Nature and Nurture

[This is a small piece on themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.  It was written when I was not yet finished reading the novel.] 

The Hidden Themes of a Literal Book

I fell the same way as some of my other classmates do, in that I feel presumptuous in digging out themes from a book we haven’t fully dove into.  I also feel silly when I think of themes in this book because the main overbearing theme is the art of writing.  I thoroughly enjoy Fitzgerald’s style of writing and think the entire story is in the way he phrases things.  I won’t go deeper into this theme because it is too vague, and I’d like the readers of my blog to pick up this book and truly understand what I mean. 

A detrimental theme to this novel is money, and wealth to be more specific.  It is how Gatsby throws his parties and how Tom buys an apartment for his girl on the side.  It almost seems as if these people would live much more wholesome, content lives without this money.  Gatsby’s parties are merely to attract a lost love’s attention and he clearly isn’t happy with his ironically lonely lifestyle.  In the beginning of the book, Nick watches Gatsby as he “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was form him, I could have sworn he was trembling” (20).  Jay is stretching his arms out toward East egg, where Daisy happens to live.  This is no coincidence and later on we find out the extent of this from Jordan.  She says, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay ….  He wants her to see his house… I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties” (78).   Jay Gatsby has bought this mansion, and thrown lavish parties in it so that he can meet his love again.  I wonder, if he didn’t have this wealth maybe he’d muster up the courage to simply confront her face to face, or maybe he wouldn’t feel as if he had the power to tamper with a marriage.  The theme of honesty also works in with this idea of wealth.  Gatsby is not in an honest business and has made his money through distrust.  Tom uses his wealth in a very dishonest way as well.  Tom spends a lot of his money in visiting, and pampering, his girl on the side, Myrtle.  His home life is also affected by money.  It has turned him and his wife, Daisy, into sour companions.  They don’t enjoy the time they spend together and he treats her like dirt, but she would never leave all that money behind.  The in ornament amount of money is causing Tom and Daisy to pretend as if their marriage is fine.  Tom can use his money and power to cheat on his wife whenever he needs to, and Daisy won’t run away from the horrid scar in her life that is Tom because she enjoys the lifestyle. Both Jay, and Tom, either obtain, or use, their money in a dishonest way, and it is a fascinating thought to think that maybe they’d lead better lives without all the ka-ching!

A more interesting theme than the one I previously wrote about is romance.  It seems as if no true love in this novel comes without a price.  Tom chooses to betray his wife on several occasions, that we know of. 
Jordan states, “Tom ran into a wagon on the Ventura road one night… The girl who was with him got into the papers… she was one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel”  (77).  From the beginning of their marriage Tom has been cheating on Daisy.  Their love is not a real one.  Just a week before Tom cheated on her, Daisy was in her wedding dress crying about having to marry this man.  Granted she was intoxicated, but her heart has never been with Tom and his is not with her.  Their romance is false and a lie.  In order for Gatsby to find his true love, he must get her to commit adultery.  He is madly in love with Daisy, or so he thinks, and would be fine with her cheating on her husband so that he could partially have her again.  The only character who honestly deserves love seems to be Nick.  He is an honest, hardworking, witty man but he struggles in this genre.  He has not found love, and almost seems to be so far above the intellect of the other characters that he will most definitely over analyze and judge any girl who attempts to love him, but that is a different idea entirely.  Nick is forced to settle for Jordan Baker.  Their main moment of romance is well represented by Fitzgerald’s language.  Nick says, “Unlike Gatsby and Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl beside me, tightening my arms.  Her wan, scornful mouth smiled, and so I drew her up again closer, this time to my face”  (80).  The language is anything but romantic.  “Her wan, scornful mouth smiled,” it’s a horrid moment that should be a pleasant one.  There are no sparks in this relationship and all Nick will be left with is “the girl beside me,” of whom he has been forced to settle for.