As much as I love Jay Gatsby, no I don’t really see that he was “in love” with Daisy. He loves the idea of her. Meaning, all those scenes in both the book and the movie where he tells her and expects her to do things doesn’t necessarily mean he respects her opinions or what she’ll do. People call Daisy shallow or crazy, but right from the get-go nobody ever values her choices or what she wants to do. Hence why she hopes her daughter will be a “beautiful fool”, to live blissfully ignorant and never be heartbroken by authoritative figures in her life the way Daisy was. Daisy was raised to act shallow and submit to what others wanted. She was born rich, expected to marry rich, and saw it no other way. So it’s funny to me when people expect her to be this deep character who makes the “right” choices, while Gatsby is seen as some kind of hero because he gives her what she supposedly needs. Gatsby dreamed pretty enormously as a child, wanting more than what he was destined for when he was poor. He eventually fled, got lucky, had the right hook ups and relationships was determined to have the dream American lifestyle, even if that meant being a criminal. He meets Daisy through the process of developing himself as the metaphor of the American dream, and she totally fits his ideal. Popular, rich, glamorous, she is everything he wants, and he instantly puts a price tag on her when trying to gain her interest again. She is the trophy, and he puts her on an incredibly high pedestal. He thinks he can BUY her love the way Tom did, except, Gatsby has the right intentions and will treat her right. But the real question is, will he? Or will he keep telling her what to do, like he does when he’s courting her?  Would they have actually succeeded as a couple if Gatsby did allow Daisy decide her next course of action, instead of trying to manipulate, push, and persuade her to do what he thinks is “right”? Who really knows. But when people tell me that Gatsby was in love with Daisy, I can see why they assume that, being that he gives her the world and only expects her to marry him. And at the same time, I’m conflicted with my own viewpoints of what real love is, and if submitting to ones ideals is true love the way Gatsby wanted Daisy to do.  

Omg The Great Gatsby was ridiculously amazing and the best part was it actually exceeded my expectations instead of disappointing me. Thank you Walter, Jessica, Robin, Lauren, Sasha, and Michael for coming. Some of you don’t have a tumblr and will never see this but oh well. Thanks the beautiful presents as well! I feel very lucky and blessed.