Gatsby’s Holy Grail A holy grail is referred to as something that one wants very much, but is impossible to get or achieve. One’s holy grail could be anything, from a golden chalice, to the love of a certain Daisy Buchanan. In the book Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Jay Gatsby’s holy grail, is the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Daisy had been the object of his desires, and the reason that he has strived to achieve the life that he has now. They met in their youth, and Jay had the perception that he was in love with daisy. Unfortunately, Gatsby does not feel love for Daisy, instead he feels love for the wealth she represents. He saw her wealth and status, and it became apparent that he was not good enough for Daisy, and …show more content…
Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. no amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (p.95). As Gatsby is saying goodbye to Daisy after seeing her for the first time in 5 years, Nick makes the observation that perhaps Daisy had not lived up to Gatsby’s standards. Of course, Gatsby’s standards had been inflated, due to time and obsession. He had made her into something she wasn't. Instead of loving her for her, he loved her for the idea of her in his head. These idealistic standards that he had been pursuing for five years were not representative of who Daisy really was. So when they met again, Gatsby was bewildered in a way, that it seemed she was not what he expected, when really she had not changed, but her image in his head had. As it said, Daisy had tumbled short of his dreams, not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. Daisy was the sole reason that he had gotten …show more content…
What he thought was love however was obsession. Possession. He wanted her, and he wanted what she came with. To him, Daisy herself was no more than an object. Another possession he could obtain. But what she came with, where she was from, what she could do, that was something that Gatsby could never have. So he wanted daisy. “It excited him too, that many men had already loved Daisy- it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their presence all about the house pervading. But he knew that he was in Daisy's house by a colossal accident. However glorious might be his future as jay gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders” (p.149). When we look into Gatsby’s past, we see that even before he idealized her he saw her as an object. That she was an object that others wanted, that the market was competitive. He then knows and feels that he is not the type of man who is worthy of daisy. He isn’t even worth being in her house, it’s an “accident”. We also see that he is afraid that Daisy will see him for who he really is, that the “invisible cloak” might slip, and that she will see him for who he is, a poor man who is not up to the old money standards that Daisy has. Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy, but it is not
Gatsby has been idolizing Daisy and making his imaginations of her something that she could never live up to. Going through the second encounter meeting Daisy, it had been a
He would do anything for her, including criminal activity. Although Gatsby wanted Daisy apart of his life, he did not realize that the memories of the past influenced the way he saw their future. However, he kept track of where Daisy was and he did everything to make sure that he was close enough to her, yet kept his distance so it was not creepy. Gatsby built his mansion across Daisy’s bay so that he could attempt to impress her and he could also look over whilst reminiscing the past.
Gatsby’s is bold in sacrificing his morals and principles, he is successful in finding a shortcut to amassing an incredible amount of wealth in a short period of time. Daisy’s husband describes Gatsby a “bootlegger”, giving the reader an idea of the misappropriate actions taken by Gatsby in his quest for Daisy. Tom further describes Gatsby’s to be selling illegal “alcohol over the counter”, the extreme insinuation which is prevalent in Gatsby’s mind is that he cannot lose Daisy. An inference can be made that Gatsby has taken it upon himself, to indulge in something that is not natural, while failing to realize the potential ramification of his ill-advised actions. Gatsby’s has failed to realize the self-sufficiency of Daisy, in terms of being able to think for herself, while choosing to align with a man that can benefit her at a given moment.
