Love, Desire, & Relationships

The Great Gatsby

What is The American Dream?
The American Dream means that the
ideals of freedom, equality, and
opportunity are traditionally held to be
available to every American.
The American Society in the 1920’s
● Economy was booming at the time ● Came the rise of “New money”
● The 1920’s is also referred as the roaring ○ Individuals who became rich without
20’s having any high class status
● Jazz was a starting to get more popular in ● “Old Money” disapproved of “New Money”
that era, and people began to feel more people
attracted to music ○ The opposite definition of “new
● Woman began to have the mentality of money”
equality, therefore began to protest for ○ Someone born into family of a past of
more access to jobs and higher education high class status of wealth
● Prohibition of liquor began as well in the
ratification of the 15 amendment
● Although liquor was prohibited it was
really difficult to keep it under control when
even restaurants had secrets rooms to hide
the liquor
Prohibition
Definition- The action of forbidding something

The 18th amendment and its ratification lead to the prohibition of intoxicating
liquors. This not only lead to more demand for liquor , but mad many high low
class restaurants very popular due to the sale of illegal liquor. Since the supply
of liquor was very low it became more expensive. This prohibition was nearly
impossible enforce due to “bootleg” , a term that is used describing the
production and sales of illegal liquor.
Flappers
In the 1920’s “flappers” were defined as women who fought for
their rights. Equal rights that women fight for such as manly jobs.
They fought this because woman in the time were still defined as
people who stayed home and do what “woman generally do. But this
was not the only for the benefit of woman but of men as well. In
WWI woman were a big help to the war. Because of little weaponry
and materials for soldiers , woman worked in factories making
clothing, ammunition for weapons, and cotton which was also used
for clothing . They were also granted the right to vote , which was a
very big political issue as well.
How does The Great Gatsby relate to the
American Dream?
In The Great Gatsby, anyone can rise to the top class of
society, without the hard work and the ambition. A time where
it was about the pursuit of wealth and the desire of inhabiting
luxuries.
Characters
Chapters in The Great Gatsby
In Chapter 7
In Chapter 2
● “Tom asks Gatsby about his intentions for
● “She smiled slowly and walking Daisy, and Gatsby replies that Daisy loves
him, not Tom. Tom claims that he and
through her husband as if he were Daisy have a history that Gatsby could not
possibly understand”(Fitzgerald).
a ghost shook hands with Tom,
● After accidentally killing Myrtle, Gatsby’s
looking him flush in the eye” decision to take the blame for Daisy
demonstrates the deep love he still feels for
(29). her and illustrating the basic nobility that
defines his character.
● ‘I married him because I thought
● They weren’t happy, and neither of them had
he was a gentleman,’ she said touched the chicken or the ale—and yet they
weren’t unhappy either. There was an
finally. ‘I thought he knew unmistakable air of natural intimacy about the
picture and anybody would have said that they
something about breeding, but he
were conspiring together.
 A quote from Chapter 7

"Who wants to go to town?" demanded Daisy

insistently. Gatsby's eyes floated toward her.
"Ah," she cried, "you look so cool."

The definition of Their eyes met, and they stared together at

each other, alone in space. With an effort she
glanced down at the table.

Love "You always look so cool," she repeated.

She had told him that she loved him, and Tom
Buchanan saw. He was astounded. His mouth
opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and
then back at Daisy as if he had just
recognized her as someone he knew a long
time ago. (p 126)
Love- A warm intense feeling of
deep endearment
Daisy’s bizarre confession of love
Desire
“Oh, you want too much!’ she cried
to Gatsby. ‘I love you now—isn’t
verb that enough? I can’t help what’s
de·​sire | \di-ˈzī(-ə)r, past.’ She began to sob helplessly.”
(141).
1. a strong feeling of
wanting to have
something or wishing
for something to
happen.
The type of Love and Marriage relationships in
The Great Gatsby
Tom & Daisy :
● A loveless marriage
● Gotten married due to their
shared high class
● Daisy knows that Tom is
cheating on her but doesn’t care
● Both have desire for fun and for
material possessions
Wilson & Myrtle:
● Myrtle only loved Wilson because
she thought Wilson was a man of
high class
● Wilson deeply loves Myrtle but she
doesnt love him back
● Myrtle is having an affair with Tom
and has no love for Wilson
Cont'd
Gatsby & Daisy
● “In the moment of love”
type of relationship
● Gatsby desires Daisy rather
than love her
● Still wants her even though
it’s too late
Nick & Jordan:
● I ship them
● “Closest to love”
relationship in the novel
● Nick had “tender curiosity”
towards Jordan
● Distant yet kind
LOVE or DESIRE ?
What were the desires for some of the people in
The Great Gatsby?
● Gatsby: to make a name for himself and his desire to have Daisy
● Myrtle : Seeks love and luxurious life from Tom but such a as Gatsby and Daisy , she
is also treated like an object
● Tom: has a deep desire for Myrtle than for his wife have Gatsby out of the picture
● Wilson: the desire to have a better life for him and Myrtle
● Daisy: seeks for fun, love and attention
Fin
 Works Cited
“American Dream.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/american-dream.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Great Gatsby Marriage Quotes Page 2." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Dec.
2018.

“Working and Voting -- Women in the 1920s.” American History USA, www.americanhistoryusa.com/working-voting-women-1920s/.

Fitzgerald, Francis S. The Great Gatsby. New York City, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925, pp. 3-193.

“Plot Overview.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, 13 Dec. 2018, www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/.