However he does not realize that he only wants the idea of possessing Daisy, and the image he has of Daisy as the beautiful young girl every man desired before the war.Īnother dominant symbol within this novel is the billboard eyes of Dr. Finally, Gatsby wants Daisy in order to fulfill his American Dream. Daisy cheats in order to receive the attention and admiration Tom has been neglecting her of. On the other hand, Myrtle uses Tom in order to escape the Valley of Ashes and to use him as her path to the American dream of excessive living.
Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.” (Pg 123-124) This statement is hypocritical because Tom is cheating himself, but will talk about family morals when his own marriage, and subsequently American Dream, is threatened. Well if that’s the idea you can count me out. “I supposed the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. For instance, Tom has an affair to satisfy his boredom, and escape from his relationship at home. All the relationships in the novel contain a motive or purpose. However, cheating is not limited to solely the rich class, as it is present in all social classes.
The wealthy have everything but still not happy. Represents the shallow quality of the characters’ lives thus signifying the hollowness of the American Dream. This later proves to be the same for Daisy when she is reunited with Gatsby. If he was satisfied, he would not feel the need to sleep with someone that is not his wife. Tom is not fulfilled with the American Dream which is why he has an affair.
Tom is excused from dinner to receive a call when it is revealed that the caller is his mistress. However, during the party this illusion is shattered. They have the money, the beautiful house, a family. Before the party, Tom and Daisy are seen as the ideal couple living the American Dream. This party is thrown out of boredom as it is something for them to do in their mundane lifestyle. This contrasts the new money and the old money of the novel where the new money feel the need to constantly flaunt their money in an unnecessary way, the established rich are comfortable and graceful in their wealth. When compared to Gatsby’s over-the-top parties, Tom’s party has an understated simplicity to it. The first party seen in the novel is the get-together at Tom’s house. This emphasizes the hollowness of the American Dream. This is shown at the end of the novel when no more than a handful of people show up at his funeral where there could have easily been hundreds of people at his parties. No one at the party shows more than a superficial curiosity for Gatsby’s character. Furthermore, the guests at his parties only show up as a way to prove their social status and to enjoy what they perceive as the American Dream. … One of the men was talking with curious intensity to a young actress, and his wife, after attempting to laugh at the situation in a dignified and indifferent way, broke down entirely and resorted to flank attacks – at intervals she appeared suddenly at his side like and angry diamond, and hissed: ‘You promised!’ into his ear.” The husbands are bored and unsatisfied with their marriages while the wives are upset are their husbands’ disregard for them. Most of the remaining women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands. During Nick’s first attendance at Gatsby’s party, he makes this observation. Though when examined closely, corruption is easy to spot. Most of these guests are simply there to enjoy the glamour which they believe to be the American Dream. However even with the grand scale of his parties, none of his guests seem to know who Gatsby is, some even coming up with ludicrous stories to explain his mystery. The reason Gatsby throws these huge, flashy parties is all part of his attempt to catch Daisy’s attention either hoping that she would catch a glimpse of the bright lights across the bay or through word of mouth. For example, the juice from two hundred oranges is extracted every week for his parties. Gatsby throws excessively extravagant parties as evidenced by the number of guests, the lights, the food and the entertainment.
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