Losing Illusions Virginia Woolf once said, “Growing up is losing some illusions, in order to acquire others.” When we are young we have our own idea of what the world is like. As we start to shed certain illusions and see the world for what it is. Gaining new experiences, going through difficult challenges, and experiencing new encounters help shape the lenses through which we view the world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s twentieth-century novel, The Great Gatsby we follow Nick Carraway through journey that changes his lenses forever. Going from the quiet and boring Midwest to the exciting, action filled East Nick experiences new encounters and experiences that will stick with him for the rest of his life. Through these encounters Nick is forced
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From Gatsby, Nick learns the dangers of reaching too far for a dream that is ultimately unattainable. Gatsby spends most of the book trying to reach for an unattainable dream, which ultimately leads to his death. When Gatsby finally has the opportunity to actually be around Daisy after five years there are times when Daisy “tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitally of [Gatsby’s] illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). Over the five years he spends apart from Daisy, Gatsby creates an unrealistic illusion of her that the real Daisy cannot possibly fit. He so badly wants to believe he can have Daisy despite the fact that they have been apart for five years, she is married, and has a child …show more content…
After seeing Tom for the first time since Gatsby’s death, Nick realizes how “careless” Tom and Daisy are and how “they [smash] up things and creatures and then [retreat] back into their money” (Fitzgerald 179). He finally realizes Tom and Daisy’s negligence and lack of depth. Tom and Daisy have the privilege of being negligent and destructive because they have money to run back to whenever anything goes wrong, unlike the people without money who they hurt. Similarly, Gatsby suffers from emptiness despite his wealth. Despite all the “music” from Gatsby’s house, “his blue gardens”, his “Rolls Royce”, and all other symbols of Gatsby’s wealth and popularity, Gatsby is never truly happy (Fitzgerald 39). Even though Gatsby has all the material goods one could dream of, he still feels unfulfilled because he is not with the person he loves. No matter how many cars he buys or how big his house is, materials cannot fill the vacancy in his heart. When Tom confronts Gatsby, Gatsby says to Tom that Daisy “only married [him] because [he] was poor” (Fitzgerald 130). Although Tom is filthy rich, he treats Daisy poorly and is not faithful to her, while Gatsby on the other hand, was born dirt poor, but loves Daisy and treats her well. Daisy decides to marry Tom because she wants to be with someone who is wealthy instead of someone who is not well off. Daisy’s hollowness and her decision to choose wealth over
From Gatsby, Nick learns the dangers of reaching too far for a dream that is ultimately unattainable. Gatsby spends most of the book trying to reach for an unattainable dream, which ultimately leads to his death. When Gatsby finally has the opportunity to actually be around Daisy after five years there are times when Daisy “tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitally of [Gatsby’s] illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). Over the five years he spends apart from Daisy, Gatsby creates an unrealistic illusion of her that the real Daisy cannot possibly fit. He so badly wants to believe he can have Daisy despite the fact that they have been apart for five years, she is married, and has a child …show more content…
After seeing Tom for the first time since Gatsby’s death, Nick realizes how “careless” Tom and Daisy are and how “they [smash] up things and creatures and then [retreat] back into their money” (Fitzgerald 179). He finally realizes Tom and Daisy’s negligence and lack of depth. Tom and Daisy have the privilege of being negligent and destructive because they have money to run back to whenever anything goes wrong, unlike the people without money who they hurt. Similarly, Gatsby suffers from emptiness despite his wealth. Despite all the “music” from Gatsby’s house, “his blue gardens”, his “Rolls Royce”, and all other symbols of Gatsby’s wealth and popularity, Gatsby is never truly happy (Fitzgerald 39). Even though Gatsby has all the material goods one could dream of, he still feels unfulfilled because he is not with the person he loves. No matter how many cars he buys or how big his house is, materials cannot fill the vacancy in his heart. When Tom confronts Gatsby, Gatsby says to Tom that Daisy “only married [him] because [he] was poor” (Fitzgerald 130). Although Tom is filthy rich, he treats Daisy poorly and is not faithful to her, while Gatsby on the other hand, was born dirt poor, but loves Daisy and treats her well. Daisy decides to marry Tom because she wants to be with someone who is wealthy instead of someone who is not well off. Daisy’s hollowness and her decision to choose wealth over