Hi to all of you that are reading.
I want to ask you. What really matters for you? What is that thing that you could never refuse, even for a huge amount of money?
This time, I would like to start by highlighting the moment in The Great Gatsby when Gatsby thinks about having a life again with Daisy, so he wants her back in his life, but it seems that he hasn't realized that some things have changed, and that she is no longer the girl that he thinks she is.
Everything he has done in his life has had a purpose, and money was not an issue; he has earned a lot--not in a very honest way--with one purpose; to be shared with Daisy. At the same time, it corrupted Gatsby's soul and left him alone; without his beloved one and without his life. He could never fill the empty space he had inside with his belongings--money can't buy happines after all. It can solve economical problems, give you a status in society and give you anything you can buy, but not what really matters. Tom Buchanan, a high-born man, got married with Gatsby's love because of his wealth related with his power, status, and fortune; nevertheless, they never enjoyed life together.
In the novel, there is a moment in which Gatsby is full of hope of his future with Daisy, where he truly believes that they will get married and also go back in time when everything was perfect and anything had happened. In that moment, they say the following:
“You can’t repeat the past.” [Nick to Gatsby]
“Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”
Nick and Gatsby talked about the possibility of repeating the past, Nick states that it is not possible, but Gatsby argued that it is. However, he doesn't realize that in the end was wrong. We don't have that power.
Daisy's character makes me wonder about the real power of money and how it can shape people's personalities and make them blind about the truly important issues in life and in how much are we capables to bear in order to have our dream life.
I would like to stop here and make a little comparison between Gatsby's love story and another one that I hope you have heard of; a novel written by Nicholas Sparks named The Notebook. In this novel, the main character, Allie Hamilton, is a girl that even though she had the opportunity to have a wealthy life, she takes the chance and stays, against all odds, with the person she is really in love with. She almost doesn't care about money, all she wants is happines and the company of the love of her life, and Noah's efforts to call her attention again have the desired effect. Here, we could see the opposite case in which money is not more important than what really fullfills your soul for both of them. It could neither contaminate their feelings nor their realities.
I learned that what really matters is what fullfills your soul; it is not status, it is not complex and/or expensive things, It is, simply, what makes you feel unique and worth it.
I completely agree with you, Evelyn. Because even though money can buy things to make you happy, it will not last for ever, it is just a moment in which we feel happy, but what truly makes happiness is exactly what you said, something that fulfills your soul. In my opinion, this must be something or someone that makes you forget about the others, people´s opinion, you just should get completely carried away for that. On the other hand, what people is willing to do for money is something very common in today´ society, I see the point of doing so, but it is worthless; money doesn´t remain.
ResponderBorrarHi, Evelyn! First of all, I would like to say that I loved your comparison between Gatsby-Daisy and Noah-Allie since The Notebook is my favorite movie—which led me to read the novel and cry like a child.
ResponderBorrarNow, you are totally right when saying that money is not what really matters. My answer to your question is that what really matters is being happy and enjoying the things we have—things can also be abstract. Then, I could never refuse being loved, loving, or having my loved ones with me.
Connecting these ideas to the novel written by Fitzgerald, I can say that Jay spent his life earning money to have Daisy with him, but I think that there is no point in trying to “get a person” through money because that cannot be real. Love has nothing to do with money, and basing a relationship on it is completely useless. So blind was Gatsby that he forgot the meaning of loving and sharing life with someone else; which made him finally stay alone. On the contrary, Noah and Allie from The Notebook showed what love is about: staying together under all circumstances; and with or without money they could be so happy. Allie chose Noah, who was a poor man, over Lon, a very rich one that could give Allie the perfect life which she was used to since she was born.
So, I can say that it is more important to follow your heart than to make decisions based on something as banal as money is.