What Does The Great Gatsby Represent

"You must remember, old sport, she was very excited this afternoon. He told her those things in a way that frightened her – that made it look as if I was some kind of cheap sharper. And the result was she hardly knew what she was saying." (Fitzgerald 159) is a quote made by Jay Gatsby, the main character of the novel The Great Gatsby. This character is best described as being infatuated. He is madly in love with the narrator’s cousin but can not find a way to get to her. Now, if Gatsby were to ever need a theme song that reflected upon his best (or rather worst) trait the song “Say You Like Me” by We The Kings represents him perfectly. The song describes Jay Gatsby by his comments, actions, and how others think of him. Gatsby demonstrates
this trait while he is in a bind and tells Tom about Daisy and him. The gang including Daisy, Tom, Jordan, Nick, and Gatsby all decide to take a trip to the city and get a hotel room on the hottest day of the summer. Tom has finally realized there is a sort of affair going on between his wife and this mysterious guy, Jay Gatsby. He tells Tom, “I told you what has been going on. Going on for five years - and you did not know.” (Fitzgerald 138). Suddenly, he is trying to get Daisy to choose himself over her husband. This scene can be better understood when the song says, “It is time to fall into my arms. ‘Cause I have been waiting for far too long.” The phrase describes a long lasting love for someone which Gatsby and Daisy have expressed to each other. The secret is out now as Jay finally admits to everyone the length of this apparent affair. His infatuation for Daisy is demonstrated in other ways as well. The supposed love (infatuation, if you will) for Daisy is conveyed multiple times in the novel through Gatsby’s actions. One time is shown after Nick has stopped and observed the murder scene of Myrtle Wilson, he wants to wait outside for a taxi cab because he has had enough for one day. Someone was calling his name from behind a bush and it was Gatsby, waiting in the moonlight to know if Daisy was going to be alright for the night. Nick tells him to go home but he insists on staying and says “I want to wait here till Daisy goes to bed.” (Fitzgerald 153). The line “Forget me not, forget me now, I’ve come too far to turn around because I’m here tonight,” describes Gatsby’s infatuation for Daisy perfectly. It tells readers that he has done a lot of things to get the girl he has been waiting for and he will not give up now. Even if Gatsby is the one for Daisy, there is one person that thought Tom would be better despite having knowledge of Gatsby’s love for her. Many things were said about Gatsby, but only one person knew about his past.
In Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby Jordan reveals Daisy’s whole life from age eighteen to her day of marriage with Tom. Nick learns that Gatsby and Daisy met during the war and had promised to wait for each other. Instead, Daisy met Tom and decided to marry the next year. The day before the wedding she gets highly intoxicated and tells Jordan to call off the wedding because she was making a mistake. She had gotten a letter from Gatsby and fell in love all over again. “She wouldn’t let go of the letter. She took it into the tub with her and squeezed it up into a wet ball and only let me leave it in the soap dish when she saw that it was coming to pieces like snow,” (Fitzgerald 81). Unfortunately, Jordan allows the wedding to go on. Gatsby’s love letter meant so much because he has waited for Daisy like he promised he would. Jordan disregards that, so the phrase “She’s just waiting for that one to take her hand and shake her up,” from the song relates because she believed Daisy would not get far with Gatsby since they did not know each other anymore and his infatuation with her is not enough to keep her happy. This concludes what Jordan has to say about Gatsby’s feelings for
Daisy. Jay Gatsby’s main trait is infatuation and he shows it through his words, actions, and other’s feelings toward him.
The Great Gatsby is a classic novel that represents the “American Dream” from the 1920’s. Everything from that time period in the book has a symbol. The main character, Gatsby, symbolizes the typical American and his love for Daisy is the obsession with reaching a nearly impossible goal. The “American Dream” is seen when Gatsby breaks down and finally tells everyone about his affair with Daisy and how long he has been chasing her. Additionally, it is also recognized when Jay Gatsby waits outside of Daisy’s house for reassurance that she is alright after the death of Myrtle Wilson but is turned down for the last, and final, time. Finally, it is represented in the scene where Jordan tells Nick about Daisy’s past and how Gatsby’s love for her was not right because they did not know each other like they did years ago. Meaning, you can not chase a dream if you do not know what it is. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past,” (Fitzgerald
189).