The Great Gatsby

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the characters Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan are said to be in love, but in reality, this seems to be a misconception. In this novel, Fitzgerald portrays the themes of love, lust, and obsession through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, who confuse lust and obsession with love. By the end of the novel however, Jay Gatsby is denied his "love" and sacrifices his life for a woman who never gives him a second thought.

Jay Gatsby was a wealthy businessman who gained his money through the illegal practice of bootlegging. Gatsby's love interest, Daisy Buchanan, was a materialistic woman who was married to the domineering Tom Buchanan. She seemed to care for nothing more than money. Gatsby was in love with Daisy, and went to all lengths to win her over. Gatsby's only motivation for obtaining all of the money that he did was to become appealing to Daisy. Since Daisy was married, the idea of love between Gatsby and Daisy was forbidden. This very concept made the relationship all the more desirable. Gatsby becomes obsessed with his relationship with Daisy to the point that he was delusional. His only objective was to win Daisy back.

When Tom learns of Gatsby and Daisy's secret affair, he is outraged. Tom thought that to love someone, you had to have complete dominance over them. When he realized that he had lost control of Daisy, he panicked but because he senses that Daisy does not love him anymore and, therefore, he cannot control her.

Lust can completely overpower a person until they become controlled by it. By the end of this book, Gatsby becomes obsessed with his lust for Daisy. He wanted so much to have her, this she consumed every aspect of his life. He thought that he could turn back the hands of time and make Daisy love him again, but this proved to be simply impossible. Daisy was not willing to risk her social status for love, proving the of money and power was more important to her than love.

Near the end of the novel, Gatsby took the blame for the death of Wilson's wife, Myrtle, even though it was Daisy's fault. Wilson shot and killed Gatsby to avenge the death of his loved one, and then turned the gun on himself. Daisy walked away with her social status in tact and never once acknowledged the fact that the man she had "loved" was killed for an action that she herself had committed. She did not even attend