Gatsby and Daisy - Akram

“He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real. Once he nearly toppled down a flight of stairs.” Pg. 96.

This passage was chosen from Chapter V, from the book The Great Gatsby, which is written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This passage was chosen for its significant portrayal of the major theme that is presented throughout the entire novel. It is also chosen for identifying and relating characters together.

This passage identifies and presents one of the major themes in a positive atmosphere by bringing Daisy and Gatsby together for the first time since they lost connection. The major theme presented is the power and influence of money on people. It is clearly shown that Gatsby is overwhelmed by his own wealth when he presents all of his wealth to Daisy. Gatsby is so overwhelmed, he “nearly topple(s) down a flight of stairs.” This theme is identified as a major theme because it is brought up again later on in the book, but in a more negative form. The negative form of the theme is presented when Tom is actually able to hide behind his money and influence for the actions that he has committed by just skipping town, and showing no remorse in the process. It is also always lurking in the background because it is the stepping stone to Gatsby’s life and relationship with Daisy.

This passage has an underlying purpose presented by Fitzgerald. This passage presents Gatsby in his true form; as a human being that was poor, and only achieved all this wealth for a single selfish purpose. He achieved all of this to show it to another human being who did not acknowledge him, because of his lack of wealth previously. It also shows how madly in love he was with the idea of Daisy, because he showed his true emotions for the first time in chapter V (which this passage is extracted from). This opened up a new perspective of Gatsby, by showing him as a human who is able to express emotions similar to everybody else. This also accelerates the plot by allowing Gatsby and Daisy to reconnect emotionally, which allows for a new perspective of Daisy as well.