preview

Obsession To Love In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Obsession to Love “There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved” (“George Sand Quotes”). Since the beginning of time, part of human nature is to desire love and affection. However, this desire goes beyond physical appearances. Love possesses people and can make them do unimaginable things. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, unreciprocated feelings turn Gatsby’s initial lust into an obsessive desire to love.
In the beginning of their love story, Daisy’s beauty captures Gatsby’s attention. “The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since” (Fitzgerald 75). Gatsby’s clear captivation is even obvious to Jordan Baker, who does not know him at that time. The fact that a complete stranger notices this about Gatsby emphasizes a blatant desire for Daisy. Though the war calls Gatsby away immediately after meeting the bright eyed woman, the young man in love does everything in his power to return home as a successful hero. “He did extraordinarily well in the war. He was a captain before he went to the front…” (Fitzgerald 150). Gatsby goes to war with one thing on his mind: Daisy. His motivation throughout the war is not for survival so that he can return home to Daisy, but is for impressing Daisy in attempt to earn her affection. No matter Gatsby’s attempt, his success in the war does not come quick enough for him
Get Access