Love and relationships Flashcards
How is idealised love presented in the Great Gatsby?
Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy has transformed his memory of her into an image of perfection. There’s no way Daisy can live up to Gatsby’s imagined ideal.
How is unconditional love presented in the Great Gatsby?
When Wilson discovers Myrtle’s affair he’s crushed and appears “physically sick” but he still loves her - her death affects him to the point where he starts to act “sort of crazy” and is willing to commit murder.
How is material love presented in Myrtle?
- She loves Tom because of the life he represents and the happiness she gets from the things he buys her.
- Her reaction to the fact that George “borrowed somebody’s best suit” for their wedding shows that her feelings are strongly connected with wealth - she “lay down and cried”.
Give evidence that shows men treat women as possessions.
- Tom gives Myrtle a dog leash which symbolises the fact that he’s in control of the affair.
- Tom decides when they see each other, and even what Myrtle is allowed to say - he “broke her noise with his open hand” for daring to say his wife’s name.
How else does Fitzgerald portray love?
Violent and destructive - all of the marriages in the novel are unhappy. This dissatisfaction escalates onto violence and eventually three characters die - Myrtle, Gatsby and George.
