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Essay / Gatsby's Shallow Love: His Obsession with Daisy's Wealth
In The Great Gatsby, one of the most striking features of the book is the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. This relationship is what begins and ends the book, as each event is sparked by Gatsby's obsession with Daisy and his desire to rekindle their love. He moves to West Egg to be near her and dies protecting her and his reputation. Yet this love may not be what it seems from the outside, a man wishing to reconnect with a past love he has never forgotten. In reality, Gatsby never really loved Daisy for who she is, but for what she represented. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Daisy is the epitome of being rich and what comes with it, which is what Gatsby was looking for since his childhood. His values are clear, because when Daisy and Gatsby first meet, Gatsby is eager to show her his mansion, and especially his clothes. “He opened for us two enormous patent cabinets which contained his suits, dressing gowns and ties en masse, as well as his shirts, stacked like bricks dozens high... He took out a pile of shirts and began to throw them away, one by one. one, in front of us.” (Fitzgerald 92) His purpose in doing this is to establish his surface image and wealth. Gatsby's closet is defined as "two imposing patent cabinets", so his interest in his appearance and display of his wealth is obvious. His way of “throwing away” the shirts is to show his carelessness with money. The reason behind Gatsby's criminal activity is to do the same thing, that is, to get the money that will put him on the same level as Daisy and to feel worthy enough to be part of this upper class . Tom confronts Gatsby about his illegal business and calls Gatsby a "common crook", proving that making money from this business will never make him part of the "real" upper class. Yet this is the only way Gatsby can have enough money to match those with old money, like Tom and Daisy. Having old money also brings security and luxury. “He could have despised himself, because he had certainly taken it under false pretenses. I don't mean that he had exchanged his phantom millions, but he had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he led her to believe that he belonged in much the same stratum as her – that he was fully capable of taking care of her. In fact, he had no such facilities – he had no comfortable family behind him and he was in danger, at the whim of an impersonal government, of being destroyed anywhere in the world. (Fitzgerald 149) He wants to live the life of someone from the upper class and convince them that he is like those of the old money because he "deliberately gave Daisy a sense of security." He could only be fully satisfied if he possessed this wealth. “She disappeared into her rich home, into her rich and busy life, leaving Gatsby – nothing.” (Fitzgerald 149) Gatsby felt that he had “nothing” left, without the things that Daisy represented. “His porch was lit by the purchased luxury of the brilliance of the stars; the wicker of the sofa creaked fashionably as she turned to him and he kissed her curious, charming mouth. She had caught a cold, which made her voice hoarser and more charming than ever, and Gatsby was keenly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth traps and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes and of Daisy, bright as money, safe. and proud above the fierce struggles of the poor., 1925.