Gatsby’s Illusion The state of people’s mental health often negatively affects their relationships with the people surrounding their lives. Gatsby’s mental state throughout The Great Gatsby is certainly not impeccable after he serves in World War I, because he has to leave his girlfriend, Daisy, behind to serve in the army. Like countless other soldiers of this time period, Gatsby’s mental state changes during the war and he holds onto the good memories and perfects them in his head. He develops a perfect vision of Daisy in the years that they are apart, which can be viewed as a positive mental exercise, however, this unrealistic vision has a negative impact on their relationship in several situations when they finally meet up again in
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According to some professionals, “War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations. The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults” (Murthy and Lakshminarayana 2). This quotation relates to Gatsby because it justifies that war has violent and negative connotations of death and competition, making Gatsby value the good memories he has, tainting his psychological state of mind when it comes to certain events and people. When discussing the effects of war on soldiers, “physicians understood that an emotional shock or frightening experience might cause short-term distress, but long-term emotional distress indicated that the patient was predisposed to mental illness—probably melancholia or nostalgia” (Bowen np). Gatsby often revisits these memories because they are efficacious in giving him hope, or just some positivity. However, the nostalgia continues after the war, and Gatsby still wishes to revert to how things were before the war, in terms of his relationship with Daisy. After a while, one must start to adjust these memories, like Gatsby does with his memories of Daisy. As evidenced by the text, Daisy becomes a, “colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). In the midst of the frantic and violent war, she became paradisiacal …show more content…
Daisy is married to Tom, however their marriage is not exactly a loving and trustworthy marriage. Gatsby sees this as an opening to get Daisy to fall in love with him and to be with him again. However, Gatsby’s plan does not really work out in his favor. The text states, “After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity” (Fitzgerald 91- 92). This quotation explains Gatsby’s reaction to seeing Daisy for the first time in five years. At first, neither Gatsby or Daisy were sure how to act, however they were both so overwhelmed with shock that it brought back so many feelings and memories. As seen in the novel, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams” (Fitzgerald 95). Daisy was not worrying about Tom that afternoon because she was in such a great state of shock because she thought Gatsby had died in the war. Later in the novel, when that initial state of shock wears off is when Daisy starts to think about her complicated situation. Gatsby wants Daisy to admit that she does not love Tom and leave him to be with Gatsby. Gatsby expects Daisy to do this without complaint or
According to some professionals, “War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations. The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults” (Murthy and Lakshminarayana 2). This quotation relates to Gatsby because it justifies that war has violent and negative connotations of death and competition, making Gatsby value the good memories he has, tainting his psychological state of mind when it comes to certain events and people. When discussing the effects of war on soldiers, “physicians understood that an emotional shock or frightening experience might cause short-term distress, but long-term emotional distress indicated that the patient was predisposed to mental illness—probably melancholia or nostalgia” (Bowen np). Gatsby often revisits these memories because they are efficacious in giving him hope, or just some positivity. However, the nostalgia continues after the war, and Gatsby still wishes to revert to how things were before the war, in terms of his relationship with Daisy. After a while, one must start to adjust these memories, like Gatsby does with his memories of Daisy. As evidenced by the text, Daisy becomes a, “colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). In the midst of the frantic and violent war, she became paradisiacal …show more content…
Daisy is married to Tom, however their marriage is not exactly a loving and trustworthy marriage. Gatsby sees this as an opening to get Daisy to fall in love with him and to be with him again. However, Gatsby’s plan does not really work out in his favor. The text states, “After his embarrassment and his unreasoning joy he was consumed with wonder at her presence. He had been full of the idea so long, dreamed it right through to the end, waited with his teeth set, so to speak, at an inconceivable pitch of intensity” (Fitzgerald 91- 92). This quotation explains Gatsby’s reaction to seeing Daisy for the first time in five years. At first, neither Gatsby or Daisy were sure how to act, however they were both so overwhelmed with shock that it brought back so many feelings and memories. As seen in the novel, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams” (Fitzgerald 95). Daisy was not worrying about Tom that afternoon because she was in such a great state of shock because she thought Gatsby had died in the war. Later in the novel, when that initial state of shock wears off is when Daisy starts to think about her complicated situation. Gatsby wants Daisy to admit that she does not love Tom and leave him to be with Gatsby. Gatsby expects Daisy to do this without complaint or