Dylan Ramson
English Honors 3A
3/9/2015
Great Gatsby Essay

The Power of Love

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.” – Bruce Lee. In the book, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are many characters that have such strong feelings of love for other characters. Love can have such a strong, good influence or a destructive, negative toll on a person. This is being use via pathos and conflict.

The use of love, in this book, has such a big part of the entire story and is almost revolved around the theme and usage of love in both its strengthening and destructive ability. Gatsby tastes from the bitter cup of love and, in the end, is killed because of it. He loves Daisy and is even driven to go and buy a home near her so that he can be able to see her and personally invites her to his parties; that he strategically throws to be able to see her. In the book, he is obsessive with Daisy and all he can think about is getting with her and how much he loves her. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy that that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you” (F. Scott Fitzgerald pg. 116). It is clearly portrayed by not only the things he does but also by how Nick, the narrator, sees it as.

Tom also is surrounded by the essence of love in a way, like Gatsby, that corrupts him and causes all sorts of problems in his life. He cheats on his wife, Daisy, with his mistress, Murdle, and this only brings him trouble. He also enjoys being in love with Daisy and Murdle, but one must wonder whether if it is love or lust that is the desire of Tom’s “love.” Tom’s love does indeed has an impact on this story and shapes it due to his nature of unloyalty. The love battle between Tom and Gatsby is prominent in such that it leads to paths of lives lost and bitterness in the hearts of others. Love is like a poisonous drink; the drink has its sweet and wonderful taste, but comes with the cost of the poison.

Daisy and Nick also have an effect in this story with their plays of love. Daisy is the center of all of the problems with the love