Love: it’s one of the most pure emotions a human can feel. However, when love turns into something besides intimacy and tenderness towards another person, it becomes toxic and distorts into harmful obsession. In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, a rich mogul, is married to a woman named Daisy. For five years, the wealthy and powerful Jay Gatsby has been hoping to win her over and continues to do so throughout the story. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies unwavering obsession through the “love” Tom has for Daisy and through Gatsby’s hope of being with her, thus illustrating how, when consumed by the idea of love, one can turn something that would be wholesome and true into something much more dark and destructive.
In the beginning of the story, Tom and Daisy are introduced as a married couple who, from the outside, are in love and devoted to each other; but later on, it becomes apparent that Tom only stays with Daisy because of his obsession with status. First, a friend of Daisy’s states, …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald depicts the distinction between pure love and mere obsession using the characters Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout the story, Tom doesn’t stay with his wife out of love, but out of status, repeatedly cheating on her with another woman. The fixation Tom has with reputation turns the bond of marriage into lies and deceit. Though he believes he’s in love with Daisy, Gatsby merely has an obsession and makes it his dream to be with her. Because he has this unreachable goal, Gatsby ultimately destroys himself in the process of trying to win someone over who will never be won. Fitzgerald demonstrates through both of these characters that building a relationship out of obsession only breeds endless darkness. Love is caring for and building a healthy relationship with another person, but when one starts to become consumed by reputation or the idea of love, they will face lies, deceit, and
In the beginning of the story, Tom and Daisy are introduced as a married couple who, from the outside, are in love and devoted to each other; but later on, it becomes apparent that Tom only stays with Daisy because of his obsession with status. First, a friend of Daisy’s states, …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald depicts the distinction between pure love and mere obsession using the characters Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout the story, Tom doesn’t stay with his wife out of love, but out of status, repeatedly cheating on her with another woman. The fixation Tom has with reputation turns the bond of marriage into lies and deceit. Though he believes he’s in love with Daisy, Gatsby merely has an obsession and makes it his dream to be with her. Because he has this unreachable goal, Gatsby ultimately destroys himself in the process of trying to win someone over who will never be won. Fitzgerald demonstrates through both of these characters that building a relationship out of obsession only breeds endless darkness. Love is caring for and building a healthy relationship with another person, but when one starts to become consumed by reputation or the idea of love, they will face lies, deceit, and