"The Great Gatsby". A study of Jay's Obsession

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Trier (Anglistik), course: F.Scott Fitzgerald, language: English, abstract: F. Scott Fitzgerald is an author who is well known for illustrating life during the Jazz Age in his works. In this treatise, we will be dealing with one of those novels. More specifically, this is a study about Jay¿s obsession in ¿The Great Gatsby¿.

James Gatz alias Jay Gatsby is a newly rich gangster who wants to regain the heart of his lost love, the upper-class girl Daisy.

To begin with, I will try to find out where Jay¿s obsession comes from, where it starts, and what the reasons for his becoming obsessive are. Secondly, I will have a look at how and why the obsession increases. During that, the relationship to Dan Cody will be inspected.

Then it is time to have a closer look at Daisy. Her relationship to Gatsby is the most important one in the book. Daisy¿s influence on Gatsby will be shown clearly. Furthermore, I will talk about the importance of money for Jay¿s obsession and possible connections to other desires especially with regard to his relationship with Daisy. Gatsby¿s way of using his money will be reviewed.

Because time is an important element for the story, the relation between time and Jay¿s obsession will be discussed. Here Daisy, as Gatsby¿s dream, is again closely connected, now to time. A faint foreshadowing of Gatsby¿s great failure will be brought out in this chapter already.