Essay Sample: Social Class And Wealth In The Great Gatsby

Wealth and class are the two main characteristics Gatsby obsesses over in a relationship with rather than the love shared with Daisy. In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby claims that he is in love with Daisy. Before Gatsby went to war, he and Daisy fell in love. This previous relationship persuaded Gatsby that they would remain intimate after he came back from the war; however, when he returns, Gatsby is astonished to see Daisy with her wealthy husband, Tom. Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy since he wants to commemorate the past and uses the green light as a glimmer of hope.

Once Gatsby returns from war, his obsession with Daisy developed as a means to recall their past relationship. When Gatsby sees Daisy he remarks, “Daisy, that’s all over now,” he said earnestly. “It doesn’t matter any more. Just tell him the truth — that you never loved him — and it’s all wiped out forever” (Fitzgerald 143). Gatsby earns to hear Daisy say that she loves him because he wants to erase the past. Since Daisy is with Tom, Gatsby does not want to acquire reality and is anticipating for Daisy to leave Tom so that Gatsby and Daisy can move on. Since Gatsby has new, rising money, he represents the new class as a self made man while on the other hand, Tom has old money which he has accumulated through multiple generations.  Gatsby states after Daisy hits Ms. Wilson, “Was Daisy driving?” “Yes,” he said after a moment, “but of course I’ll say I was” (Fitzgerald 152). When Daisy hits Ms. Myrtle Wilson, Gatsby feels that if he takes the blame that Daisy would fall in love with him. Daisy committed many atrocities, but Gatsby is so fixated on making him believe that taking the blame would bring the spark back. Daisy did not fight back towards Gatsby when he made the decision to suffer the consequences, showing that she had no distress. All Gatsby wanted was to be superior and provide Daisy in ways that Tom could not, even if it meant, would get in trouble or caught by someone else.

The green light gives Gatsby optimism that he has an opportunity with Daisy again. Gatsby had a glimmer of hope when seeing this light, so he stated to Daisy, “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock” (Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby assumes that himself and Daisy would have had a virtuous life in Louisville if they were not separated by war. Returning back to this fantasy, however, is not realistic because Daisy just wanted someone with wealth. When Gatsby got back he wanted to be with Daisy so badly that he bought a house across from hers. She had a green light from the dock which symbolized his hope that they would end up together. After Gatsby passed away Nick helps explain how “as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he can hardly fail to grasp it” (Fitzgerald 180). When Nick had Daisy over, they became very close in one day. When Gatsby dies, Nick helps him explain that no matter how far away Daisy was, the green light brought them closer. The green light gave Gatsby hope that she would leave Tom and end up with him. The green light stood for hope which helped Gatsby believe that they would end up together. This, however, did not work out no matter how intensely he tried. His failure to fulfill his desires alongside him stepping up to take the blame for the murder of Myrtle ultimately resulted in Gatsby's death.

The green light and desire to relive the past demonstrates Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy since it gave him hope thinking they would end up together. Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy by moving right across the lake from her so he could think and dream about her. When he sees the green light it made him believe that they could fall in love again. He had high hopes for this but Daisy was just not feeling the same. After being rejected, he concocted these plans to get her back and pushed her to say she was not in love with Tom; however, all Daisy desired was the old money which Tom represented.

Gatsby went through quantities of trouble trying to win Daisy over such as taking the blame for the car crash, and reliving his pass. This created tension between Gatsby and George Wilson because Gatsby had taken the blame for Daisy running over Ms. Myrtle Wilson. This drove George Wilson to kill Gatsby because Mr. Wilson was led to think Gatsby had killed his wife. All of these reasons show that Gatsby is obsessed because he would do anything to be with Daisy, even if that meant jeopardizing his own death.