Response
Luxury, entertainment, economic boom, the pleasures of life, the eternal carnival – that time period with its values and priorities ruled the minds of a whole generation of young people. There was a whole atmosphere of fun, absence of any kind of responsibility and even rejection of "moral values." That time was described in the novel "The Great Gatsby." This work is much more than a love story, it is about wealth, personal problems and relations.
"The Great Gatsby" is one of the central works of the entire American literature, it is devoted to the "American Dream". The novel's theme is closely linked to wealth that is an essential component of the "American dream". Readers notice a lot of luxury goods in the house of the protagonist, a car of Jay Gatsby strikes the reader's imagination, and his costumes are always perfect. However, even wealth cannot save him from mental agony and turn his life into an endless holiday. All these privileges and wealth do not make him good enough for Daisy. Gatsby proclaims: “I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” (Fitzgerald 17) These words suggest that Daisy is everything he needs.
Daisy is a central female character of the novel. She is beautiful, interesting, ironic, but infantile and cruel. Daisy does everything to follow her wishes and does not want to be responsible for her activity. A woman grew up in a wealthy family, she always had beautiful dresses, love, young people, and was respected by a high society. She likes money, and she is joyful, cheerful and carefree woman. From the other side, Daisy knows about the infidelity of her husband, she cannot decide whether to accept the offer from the Gatsby or not. She prefers to escape, and no matter why: because of disrespected husband, or a car accident.
Gatsby chooses this woman because she embodies an ideal of the life that he wants. She doesn’t look like the other women; she is a "dream", a perfect girl from a beautiful world, that’s why he loves her. However, he realized the personality of Daisy, he established a goal to earn money and become wealthy man to have relations with this woman. Money, social status and material superiority were essential for him only to achieve his goals. Daisy was his goal, after falling in love with her, he embodied all his youthful dreams and aspirations. He mentions: "Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people I have ever known." (Fitzgerald 59) In other words, he did everything possible to reach his goal.
Imagine for a moment that Daisy would stay with Gatsby. What's next? Gatsby would continue his business to ensure a successful life of Daisy. It is not known how it would have ended, but he wouldn’t be "great" any way. The important thing is that Fitzgerald does not describe the main character, but the wealthy world which is important for him.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F S. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.
