Examples Of Escapism In The Great Gatsby

Likewise, at first, Daisy is portrayed as rather inconsequential, though charming: “I’ll tell you a family secret,” she says in one of the first encounters they have; “it’s about the butler’s nose” (p. 20). She confides that their butler has no sense of smell because he used to be a silver polisher. This story makes Daisy seem rather silly and even unsympathetic, though eager to share stories. It is hard to imagine her as the novel’s heroine. Yet Nick says, “She was only extemporizing, but a stirring warmth flowed from her, as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words" (p. 15), suggesting that his feelings toward her run deeper. He says it is her “voice” that thrills him – ironically, we …show more content…
It turns out that Daisy and Gatsby were once in love, when they lived in Louisville (a Midwestern town, thus a signal of integrity in the novel). They still have feelings for one another. Daisy whispers to Gatsby, “I’d like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around” (p. 95). This absurd image of romance and escapism speaks of childhood. However, it also carries a certain gravity. Compared to Tom Buchanan’s hard preoccupation with money, and Gatsby’s friend Wolfsheim’s “gangsterism,” (p. 172), this love is the most sincere thing to date in the book. Even Nick is not capable of it. He describes Jordan as wily, but she confronts him for breaking her heart: “You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I?” (p. 134). The sense of perfectionism that he could preserve by standing outside of other people and judging them is challenged by the flawed, imperfect devotion of Daisy and …show more content…
Their friend Myrtle Wilson dies in a vehicle accident (p. 160) and her husband assumes that either Tom or Gatsby must be the culprit, because they would have been driving the car. It is thus Gatsby who bears the brunt of his anger. This latter part of the novel is recounted in a more murky and despondent tone. Confronted by a challenge like death, Nick’s moral superiority proves to be useful: he is able to mourn Gatsby properly, while other characters, such as Wolfshiem, do not attend the funeral. However, ever after their perfect moment of being in a “pink cloud,” Nick also realizes that Daisy has not mourned Gatsby. Long after, he remembers, “I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away, and I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn't sent a message or a flower" (p. 176) (again, an allusion to a flower, this time missing completely). Thus, great romance is what gives meaning to life, but it is also fickle and easily