Gatsby is aware that Daisy may no longer be in love with him, but he still wants to keep trying to impress Daisy to one day impress her and make her part of his
By attracting Daisy, “Gatsby sees the potential for future happiness, acceptance, and the resumption of a stalled love” (Heise 58). Gatsby also attempts to remove Daisy’s husband, Tom, by arguing that Daisy has never loved
He does not truly know Daisy like he thought because he never knew she would give up the man she loved for wealth. Gatsby thinks Daisy is only married to Tom because he was not around, but it is because Tom has money and Gatsby does not. Gatsby tries to get Daisy to leave Tom hoping he has a chance with her now that he is rich, but Daisy still chooses Tom. She knows that Tom can provide for her more and fulfill her materialistic needs. Gatsby does not give up on trying to convince Daisy to abandon Tom because he is so obsessed with her and cannot stand her being with someone
Jay Gatsby is a mysterious love interest to Daisy in "The Great Gatsby," which takes place in the 1920s or the “Jazz Age.” In the tragic novel, “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates that greed betrays love if people do not value their significant other as much as they value a lifestyle of comfort and familiarity through Fitzgerald's depiction of Gatsby’s obsession over Daisy, his corrupt methods of gaining wealth, and his shallow relationship with Daisy. His corrupt methods of gaining wealth in hopes of building a relationship with Daisy exemplify Gatsby's disregard for the law. Gatsby is willing to go to any lengths to attain a relationship with Daisy: “Unaware of the distance between the corruption in his life as a gangster
Throughout the book, Gatsby is present by flaunting his wealth around. Gatsby throws parties often on the weekends to get Daisy's attention. Gatsby desired Daisy, he had gone to the military just to come back and find out that she did not wait for him like promised, “She wanted her life shaped now, immediately — and the decision must be made by some force — of love, of money, of unquestionable practicality — that was close at hand” (116). Instead, Daisy married Tom because she liked having a status to her name, which Gatsby did not have beforehand. Furthermore, Gatsby was still after Daisy, she had created an image that embodied her as an ‘innocent’ woman which was false, Gatsby later finds out that she has a child with Tom destroying reality for him.
Although they both feel an intense love for one another, the identities and motives of their feelings are different. Daisy is drawn to Gatsby in large part because of his wealth and social status. She is captivated by him because he can give her the extravagant lifestyle she desires. The manner she talks about him makes this quite clear. She says he is "very, very rich" and "a perfect gentleman" (Fitzgerald 54).
Not a lot of guys can say they bought a certain house just because the girl they want lives across the bay. Another thing about Gatsby is that he always has had a type of dream for himself. He had a vision that he would be rich and Daisy would be right next to him the whole time. Gatsby loves the idea of Daisy and what they used to be versus the real her who has changed and grown since they were lovers. He mentions in the book that, “And she doesn’t understand…
" He can't let go of Daisy. He can't admit to himself that Daisy can't be his. Gatsby made it his life's goal to make Daisy his wife and when Nick tries to tell him otherwise, he won't hear it. It's hard to give up on your dream, especially when you've had it and wished on it for so
Gatsby loved Daisy, in his way. In chapter 6, after Gatsby’s party which Tom and Daisy attended, Jay reveals to Nick how he and Daisy fell in love. He explain that when he kissed her, he fell deeply in love with her. Weather one kiss can being about that kind of enduring love is questionable and certainly a strong argument can be made that what Jay loved was the idea of Daisy more than Daisy herself. She was, after all, beautiful and rich.
It is evident that his desperation to win over Daisy has had traumatic effects on his stability, as he mutters to himself in insanity, attempting to defend his name against the accusations of dishonesty that Tom made. This demonstrates the disastrous effects of Gatsby’s inaccurate perception of Daisy, for him idealizing Daisy, drives him to such lengths in order to allure her, that he loses his soundness at this point, babbling about allegations that were not even said. Altogether, Gatsby experiences a lack of stability, which results in his pursuit of a version of Daisy that is not realistic; this physiological deterioration is a direct product of his misconceptions about his
“Representations of Gatsby: Ninety Years of Retrospective.” Daisy is only ever looking out for herself, even when telling the truth could save lives. Her selfishness corresponds with her lack of responsibility in sense that she lets the man she believes she has fallen in love with take the fall for her actions. Not caring that the repercussions was death. ‘“Here, deares'.
Daisy was never his, although his entire claim to fame had been for her, the money, the parties, the extravagance. His hard work and effort led to nothing in the end except for a bullet in the back as he believed to himself Daisy would call, they would run off together, he would have finally achieved his unattainable goal. Even when he did have Daisy, it wasn’t as it was five years ago; before she married, before Tom and Daisy had a child, before Daisy had known New York life. Though, as shown, the struggle and work towards of Gatsby’s goal of reaching Daisy was the reason for his glamorous life. His pursuit in his dream had led to more satisfaction than the actual attainment of his