The Great Gatsby

[JaeSon5]

In Francis Fitzgeralad’s The Great Gatsby, the main protagonist, Jay Gatsby had been stationed in a military base at Louisville, Kentucky during World War I. There, he met and won the heart of Daisy, a beautiful and charming girl who was very popular among the soldiers. Before he had left to serve in the war, they had made love, and she had promised to wait for him. From that moment on, Gatsby had devoted his life to Daisy and would do everything in his power to be with her. However, she abandoned her promise to live a life of security by marrying Tom Buchanan, a well-established man of the upper class. After returning from the war, Gatsby learns of Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s home on the East egg of Long Island and rents a mansion on the West egg, which is separated by only a bay. In a struggle to win the heart of Daisy, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby exude starkly contrasting personalities.
While both own lavish mansions on Long Island, they each have very distinct backgrounds. Tom had been born into aristocracy and was a Yale graduate. Gatsby, on the other hand, was born into an underprivileged family in North Dakota. After attending St. Olaf’s College for only two weeks, he dropped out because he despised having to pay for his tuition through janitorial employment. With an intense hatred of poverty, Gatsby endeavored to build a fortune, and he succeeded with the assistance of Meyer Wolfsheim, an unscrupulous man. During prohibition, Gatsby set up various drugstores, which illegally sold alcohol. Because his fortune had been recently built, his home lies on the West Egg. Conversely, Tom’s fortune has been established for many generations, and his home lies on the east egg.
Tom Buchanan, a former football player, who is described to be “a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen” is a supercilious, hypocritical and racist bully. With sincere concern, he declares that “ if we don’t look out, the white race will be – will be utterly submerged,” and during the course of the novel, he makes several other racist comments. In addition, he openly and shamelessly has an affair with another married woman, Myrtle Wilson. When Mrytle refuses to stop repeating Daisy’s name, Tom cannot control his anger and breaks her nose. Clearly, Tom does not display any self-control. Though he maintains this exposed affair, he becomes furious when he discovers that his wife is likewise engaged in an affair.
Jay Gatsby, after moving into the West Egg, hosts many munificent parties, which make him make him a very reputable man. However, no one knows much about him or how he acquired his wealth, which also makes him a very mysterious man. In one encounter by Nick Carraway, Daisy’s cousin as well as Gatsby’s west egg neighbor, Gatsby is spotted at nighttime trembling, with his arms stretched towards a green light across the bay. When Nick is invited to one of his renowned parties, he finally affords an opportunity to meet Gatsby, and he is most impressed by his charming smile and vitality. Later, he learns that Gatsby harbors a love towards Daisy and only hosted the parties to lure her.