Love at All Costs In "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald

Essay by Anonymous UserHigh School, 12th gradeA, January 1997

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Ben Johnson wanted to be the fastest man in the world. To attain this goal, he took steroids. He attempted to gain success at all costs. Much like Ben, Jay Gatsby attempted to achieve the love of Daisy Buchanan with reckless regard for the truth. He used immoral methods to change his social position, threw extravagant parties, and refused to see reality. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' Jay Gatsby attempted to achieve his goal of Daisy's love at all costs.

Gatsby used immoral methods to change his social position. He began by buying out small drug stores in various cities, so that he could sell bootlegged liquor to people while prohibition was in effect. 'He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter' (Fitzgerald, Pg. 134). Selling bootlegged liquor was considered a very serious crime, which shows that Gatsby was so caught up in amassing his wealth, that he did not care what he was involved in as long as it paid very well, and very quickly.

When he had his fortune, he was concerned about nothing more than attracting Daisy's attention. He bought an old house, and tried to make it look like he had been rich all along. 'Gatsby bought the house so that Daisy would be just across the bay' (Fitzgerald, Pg. 79). He did not care about the house, he would have been satisfied living in a shack, but he had to hide the fact that he was newly rich, by buying this mansion across the bay from Daisy. When asked about his past, he lied to everyone in order to give the illusion that he was an established well educated young man. Even when he spoke to his...