How can love sometimes only be lust and obsession?

English Exam "How can love sometimes only be lust and obsession?" Love is something that is often not correctly defined because often enough it gets mistaken with lust and obsession for example in "Twelfth Night" by Shakespeare and in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is a fine line between love and lust. If love is only a will to possess, it is not love. In the play "Twelfth night" there are many things that suggest that there is not just love but that obsession and lust is the case for many of the relationships. It was mainly the lust that made the characters feel they loved each other and it was mainly the obsession which made them want each other. Many of the characters seem to view love as a kind of curse, a feeling that attacks its victims suddenly and disruptively. At one point, Orsino describes love as an "appetite" (I.i.1-3) that he wants to satisfy. This is an example for lust because love is not something that gets satisfied but something you have with another person. At another point, he calls his desires "fell and cruel hounds" (I.i.21). Olivia describes love as a "plague" from which she suffers terribly (I.v.265). These metaphors reveal the violence and the obsession that goes around with love. If it was love that the characters were feeling for each other they would not characterize it as something bad or unpleasant. Viola says unhappily

  • Word count: 1054
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How does J B Priestley create tension for an audience of an inspector calls as the characters each reveal their involvement with Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton?

How does J B Priestley create tension for an audience of an inspector calls as the characters each reveal their involvement with Eva Smith/ Daisy Renton? In this essay I will be explaining how J B Priestley creates tension for the audience of an inspector calls as each character gradually reveal their involvement with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. The characters are forced to confess by the way that the inspector appears to know everything already for example when the inspector says "I think you remember Eva smith now don't you, Mr Birling" (act 1) he seems to have superior knowledge to the characters and this makes the characters feel that he knows everything already so they confess, an example of the inspector having superior knowledge is "the end of September nineteen-ten" (act 1) this shows that the inspector already knows the answers to his own questions so there is no point in the other characters attempting to lie to him. The way that the inspector talks to the characters one at a time without letting anyone interrupt and catch him out makes it easy for him to catch them out also the way that he shows the photo to them only one at a time makes it easy for him to swap the photos around that he shows them, an example of him only letting them speak one at a time to him is "one line of inquiry at a time" (act 1) an example of him showing the photo to them only one at a time is

  • Word count: 1186
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Appearances Can Be Deceiving - The Great Gatsby.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving ENG 4U Student #: 7076 Period 4 October 22, 2002 M. Lafleur In 1808, Sir Walter Scott penned, "O, what a tangled web we weave/When first we practise to deceive!" (Marmion 6.17) In life, people often lie and use people in order to preserve an ideal self-image or to get what they want. However, there are often serious repercussions for those who lie and for those around them. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, this theme that deception and self-centeredness has consequences is clearly illustrated. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway, the reader saw that the wealthy characters in this novel lived in a superficial society surrounded by their own lies and deception. Many of the residents of East and West Egg used one another in order to get what they wanted, with little care as to how it would affect the people around them, and perhaps, even themselves. To others, their lives seemed perfect; they had everything that money could buy. This image, however, was proven to be no more than a façade. Deceit almost always leads to unhappiness as Daisy, Tom and Gatsby himself illustrated in the course of the novel; they deceived one another and used those around them in order to get what they wanted. But this had grave consequences for each of them. Daisy Buchanan was portrayed as being sophisticated and

  • Word count: 1810
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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There was something gorgeous about Gatsby. Compare and contrast the statement from two characters point of view.

