.

"Neither of them can stand the person they’re married to…. What I say is, why go on living with them if they can’t stand them? If I was them I’d get a divorce and get married to each other right away."

This quote, spoken by Myrtle Wilson in Chapter 2, reveals the dissatisfaction and discontent that exists within her marriage and in her perception of the Buchanans' marriage. Myrtle, who is married to George Wilson, is having an affair with Tom Buchanan, and sees in their relationship a solution to her marital problems. She believes that if Tom were to divorce Daisy and marry her, they could both finally be happy.

This quote highlights the theme of the breakdown of traditional marriage values in the 1920s, as well as the social and economic pressures that contribute to it. Myrtle's desire to leave her husband and marry Tom for financial and social gain reflects the values of the time period, where status and money often took precedence over love and commitment in marriage.

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