The Great Gatsby

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To Fit in

    Jay Gatsby, or should I say James Gatz, is the man who grew up poor and fell in love with Daisy, the "golden girl" who was a part of the secret high society. Gatsby's love for Daisy can be seen as romantic, if social status isn't involved, but was Gatsby's love genuine? Or was he after something else? Dare I say, wealth? Social status?

    To fit in, as defined by Google, is to be socially compatible with other members of a group. Now, we sure can say that Gatsby fits in, but the only reason is because of his attained wealth. When speaking about Daisy, Gatsby responds with, "Her voice is full of money" (Page 120). Having a voice full of money is equivalent to being born into money. To Gatsby, Daisy was privileged enough to be born wealthy. Daisy didn't have to struggle to fit into society's standards, something Gatsby tried so hard to achieve.

    If we classified both Gatsby and Daisy today, I would say they're both only here for the money, but money has become the most important part of society today. I can't remember a time where money wasn't important to me. Even as a kid I would look to the price tag before deciding if a toy was worth its price. I didn't even know how money worked but I knew a higher number wasn't always a good thing. "Fitting in" has become associated with wearing designer clothing, having the latest phone, or keeping up with new trends. All of these characteristics involve money. Some kind of purchase or exchange has to take place to "fit in", or at least feel like you fit in. Maybe others don't actually see us as to how well we "fit in" to society, and it's our own misconception. Maybe others see our personality first, the personality that sometimes slips through the cracks of the mask that "sprang from the Platonic Conception"(Page 98) of ourselves.

    So what I'm trying to say is that maybe Gatsby isn't in the wrong. He was a man who wanted to be with the women that he loved, someone who he thought saw his personality first, similarly to how we wish to be perceived by others, but a small misconception about "fitting in" could lead to a theoretical death, possibly the death of our true selves.

      

Comments

  1. Veeksha SudhirNovember 14, 2021 at 12:54 PM

    I thought your post was interesting, I like how you connected what Gatsby wanted back then to how we act in the real world today about money. It gives another view on the novel as a whole.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EvaNovember 14, 2021 at 5:01 PM

    I love that you pointed out the quote about Daisy's voice being "full of money". That, too, was a quote I felt brought out the issue of materialism in the society they lived in, but also because it highlighted what Gatsby noticed most about Daisy. You humanized Gatsby, too! I feel like it's easier for all of us to view him as an unlikable character, but you made sure to retain what rational parts of him we could understand, especially the part about figurative death. Excellent job.

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