You have a dream, as do I, and the person sitting next to me. We all have hopes for the future and plans for the present. These dreams, these unknowingly attainable ideas we have, we love them. But do we really love them, or just love the idea of them?
The Great Gatsby was a cool breath of crisp air on a sizzling summer day. It reawakened my desire to take this Honors class, so thank you F Scott Fitzgerald!
This idea though, of being in love with the idea of a dream, is really what I took from this masterpiece.
Jay Gatsby professes his love for Daisy through his actions, and values her the most among all of his possessions.
".. he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes." - a quote from chapter 5.
But Daisy, Gatsby's green light, is what he believed in. He believed in the idea of the love Daisy would provide- perfect love. Though he was in love with Daisy the person, his love was based on his desire for love.
"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes us."
He wanted Daisy to say that she was never in love with Tom, ever. But she couldn't do it, and a piece of Gatsby's dream of the perfect mate was slivered away.
Gatsby hosted parties every Saturday night, with expensive food, live music, and hundreds of people. The guests, invited or not, would come and drink, dance, and enjoy the party. They would come dressed in fashionable clothing, and arrive in fancy cars. But out of all the people, the hundreds of people, who attended these parties, none of them showed for his funeral. Not even his closest friends, besides Nick, attended his service. These people were in love with the idea of going to fancy parties at a rich man's home, but as for the rich man himself.. they could care less.
So are we, today, in love with the idea of our dreams? Young boys dream of having the point guard position on their favorite basketball team, but will they have the dedication and performance to get there? I think this idea is relevant in all time eras, whether it's the Jazz Age or July 10th, 2010.
One reason this book was so refreshing was because I really connected to the character Nick. I'm a person who is constantly over thinking and over analyzing everything.
"I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires."
This quote really stuck out to me because it reminded me of myself so much. The idea is that he's cautious, and the way this sentence is worded, I perfectly understood that about Nick.
At the end of the book, I wished it was longer. Fitzgerald's style is easy to read- but it gives you a lot to think about- and I think that's the reason it's one of my favorites.
I really like your idea that people are in love with their dreams, and I didn't realize the people who showed for Gatsby's parties, but not his funeral, was a great example of it.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you explored the idea that Gatsby's love for Daisy was based of his desire for love. I never thought of that idea before when I read the book. I also agree that Fitzgerald's style of writing was easy, but it always gave me a new idea or theme to comprehend. This book was also my favorite too.
ReplyDeleteI got the exact same ideas from the Great Gatsby as you did but I didn't even think about the possibility of society, even today, being in love with a dream but I think that's completely relatable to every character in the Great Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree on everthing you posted haha. I also really connected with the character Nick,like you did he is a very genuine person. The only thing I disagreed on with you was the fact that what I got from it was about the corruption of the 1920 society.
ReplyDelete"You have a dream, as do I, and the person sitting next to me. We all have hopes for the future and plans for the present. These dreams, these unknowingly attainable ideas we have, we love them. But do we really love them, or just love the idea of them?" You couldn't have said this any better Haley! Wow I loved reading this blog. I like how you related the theme of loving the "ideas" of dreams to the present, like a boy hoping to become a point-guard on his favorite basketball team. I think everyone can relate to this. This was definitely my favorite book to read, and Fitzgerald's writing technique was very appealing to all audiences.
ReplyDelete-Always,
Brandd. :)
I agreed very much with the initial statement about love. We are more in love with desire than the desired. Hawthorne will eventually argue that they're the same thing. Does love manifest itself through hate, like Gatsby's love for Daisy turning into hate for Tom?
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you explained that part of Gatsby's dream of the perfect mate was slivered away. It shows that although he does continue to love her, it was a bit of a shallow love all along. He loves her just a little less because she'd loved somebody else. You're observations are great, Haley.
ReplyDeleteOh, and i love you!
I think you hit the nail on the head with this post. As soon as you said "in love with the idea", I immediately thought of Romeo and Juliet. Were they in love or in love with the idea of being in love? We, as humans, think the grass is greener and are seldom satisfied with what we have because we think it could be better. This book definitely shows the power of desire and reality. I ditto what everyone else said, too.
ReplyDeleteGood Job!