Sunday, December 2, 2012

Is there really true love in the Great Gatsby?

Almost every character in The Great Gatsby claimed to be in love with someone.  After reading the novel, I began to question the authenticity of any of the characters feelings.  Each character seemed to interpret love in a completely different way.  It made me wonder if any of the characters had any idea of what love really was!
    A prime example of this unique observation is Tom.  He seems to think love is more of a controlling, dominating feeling.  He doesn’t do much loving and nurturing for either of his women.  He cheats on his wife, and beats his mistress.  If he truly loves either of them, he sure has a bizarre way of showing it.  He likes being able to control Daisy the way he does, and he loves having Myrtle obey him because of his money.  It seems he loves controlling them, not being with them.        Daisy is yet another character seemingly confused by love.  When she was only seventeen she fell in love with a young Gatsby.  She left him because he was not wealthy enough for her blood.  She later married  another man who is wealthy.  Several years later when Gatsby comes back into Daisy’s life she is ready to leave her husband.  It seems odd that if he wasn’t good enough for her when she was a girl, that he suddenly would be now that she is a grown woman with a husband and child. It is obvious that Daisy is mistaking her love for money, and not Gatsby.
    And last but not least, the man the novel was named after; Gatsby.  He claims to love Daisy so much that he would do anything for her.  His feelings seem truly genuine. His actions, however, border more on obsession than love.  He tries to get her to leave her husband.  What if Daisy is truly happy with Tom? If you really loved someone would you want to break up their marriage? His obsession makes him willing to partake in illegal activities and, even split up a family.   If Gatsby truly loved Daisy, he would want her to be happy no matter who she was with.  Instead he tries almost forcefully to get her to leave the only life she has ever known.  That seems just a little obsessive rather than loving.
    It seems the only person in this entire novel that comes the closest to understanding love, is Mr. Wilson.  He does his best to make a good life for Myrtle, even though he knows she isn’t happy.  After her accidental death he tries to avenge her killer by murdering Gatsby , and then in his agony, turns the gun on himself.  He couldn’t bear living without his wife, and with what he had done.  Mr. Wilson was obviously mentally unstable, but that was only because he lost the only person he ever really loved.
    The characters in this novel all interpreted love in their own unique way.  Some interpreted it for power, domination, want of money, or even obsession.  Who knows! Maybe some of them really were in love! (Doubt it...)

What do you think?

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