We have now seen/read three versions of The Great Gatsby. First, the source material, the original if you will--the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
But... who is Jay Gatsby? Focusing mainly on the 2013 film version and the novel, I am going to attempt to give an answer to why Gatsby lives the way he does, and what it all is for.
We know that Nick says that Gatsby is the only one from the East who escapes his judgment. This makes Gatsby a point of interest, besides the fact that his name is in the title. This makes me wonder, why exactly is this?
Gatsby did not start out the way we see him initially; that is, he was not always wealthy, with a castle for a house and parties thrown every week. In fact, he started pretty much on the opposite side of the spectrum. He was born into a poor family with not much to show for themselves. And he was ashamed. He changed his name, left his home... and met Daisy. He fell in love with her. But he was deployed, so they were not together long. He hoped that she would wait for him, but alas, she did not. She married Tom Buchanan instead of him. He believed that she would not marry him if he was poor. And she would especially not leave her husband for him in that "state." So he made the money and the wealth that he thought would win her back.
I found this video psychoanalyzing Gatsby from Emory University. I think that it has a lot to say. When you watch it, I want you to be thinking of when Nick tells Gatsby that you can't repeat the past, and Gatsby says, "Of course you can."
I think this is pretty powerful stuff. There's a ton in this video. It's all about Gatsby trying to erase/escape his past. But it's filled with grief. I think that's the important distinction between Gatsby and the other characters in the story. Everyone else kind of escapes their pasts as well, if not where they came from then what they've done. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and people, and then retreated back into their money and their vast carelessness."
But this makes me wonder: is Gatsby's love for daisy authentic? Throughout this whole process, I've been of the mind to say that yes, his love is authentic. And maybe it is, but why does he love this girl? I think that it's because she represents the antithesis of everything that he is running from. She was born rich and wealthy. She was never poor. This is what Gatsby wishes he was, wishes he had, and wishes he would become.
We know that Nick says that Gatsby is the only one from the East who escapes his judgment. This makes Gatsby a point of interest, besides the fact that his name is in the title. This makes me wonder, why exactly is this?
Gatsby did not start out the way we see him initially; that is, he was not always wealthy, with a castle for a house and parties thrown every week. In fact, he started pretty much on the opposite side of the spectrum. He was born into a poor family with not much to show for themselves. And he was ashamed. He changed his name, left his home... and met Daisy. He fell in love with her. But he was deployed, so they were not together long. He hoped that she would wait for him, but alas, she did not. She married Tom Buchanan instead of him. He believed that she would not marry him if he was poor. And she would especially not leave her husband for him in that "state." So he made the money and the wealth that he thought would win her back.
I found this video psychoanalyzing Gatsby from Emory University. I think that it has a lot to say. When you watch it, I want you to be thinking of when Nick tells Gatsby that you can't repeat the past, and Gatsby says, "Of course you can."
I think this is pretty powerful stuff. There's a ton in this video. It's all about Gatsby trying to erase/escape his past. But it's filled with grief. I think that's the important distinction between Gatsby and the other characters in the story. Everyone else kind of escapes their pasts as well, if not where they came from then what they've done. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and people, and then retreated back into their money and their vast carelessness."
But this makes me wonder: is Gatsby's love for daisy authentic? Throughout this whole process, I've been of the mind to say that yes, his love is authentic. And maybe it is, but why does he love this girl? I think that it's because she represents the antithesis of everything that he is running from. She was born rich and wealthy. She was never poor. This is what Gatsby wishes he was, wishes he had, and wishes he would become.
Very interesting clip. To your original question, 'who is J Gatsby': In the novel and the '13 version, I felt sympathy and empathy for Gatsby. As an objective observer who is privy to Daisy's real character, I felt bad for him chasing this woman for all the wrong reasons, and hanging his self worth on her opinion of him. "Is Gatsby's love for Daisy authentic?" I think semantics may come into play here. I think his love, in a sense, is real and certainly heartfelt, but, in another sense, not authentic as it is misguided and based on a flawed (and therefore inauthentic) perception of her, and, more importantly, of himself. It is this faulty valuation, feeling as though he needs to compensate for, in his case, growing up poor or of a lower class makes him a character that garners empathy. I think feelings of self doubt, questions of self worth, and insecurity are things that most people, at some point in their life, have experienced. But Gatsby never found a way to cope. Instead he is consumed, and every aspect of his life is dictated by these feelings of inadequacy, and Daisy is the lynchpin that holds his false reality together. It is an unsustainable condition; his demise is a palpable eventuality. Poor Gatsby; Poor Gatz.
ReplyDeleteYour last comment about "why does he love this girl," I find really interesting. I never thought of it as Gatsby loving the idea of what Daisy is rather than Daisy herself, but you make a really good point. If he is so caught up with the past (shame of his childhood), then it really could be that he loves her because she is what he wishes he was and wants to become.
ReplyDeleteThe video that you include from Emory is fascinating and helpful. Which parts of it were more influential or "powerful" in regards to your own interpretation of Gatsby? The idea of how much shame Gatsby struggles with is so vital to his character. He is a man who desires to suppress all possible vulnerability within himself.
ReplyDeleteI liked and agreed with your video clip. It really shined a new light on Gatsby as a character. He was obsessed with trying to relive the past of him and Daisy but couldn't. And like the guy said in the video that Gatsby couldn't move forward because he was stuck on someone who had changed and made a new life for herself without him. He either doesn't realize that or he doesn't want to accept it. Either way he keeps hurting himself with this constant behavior of trying to bring something back that has been lost for years.
ReplyDeleteThe clip helped clarify the meaning to the Eyes of T.J. Eckleburg motif of the Great Gatsby. I've often tried to understand the significance of the eyes, but the most I took away was that they were watching over them. The clip helped explain that they may illustrate the fear the characters have of how they are seen by others.
ReplyDeleteReading your post I am struck by the concept, do we really know people and the people we love. Don't we put up fronts to hide our true emotions, even though we say we don't. Does Jay really love Daisy? I did a post to where I called them spoiled brats. I think they still are but the question is does Jay love Daisy. I think in his own superficial way he does. I think Daisy is a object that he can put all his emotions into and hopes she loves him back unconditionally. Jay Gatsby fears rejection, he throws parties hoping that the glamorous will seduce Daisy to come running into it and all of a sudden he will appear. Jay Gatsby is a lousy Svengali . Daisy is the woman who chose a life of money over love, she kind of deserved what she got.
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