There was something gorgeous about him. Compare and contrast this statement from the point of view of two main characters The title of the novel The Great Gatsby is meant to describe Jay Gatsby, the main character. In the novel a few characters concretely express their thoughts on Gatsby and not all agree that there was something gorgeous about him. The narrator of the novel Nick Carraway feels sympathy towards him and soon becomes one of his closest and only true friends, he agrees with the statement. On the other hand Tom Buchanan a secondary character disagrees with it. As everything else in Jay Gatsby his greatness is a double edged sword and it for oneself to decide whether the statement is true or not. Tom Buchanan, Daisy's husband and father of their child is introduced to Gatsby by Nick and Daisy at one of his parties. It is at this party that he wonders who really Mr Gatsby is, he tells so to Nick: "Who is this Gatsby anyhow? demanded Tom suddenly. Some big bootlegger? Where'd you hear that I enquired. I didn't hear it. I imagined it. A lot of these newly rich are just big bootleggers, you know." (Page 114) Tom does not understand at first who is Jay Gatsby, he suspects that Mr Gatsby is one of the "nouveau riche". These are people who did not have a fortune from birth, but gained it from hard work and labour or by being involved in some unclean businesses. Tom's

  • Word count: 1226
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Languages
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How Reliable is "The Great Gatsby's" Narrator?

How Reliable is "The Great Gatsby's" Narrator? The Great Gatsby is told through Nick Caraway's perspective - this is mainly responsible for the way the characters are portrayed, and to say that the characters were on a path of 'self-destruction', as mainly viewed by many, is not only inaccurate, but undemocratic. By following events through Nick Caraway's viewpoint, The Great Gatsby disallows any insight into the characters' strengths and flaws, excluding some very rare moments. This, irrevocably, does not grant any endorsement to criticisms about these characters, because any statements that are made on their characters are postulations based on Nick's bias. A vivid character of the novel is Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is portrayed as an insubstantial and nonchalant person. During her younger years, she fell in love with Jay Gatsby and made a promise to wait for him as soon as he returned from the war. Inevitably, she demonstrates her enthusiasm of a noble life by accepting Tom Buchanan's proposal instead of holding to her promise. The battle between Gatsby and Tom for her affections revealed her ability to act feebly instead of making a decision outright - the wealth and protection that Tom Buchanan offer was seemingly too hard for her to relinquish. Additionally, she refused to own up to the fact that she was the cause of Myrtle Wilson's death, which provoked Nick Caraway's

  • Word count: 836
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Myrtle's Tragic Achievement - The Great Gatsby.

Hallie Anoff October 10, 2002 Period 7-Beyer MYRTLE'S TRAGIC ACHIEVEMENT In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes a world based around wealth and class in the roaring 20's. Voluptuous Myrtle Wilson is desperate to improve her life. She shares a loveless marriage with George Wilson, who owns a run-down garage in the valley of ashes. She begins to have an affair with Tom Buchanan in hopes of happiness. Tom, who is married to Daisy Buchanan, is a Yale graduate who comes from an immensely wealthy midwestern family. Myrtle's relationship with Tom keeps her in high-spirits because she is now linked with the "upper-class", however she has become phony and is treated poorly by Tom. This all will lead to her "tragic" achievement. The affair between Tom and Myrtle has spoiled her. On a visit to New York City, Myrtle "let four taxicabs drive away before she selected a new one, lavender-colored with grey upholstery" (Fitzgerald 31). During the taxi ride, she spotted a man selling a dozen puppies in a basket hanging from his neck. She demanded that Tom purchase her one. He bought her an Airedale for the outrageous amount of ten dollars. Tom also bought Myrtle her own apartment in the city. Myrtle is used to living with George who is a lethargic and impoverished man. It is very exciting for Myrtle to be overwhelmed with riches. The affair between

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a fictional story concerning one's commitment and determination to achieve a reckless, yet empty goal. Fitzgerald explores and reveals to his readers

A Failed American Dream The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a fictional story concerning one's commitment and determination to achieve a reckless, yet empty goal. Fitzgerald explores and reveals to his readers the period of the 1920's in first person's point of view through the eyes of Nick Caraway, a close friend of Jay Gatsby. The author achieves this strategy with great clarity and in-depth detail, leaving only a small space for his readers to imagine. The 1920's was a period of apathy, sin, and moral despair. During that time, the American society was filled with corruption, prejudice, and selfishness. Fitzgerald manages to unfold and present the theme of the book through the usages of character and symbolism. First off, Fitzgerald utilizes the characters in the story to embody the vast thoughtlessness and apathetic hearts of the generation. The characters act self-centered and carefree, which are the qualities specifically noticeable in the book. His only ambition is to be reunited with Daisy, and in doing so, he neglects all the senses of reality. Throughout the story, Jay Gatsby is consistently in conflict with himself and the society surrounding him. His desperate heart cannot tolerate the acrid fact that Daisy has already been married to Tom Buchanan, and shares a child with him. Gatsby strongly assumes that with his tremendous

  • Word count: 779
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Critical Evaluation - The Narrator's role in F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is taken on by Nick Carraway.

