She wanted her life shaped now, immediately” (152). While she waited for Gatsby to return from the war, “something within her was crying for a decision. Tom and Daisy were born privileged and it appears that Daisy makes it a point to “secure” a husband that would match her in wealth and status. Perhaps the strongest thematic message in The Great Gatsby is the inherent emptiness in wealth. Hope is a good thing, but not if it blinds the venturer from what’s important and realistic.
If it is something empty like wealth, fame or status, the object of desire will never truly satisfy. Another reason why this pursuit is problematic is that people need to be careful about what they are pursuing. When our pursuits are so singularly focused, people may have the tendency to romanticize them into something unrealistic. In Gatsby’s case, he wanted Daisy so bad and as soon as he wooed her back into his life, Nick noticed that “Daisy tumbled short of his dreams” (97). One is that once the thing is acquired, then the “quest” is over, and the acquisition may leave one feeling disillusioned. This sort of unwavering pursuit of what one desires may be successful in achieving that “thing”, but there are two problems with this pursuit.
Our titular character is the central representation of this idea, and while Nick initially describes it as almost “something gorgeous”, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s situation as more of a cautionary tale of this single-viewed focus. Plot Overview Chapter 1 Summary Chapter 2 Summary Chapter 3 Summary Chapter 4 Summary Chapter 5 Summary Chapter 6 Summary Chapter 7 Summary Chapter 8 Summary Chapter 9 Summary Character Analysis Important Quotes Themes, Motifs and Symbols Major Discussion Questions
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