Kevin McAdam
AP English 11/ Mr. George
7/30/09
The Great Gatsby Essay: Shelia Graham writes: “I think Scott (Fitzgerald) wanted me, through my reading, to understand and perhaps share some of his basic tenets about existence: that as he so often told me, there was no such thing as happiness. …As he explains, “…the sense that life is essentially a cheat and its conditions are those of defeat and redeeming things are not ‘happiness and pleasure’ but the deeper satisfactions of the struggle.” Write an essay in which you analyze the way in which Fitzgerald develops this idea in The Great Gatsby.
Jay Gatsby’s dynamic lifestyle in “The Great Gatsby” was proclaimed by many to be very illustrious, but in reality, as was a theme throughout the novel, life was not always as great as it seemed. Every joyful and successful moment throughout the story was simply a small deterrent from an overall displeasing and defeating life for the book’s characters such as Gatsby and Wilson. Certain instances in which a negative shadow was cast upon optimistic periods were people using Gatsby exclusively for his entertainment capabilities instead of being his true friends, Daisy not being united with Gatsby even though Gatsby has proclaimed his love for her, and Wilson extracted revenge upon Gatsby in response to the death of his wife.
Before he met Gatsby, Nick considered Jay to seemingly be atop the social world because of the many parties held at his house next door. His belief in Gatsby’s social status was also encouraged by all of the marvelous stories he had heard about Gatsby’s interesting past. A picture was painted in Nick’s mind that Gatsby was someone that had a million friends and was idolized by everyone. This provided Nick with nervous feelings upon meeting him for the first time. Gatsby’s powerful reputation was incorrect as many, if not all, of the guests at his parties had never met him or were not even friends of his. Suddenly, the entire belief that Gatsby had such an amazing life with so many friends was rejected. In fact, Nick’s observations provided evidence to prove the opposite. Gatsby was a wealthy man with many fine possessions, but very few friends. Even after Gatsby’s sudden death, there was practically no one to show up at his funeral: “I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone. …I was responsible, because no one else was interested…” (Fitzgerald 172). Nick’s fervent attempts to gain interest in Gatsby’s death were futile as those whom Nick believed cared about Gatsby most were reluctant to agonize upon hearing the news. During Gatsby’s life, honest and true opinions of him were impossible to obtain from the guests at his immense parties. In the cemetery during his funeral, the scarcity of mourners accurately displayed how Gatsby’s life may have seemed wonderful, but in the end, the camaraderie shown by his guests was eventually proved to be a sham. Gatsby’s social life was certainly not as awe-inspiring as it had seemed to Nick, but his attempt to be with the one he loved turned out just as poorly. Gatsby’s attempt to achieve true happiness came during the time he was with his love, Daisy, but it appeared as if fortune was not in their favor as Tom Buchanan would never give up his wife to the ill-fated Oxford man. All his life, Gatsby only had one true love, and that person was Daisy. Gatsby had spent so many nights alone with a feeling of emptiness inside that no one but Daisy could fill. His longing for companionship with Daisy still remained even with all of the festive parties thrown at his house. It had seemed that the two of them were destined to be with each other once again. However, destiny was overmatched by law as Daisy already had a husband. Nevertheless, Gatsby and Daisy still found time to sneak away and be together up until the defining moment when the two of them had to profess their love of one another before Tom: “‘Your wife doesn’t love you,’ said Gatsby quietly. ‘She’s never loved you. She loves me.’” (137). Daisy’s confession was much more hesitant than Gatsby’s: “‘Why, - how could I love him- possibly?’... ‘I never loved him,’” (139). The clash between Tom and Gatsby actually pushed Daisy more to Tom’s side. Unfortunately, for Gatsby and Daisy, after the argument with Tom, any chance of the two of them being together was thrashed because of Tom’s reluctance to lose his wife to anyone, especially, to someone he detested as much as Gatsby. It was exhibited in “The Great Gatsby” that any faint moment of true happiness for Gatsby was thwarted away by the brutal and unforgiving world.
George Wilson’s exhausting struggle to find his wife’s killer appeared to have ended as a success in the eyes of Wilson, but, in fact, it did not bring him any happiness as his wife was still dead. Any act of vengeance is committed in the belief that getting revenge on those responsible for causing the incident will bring feelings of justice and bliss that will help that person cope with their loss. George was hurt so badly by the loss of his wife that no form of happiness could ever substitute for his sadness, so he turned to vengeance. That logic may have motivated George’s rampage, but that was not the result. After George murdered Gatsby, George’s craving for righteousness seemed complete, but he realized that nothing could ever replace the feelings of adoration that he had for his wife. These terrible feelings inside of George persuaded him to decide that he could not live without his wife and committed suicide: “…the gardener saw Wilson’s body a little way off in the grass,” (170). Even if killing Gatsby did not replace the pain from the loss of his wife, George could wish that at least he served justice to Gatsby for killing Myrtle. However, another bad break came to both George and Gatsby as George murdered the wrong person as it was actually Daisy driving the car, and Gatsby was wrongly murdered. Ill-fortune shocked both men repeatedly throughout the story as once a small quantity of happiness appeared before them, disaster struck and promptly took that happiness away forever.
The belief people have that says life is good is not always true in “The Great Gatsby.” In the story, there are some bright spots that, however, are essentially part of an overall negative environment such as: people using Gatsby exclusively for his entertainment capabilities instead of being his true friends, Daisy not being united with Gatsby even though Gatsby has proclaimed his love for her, and Wilson extracted revenge upon Gatsby in response to the death of his wife. As we see in the novel, and in the case of Jay Gatsby, life is not always fair.