Love in the Great Gatsby

30. Love is one of the most significant force in human nature, and how a person responds to love can reveal a great deal about him or her. Analyst the extent to which one character experience with love contributes to the development of character and theme using The Great Gatsby.

Love is an extensive and hugely significant force in human nature, having the power to both create greatness and destroy it. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, love and its impact on Jay Gatsby not only powers the development of his character, but develops the theme of the novel that deep down, love is the most important factor in human life, and is a double edged sword. It has the power to create greatness from nothing and construct your downfall. Firstly, love develops the character of Gatsby from a poor boy cheated of his inheritance into an influential millionaire. Secondly, Gatsby demonstrates the theme that love can gift greatness and lead to happiness. Thirdly, love is blinding and is capable of generating chaos and ultimate destruction as seen in the final influence of love in Gatsby’s demise. Therefore, love, and a character’s reaction to it, has the power to significantly change their character and lead to both greatness and destruction.

Gatsby’s love of infinite opportunity, marvellous destiny and Daisy powers him throughout his life, shaping his character along the way. Gatsby develops his own image, from a nobody named James Gatz into the millionaire Jay Gatsby, solely with his love and lust for opportunity and a better future. His love and lust for the future is shown as, “his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from the platonic conception of himself (pg.105)”. James Gatz’s single-minded love for a better future leads to a radical reaction by creating a new, godly version of himself, the making of a new man named Jay Gatsby with inner determination, dedication and love for a prosperous destiny. Gatsby also shows remarkable dedication to the people that he loves, remaining dedicated and loyal long after others have quit, solely driven by his love for them. Before Daisy, Gatsby, already “knew woman early (pg.105)” but after meeting Daisy, Gatsby “felt married to her, that was all (pg.159)” and continued to stay committed to her for years to follow, even after she had married and moved on. This shows how his single love for Daisy shaped him, how it was so powerful that it made him remain celibate for more than 5 years, how his reaction to this love was so severe, that it changed his lifestyle of pursuing women. Lastly, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is so immense, that it persuades him to attempt to turn back time, in an attempt to regain the Daisy that he so dearly loves. When warned that he shouldn't expect too much of Daisy, Gatsby replies “Can’t repeat the past? he cried incredulously, why of course you can! (pg. 118)”. His love for Daisy has made him a character that craves the past, that will attempt anything to relive the impossible, and who ignores the possibilities of the present and future. Thus, Gatsby’s character and its development is influenced by love of both his luxurious future and Daisy, and his reaction to it.

Secondly, love is capable of creating greatness in the lives of its dedicated followers, who include Gatsby. In the deathly days of World War One, Gatsby’s love is shown by his desperate actions as he attempts to get home to Daisy. Jordan shines a light on the situation of Gatsby as, “After the armistice he tried frantically to get home but some compilation of misunderstanding sent him to Oxford instead. He was worried now (pg.161)”. But even after Daisy is married, once he finally gets home, Gatsby’s refusal to give her up and his continued love for her drives him to become the man she wanted. This shows how love empowers Gatsby to quit his valuable education at Oxford, but then even after being rejected by Daisy, he continues to work hard and thrive, to become the man that Daisy wanted, to achieve that greatness. Gatsby goes to great lengths in the hope