Tricks of "Love"

Love is written all over The Great Gatsby. From Gatsby's "larger than life" love towards Daisy, to Jordan and Nick's fling, and to whatever Tom and Myrtle are ( should Nick and Gatsby be on the list too..?). So you can imagine my surprise after reading the psychoanalytic criticism of the book. IT WAS ALL A BIG FAT LIE. The Great Gatsby is more of a bunch of people in relationships to cover up their emotional wounds. All of the relationships presented contain a lot of materialism to replace the lack of emotional connection. Take Tom and Myrtle's relationship for example, Tom doesn't show any signs of grief when Myrtle dies showing the absence of any feelings between the two.  Their relationship is also defined by its physical attributes such as the apartment Tom has for the affair or by the dog leash that he gives to Myrtle (which proves to be detrimental to Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson). All of the characters find someone who shares their emotional wound and is hence "protected" so to speak from having to work on healing it. Nick is attracted to Jordan because of her "nonchalant" attitude that comforts him; he knows that he won't have to form any bonds with her. Their brief and trivial relationship prove that. Perhaps the easiest relationship to analyze.Tom- Daisy. The affairs that both Tom and Daisy have are the first indications of their shallow marriage. The only thing that they have in common is their disinterest in the well beings of others and their low self- esteem ( no matter how much or what I read, in my heart and mind, Tom is just a jerk). What's also interesting is how Fitzgerald was able to translate a problem that many people experience into a dysfunctional relationship: we often lack self confident, so we try to overcompensate by showing off leading to the desertion of our feelings and common sense ( Daisy stays with Tom at the end). Perhaps Fitzgerald's writings are indications of his own problems...

The Pursuit of Perfection

"As I went over to say goodbye I saw that the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby’s face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. 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."

This passage perfectly sums up the idealistic state that Gatsby gets consumed in. In the five years that pass, Daisy becomes more idealistic than realistic, and perhaps that should have been a warning sign for the grim future of their relationship. Gatsby's longing for Daisy, and the wealth she symbolizes, forces him to create a 'perfect' version of Daisy- one with no flaws. While he acquires the wealth, Daisy slips from his reach.Daisy's flaws makes Gatsby question his own perspective of her, and consequently, his view on the wealth and lavish lifestyle she represents. Though, what destroys his ambitions are not Daisy's flaws, but his own delusional dreams. His "illusion" of creating a new life for himself by elevating his social class and getting Daisy consume him. He puts so much "vitality" into polishing this dream that he forgets to make it realistic. No matter how much Daisy changes and acts differently, it will never satisfy Gatsby because his mind and heart are so set on perfecting his dream. This pursuit  of perfection leads to the ruining of the "quality of his present happiness", and this pursuit also destroys humans today. We all dream of achieving or acquiring something, and that dream is usually just a pure form of what is actually realistic. Just as Plato said, all the material objects or conceptions we have in our world, the real world, are just shadows and less perfect representations of those objects in the ideal world. Many people, including Gatsby, try to have an ideal object, or person, exist in the real world. Trying to pursue that almost always leads to our downfall, or actual death. Our obsession with it will prevent us from actually enjoying whatever possible happiness we can achieve. Fitzgerald is able to capture one of the human flaws that consumed especially so many people during the 1920s while trying to reach the American Dream.