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?
No comments:
Post a Comment