Relationships.
Nana Tabata
A1 Literature
Mr. Pangier
21 April 2015
Truthfulness, Convenience and Instinct
We can live out our success in many different colours and sounds. Just as human beings have a basic need for food and shelter, we also have a basic need to belong to a group and form relationships. People do love each other for different reasons, with different intentions and for somewhat different purposes. The issue of love is something that must not be oversimplified, yet one might attempt to classify these love-based affiliations into three principal categories: those of true passion, those of conveniences and those based on family bonds that go beyond human understanding. This is clearly exemplified and proven by the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The friendship between Gatsby and Nick, and the prohibited love between Gatsby and Daisy, perfectly meet the requirements for what one might define as everlasting, true love. Right from the beginning of the novel we are surprised to see that, in so little time, Nick has become so fond of Gatsby that he envisions him as a perfect, god-like being. Nick figures there will never be anyone who would come close to equaling to his greatness; nick kindly advises "believe in you as you would like to believe in yourself" (Fitzgerald 48). The second example of everlasting affection is the love story of Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby is willing to spend all his resources and the rest of his life trying to win her back. The only idea that can possibly stop this couple from being together is their understanding of love over time: "I love you now – isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past" (Fitzgerald 132). She realized that she could not love anyone as much as she loved Gatsby, an emotion that has no limits, no time, no space and no delimitations.
A relationship that is less emphasized in this novel, yet deserves recognition as the most powerful and pure form of love there is, is the love that exists in between a family, especially among those who share some type of blood bonds. His father was one of the few people who cared enough about Gatsby to show up at his funeral. Even though they had had a few conflicts of ideals and interest in the past, he was still completely in love with his son and mourned gravely for his death. As Maya Angelou stated “regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life”. This shows how, no matter what happens, family will always be the utmost form of support that one can count on. This is the form of love that should be most cherished and that, unfortunately, in our current society seems to have become somewhat disposable.
Extending beyond simple analysis, Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s relationship, together with that between Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson and George Wilson, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, are the concrete evidence for the idea that love by convenience is the most common kind of love. Primarily, the book clearly states that, as described through chapter four of the novel, Daisy was basically forced to marry Tom. Tom did not love her that much either, yet it was convenient for him to have a wife to bake and take care of him as he grew older. Concerning the relation between Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway, it is furthermost the relationship most on convenience. Jordan does not really appreciate Nick, but only his company for the moment. Nick cannot stand some dark sides of Jordan’s selfish personality as she was “incurably dishonest”, however, he thinks it is good to have some company every once in a while (Fitzgerald 58). All these are cases in the book The Great Gatsby were love for opportuneness is demonstrated, and yet it seems that, in real life, this is also the most common form of love in our modern society.
We have all had crushes, developed convenient friendships and, most importantly, instinctively we love our close family – or at least we should – and we are willing to do anything for them. These forms of strong affection expose the values of society. In order to be successful, it is important for one to identify which types of bonds one has with what people and, from there, decide which are the ones worth sacrificing and fighting for, and which ones are not.
Work Cited:
"21." Caged Bird Legacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mayaangelou.com/>.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
A1 Literature
Mr. Pangier
21 April 2015
Truthfulness, Convenience and Instinct
We can live out our success in many different colours and sounds. Just as human beings have a basic need for food and shelter, we also have a basic need to belong to a group and form relationships. People do love each other for different reasons, with different intentions and for somewhat different purposes. The issue of love is something that must not be oversimplified, yet one might attempt to classify these love-based affiliations into three principal categories: those of true passion, those of conveniences and those based on family bonds that go beyond human understanding. This is clearly exemplified and proven by the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The friendship between Gatsby and Nick, and the prohibited love between Gatsby and Daisy, perfectly meet the requirements for what one might define as everlasting, true love. Right from the beginning of the novel we are surprised to see that, in so little time, Nick has become so fond of Gatsby that he envisions him as a perfect, god-like being. Nick figures there will never be anyone who would come close to equaling to his greatness; nick kindly advises "believe in you as you would like to believe in yourself" (Fitzgerald 48). The second example of everlasting affection is the love story of Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby is willing to spend all his resources and the rest of his life trying to win her back. The only idea that can possibly stop this couple from being together is their understanding of love over time: "I love you now – isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past" (Fitzgerald 132). She realized that she could not love anyone as much as she loved Gatsby, an emotion that has no limits, no time, no space and no delimitations.
A relationship that is less emphasized in this novel, yet deserves recognition as the most powerful and pure form of love there is, is the love that exists in between a family, especially among those who share some type of blood bonds. His father was one of the few people who cared enough about Gatsby to show up at his funeral. Even though they had had a few conflicts of ideals and interest in the past, he was still completely in love with his son and mourned gravely for his death. As Maya Angelou stated “regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life”. This shows how, no matter what happens, family will always be the utmost form of support that one can count on. This is the form of love that should be most cherished and that, unfortunately, in our current society seems to have become somewhat disposable.
Extending beyond simple analysis, Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s relationship, together with that between Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker, Myrtle Wilson and George Wilson, Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, are the concrete evidence for the idea that love by convenience is the most common kind of love. Primarily, the book clearly states that, as described through chapter four of the novel, Daisy was basically forced to marry Tom. Tom did not love her that much either, yet it was convenient for him to have a wife to bake and take care of him as he grew older. Concerning the relation between Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway, it is furthermost the relationship most on convenience. Jordan does not really appreciate Nick, but only his company for the moment. Nick cannot stand some dark sides of Jordan’s selfish personality as she was “incurably dishonest”, however, he thinks it is good to have some company every once in a while (Fitzgerald 58). All these are cases in the book The Great Gatsby were love for opportuneness is demonstrated, and yet it seems that, in real life, this is also the most common form of love in our modern society.
We have all had crushes, developed convenient friendships and, most importantly, instinctively we love our close family – or at least we should – and we are willing to do anything for them. These forms of strong affection expose the values of society. In order to be successful, it is important for one to identify which types of bonds one has with what people and, from there, decide which are the ones worth sacrificing and fighting for, and which ones are not.
Work Cited:
"21." Caged Bird Legacy. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.mayaangelou.com/>.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.