Commentary on The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby

The 1920s was a decade that will always be remembered because of the partying, upbeat mood people seemed to be in, it was right before the Great Depression, and because of one book The Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby was a tremendous novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters were all interesting in their own unique way but two specific characters jumped out to me because they were so similar and yet could not be more opposite at the same time. The two characters that I am speaking of are Tom and Daisy Buchanan. This married couple is in the mist of all the twists and turns in this story and is the reason why Jay Gatsby was inevitably murdered.

The similarities of this couple are very simple. They both were in love with someone else. Daisy Buchanan was in love with Jay Gatsby while Tom was in love with Myrtle Wilson. Daisy tried to keep her promise to Jay by saying that she would wait for him but her love for money, wealth, and status overwhelmed her love for Jay. Tom on the other hand went to great lengths to just keep his mistress around and keep her happy. Another similarity between them was the fact that they both neglected their child. They both treated their newborn infant as an afterthought in there busy life. There was hardly a mention of the child in the book by these two. The last similarity that I found was the fact that they spent money carelessly. Whenever things would get to tough, they would hide behind there money. Even after Jay Gatsby died, due to all of their controversial moves they did to start the trouble, they fled the city without leaving a hint of their whereabouts. This was a cowardly move but they did it to keep each other around.

The differences in my opinion are a bit more complex then the simple reasons listed in the paragraph before. The biggest difference is their love interest. In my opinion, Daisy was never in love with Tom she was in love with his money and status. Tom was in love with Daisy. He was in love with providing his money and services to her and Myrtle to cover up for his abusive mannerisms. Toms abusive behavior and Daisys love for money made for one heck of a story line.

In my opinion, this power couple had to go through all the infidelity and drama just to prove to each other that they love each other or for one partner, the money.