Stephen Lee
Period 1
June 3, 2007
Ridge
The Great Gatsby Reflective Essay
Since the first spark that ignited the now radiant fire of civilization and humankind, dreams have remained omnipresent and universal. These dreams that we as humans have so dearly held on to drove us to such great heights, a level of life in which we live in today. It seems that people from every end of the world have believed that dreams tend to come true as the sheath of life unravels in the way that they want it to; however, over time, they realize that the mere act of living is a trial of survival, a tough and harsh struggle. Subsequently, they find that these dreams that encompassed their lives, if not reached, join with the other obstacles that darken and trouble their path. Yet, we find that they also uplift our spirits and tend to our wounds in the “big picture”. Though dreams are sometimes achieved, but often corrupted and unattainable , the key significance is not whether dream itself comes true but rather the motivation and drive it generates to put meaning and purpose in one’s life.
Throughout the novel, Gatsby adhered tenaciously to a single, grand dream: to love and be loved by once again by Daisy. Even from the beginning, when Nick first laid eyes upon Gatsby, he was “[stretching] out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way…[and] was trembling. I…distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and faraway…” (Pg. 21-22). Before Daisy married Tom, she and Gatsby were deeply in love; however, as Gatsby was a lieutenant, he was ordered to leave for war. Also, Gatsby wasn’t able to financially support her. Therefore, Daisy chose to marry Tom, a ridiculously wealthy man. Once Gatsby returned, his devastated heart did not let go, and he determined himself to pursue his only love through thick and thin. Through this dream, Gatsby devoted his whole life to one day receive Daisy’s love. Every decision and every move led to a single explanation: to attain his dream. Even the parties that he threw were based on his dream because “he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night…but she never did. Then he began asking people casually if they knew her…” (Pg. 80). The money, energy, and time that Gatsby used to throw these glamorous, famous, and enormous parties were all in hopes to one day find Daisy and attain her love. He based his whole life around his dream and forced his entire self to the one he loved. Also, Nick found in Gatsby “an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” (Pg. 2) Gatsby functioned through his dream. His power and energy developed only through hope and anticipation to once again hold Daisy in his arms. His whole self revolved around her and the splendor of achieving his dream was what pushed him forward in life. When Gatsby finally realized that his was unattainable and corrupted, he became dead inside as he “felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream. He must have looked up at an unfamiliar sky through frightening leaves and shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is and how raw the sunlight was upon the scarcely created grass. A new world, material without being real…” (Pg. 162) After the truth struck Gatsby, his whole world became different to him. He was unable to see the beauty in anything as everything became dull and colorless. His life became meaningless without his dream and without Daisy. Gatsby functioned solely by a hope that he would once receive Daisy’s love, but once his dream was shattered, he had nothing else to live for and, thus, he withered inside.
