Is the Great Gatsby a love story?
Whilst the Great Gatsby may be perceived as one of the great American love novels, it can
be argued that rather than true love it is the unrequited obsessive love that Gatsby has for
Daisy that makes this novel tragic.
The Great Gatsby can be considered a love novel due to the obsessive love between Gatsby
and Daisy. Throughout the novel Daisy and Gatsby show true interest in one another, which
makes the reader believe that Daisy does indeed reciprocate feelings for Gatsby. When
Gatsby is first mentioned in chapter one, Daisy shows true shock at hearing his name
‘Gatsby?’. Daisy shows an overwhelming love for Gatsby ‘they’re such beautiful shirts, she
sobbed’. Whereas Gatsby ‘hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy’, which could be a sign of
true love, yet it always seems unrequited as Daisy’s ‘strained’ ‘stormily’ cries could just be
ones of guilt.
Whilst Daisy does show a form of love for Gatsby it is evident that she carries an equal love
for Gatsby and Tom. Yet Daisy shows more interest in Gatsby for the beginning of their
loving affair as its this idea of ‘romance’ that Daisy craves in which Tom dismisses her
‘miserably’ for wanting. The writer shows the lust between Gatsby and Daisy ‘you always
look so cool, she repeated’, the use of repetition for this sentence creates a captivating
atmosphere and allows the reader to feel how Gatsby and Daisy look at one another.
Despite Daisy showing that she does indeed have feelings for Gatsby, the theme of class
within the novel always seems to hold more power than that of love. Whilst Daisy holds a
sense of love for Gatsby because of the ideologies of ‘romance’, Gatsby seems to contain an
unrequited love, in which his feelings are never reciprocated as Daisy always returns to
Tom. This shows that within the novel class is stronger than love, as Daisy whilst showing a
form of love for Tom, she always returns to him creating this sense of repetition throughout
the novel.
Rather than love between Gatsby and Daisy, it seems to be the obsessive unrequited love
for Daisy that keeps Gatsby hoping for something more. Whilst Gatsby believes that his
unrequited love may one day love him back, unrequited love is not true love as real love is
always reciprocated. This shows that the Great Gatsby is not a love story, as it does not
follow a typical love narrative, it is unrequited and obsessive.
Whilst the Great Gatsby may be perceived as one of the great American love novels, it can
be argued that rather than true love it is the unrequited obsessive love that Gatsby has for
Daisy that makes this novel tragic.
The Great Gatsby can be considered a love novel due to the obsessive love between Gatsby
and Daisy. Throughout the novel Daisy and Gatsby show true interest in one another, which
makes the reader believe that Daisy does indeed reciprocate feelings for Gatsby. When
Gatsby is first mentioned in chapter one, Daisy shows true shock at hearing his name
‘Gatsby?’. Daisy shows an overwhelming love for Gatsby ‘they’re such beautiful shirts, she
sobbed’. Whereas Gatsby ‘hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy’, which could be a sign of
true love, yet it always seems unrequited as Daisy’s ‘strained’ ‘stormily’ cries could just be
ones of guilt.
Whilst Daisy does show a form of love for Gatsby it is evident that she carries an equal love
for Gatsby and Tom. Yet Daisy shows more interest in Gatsby for the beginning of their
loving affair as its this idea of ‘romance’ that Daisy craves in which Tom dismisses her
‘miserably’ for wanting. The writer shows the lust between Gatsby and Daisy ‘you always
look so cool, she repeated’, the use of repetition for this sentence creates a captivating
atmosphere and allows the reader to feel how Gatsby and Daisy look at one another.
Despite Daisy showing that she does indeed have feelings for Gatsby, the theme of class
within the novel always seems to hold more power than that of love. Whilst Daisy holds a
sense of love for Gatsby because of the ideologies of ‘romance’, Gatsby seems to contain an
unrequited love, in which his feelings are never reciprocated as Daisy always returns to
Tom. This shows that within the novel class is stronger than love, as Daisy whilst showing a
form of love for Tom, she always returns to him creating this sense of repetition throughout
the novel.
Rather than love between Gatsby and Daisy, it seems to be the obsessive unrequited love
for Daisy that keeps Gatsby hoping for something more. Whilst Gatsby believes that his
unrequited love may one day love him back, unrequited love is not true love as real love is
always reciprocated. This shows that the Great Gatsby is not a love story, as it does not
follow a typical love narrative, it is unrequited and obsessive.