THE GREAT GATSBY CRITICAL EVALUATION The Narrator's role in F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is taken on by Nick Carraway. In this role Nick reveals the character of the rich and mysterious Jay Gatsby. Nick talks of the events in a first person perspective from a point two years into the future. From this we know that Nick is displaying the story in an objective manner since the emotion of the summer has calmed down The Great Gatsby is a summary of the roaring twenties and an exposé of the lifestyle of the rich in the jazz age. It tells the story of Nick Carraway, a young bondsman looking to make his fortune, his cousin Daisy Buchanan, her husband Tom Buchanan, a polo player and Daisy's lover before her marriage the mysterious Jay Gatsby Just before Nick's meets Gatsby he sees him from afar looking over his party. Gatsby standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes. This reveals firstly that, although Gatsby throws big parties, he is somewhat of a loner. Gatsby looks over his guests approvingly while unknown to him they are concocting wild and fanciful rumours about his past. Gatsby is deluding himself that he is being accepted while he is actually seen as an elegant young roughneck, who only Nick sees the inner qualities of. Through Nick's narration we learn that Gatsby is, in public, very extravagant but in

  • Word count: 1311
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Death of the American Dream

Death of the American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, all the characters are, in one way or another, attempting to achieve a state of happiness in their lives. The main characters are divided into two groups: the rich upper class and the poorer lower class, which struggles to attain a higher position. Though the major players seek only to change their lives for the better, the idealism and spiritualism of the American Dream is eventually crushed beneath the harsh reality of life, leaving their lives without any meaning or purpose. Tom and Daisy Buchanan, the rich socialite couple, seem to have everything they could possibly desire; however, though their lives are full of material possessions, they are unsatisfied and seek to change their circumstances. Tom, the arrogant ex-football player, drifts on "forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game"(Fitzgerald pg. 10) and reads "deep books with long words in them"(pg. 17) in order to have something to talk about. Though he appears happily married to Daisy, Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and keeps an apartment with her in New York. Tom's basic nature of unrest prevents him from being satisfied with the life he

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  • Subject: English
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Chapter 7: " I glanced at Daisy, who was staring…So we drove to the death through the cooling twilight" Explore how the language used in this passage describes Gatsby's defeat and its symbolic significance.

The Great Gatsby Sarah Khalil Word Count: 788 Chapter 7: " I glanced at Daisy, who was staring...So we drove to the death through the cooling twilight" Explore how the language used in this passage describes Gatsby's defeat and its symbolic significance. In this passage, Daisy is astonished as her husband reveals to the group Gatsby's past and ways of gaining money. Daisy becomes "terrified" as Tom starts to scandal Gatsby's way of gaining his money as Daisy stares at Nick and Jordan for reassurance and comforting, however gains none as the two characters seemed both as shocked as she was. As Gatsby turned to Daisy, trying to deny what Tom has said about him, we realise that he has totally lost control. His dream of marrying Daisy has collapsed, as he is left struggling to defend his name from the accusations made of him. We realise that Tom has won as Daisy starts pleading him " Please Tom! I can't stand this anymore." As though pleading him to rescue her from a mistake she was about to make that would ruin her family life. Fitzgerald writes: " Her frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had had, were definitely gone." This is the final indication that Gatsby has been defeated, as now even Daisy has lost the courage to run away with him. We realise that after Tom becomes self-assured that he will not be losing his wife, he gains

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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