Tom and Daisy Relationship in the Great Gatsby: the Complex Love Triangle

Introduction

Love the intense feeling of deep attraction. The ongoing love triangle that takes place within the novel The Great Gatsby is seen through different perspectives. Gatsby is like a teenage boy in love, who seems as though he is head over heels in love with a girl. Tom wants to have his cake and eat it too. He is a cheater who also claims to still love his wife. Daisy is caught up in the midst of this crazy love triangle due to her having feelings for two men.

The different interpretations of love from each character are seen throughout the novel.

Tom Buchanan: A Cheater or a Lover?

Tom Buchanan is an incredibly wealthy man. He lives in East Egg with his wife, Daisy, who also has inherited wealth. Although he has a wife, he still manages to converse and sleep around with multiple women. He is a cheater who sees nothing wrong with what he does. It seems as though he thinks just because there are no feelings attached to his affairs, that it is alright because he says he loves Daisy. “He nodded sagely, “And what’s more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while, I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart, I love her all the time.’’ (Fitzgerald, pg 133) He claims he loves her all the time, but clearly, he does not if he cheats on her. The excuses he uses to justify his cheating are idiotic. “Of course it matters. I’m going to take better care of you from you now on.” (Fitzgerald, page 133) Tom is trying to justify or make up a lame excuse to brush the fact that he had cheated multiple times under the rug. He says that he still loves her even after screwing around with her many times. Tom does not truly love Daisy; he marries her because she is from the same social class as him. If he truly loved her, he would not sleep around and lie.” Tom seems to be abusive towards her and rather does not seem to care much about her” (Idrees Ibrahim, pg 3).

Tom mistreats Daisy as well. He thinks she is completely oblivious to everything he is doing. In the end, he will be able to get away with it because he knows that his beloved wife is not leaving him. He is also very entitled when it comes to wealth, making it seem as one reason why Daisy would never pack up her things and go. “Tom the materialistic side of life, the glittering superficiality that she could not find in Gatsby” (M. Bani-Khair, pg3). He is using his wealth to prove why Gatsby would never have Daisy. Tom managed to win her over with his riches in the first place, so he just knew Daisy was not going to leave him. “Tom is the ideal picture-perfect man that represents the advertisement of the American Dream” (Idrees Ibrahim, pg 3). Tom swept Daisy off of her pretty little feet with one swipe of his credit card. He thinks Daisy will never give up those beautiful diamonds and pearls for some bootlegging criminal. He continually brings up the fact that Jay is new money and he is also a drug smuggler to say why he could never provide for Daisy. “She’s not leaving me!” Tom’s words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby “Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger.’’ (Fitzgerald, pg 133) Tom’s perception of love is different from the average person. He feels as though he can do whatever he wants and still truly love Daisy.

Jay Gatsby: Love and Obsession

Jay Gatsby, a newly rich man, hustled his way to the top. He lives in a mansion in west egg and is also neighbors with Daisy’s cousin, Nick Carraway. Jay loves Daisy, but he is more so in love with the idea of her, her character, and her status. “Gatsby’s romantic dream was not the love of Daisy as a lover, but it was much deeper than that. It was the dream of idealism.” (M. Bani-Khair, pg 2) Daisy is a beautiful, elegant, and intelligent woman who was born with inherited money. Gatsby loved every aspect of her. He has painted this picture-perfect romance in which he and Daisy are happily together once again after five years. Jay ultimately does anything he can to get Daisy’s attention. “Gatsby’s materialistic approach in his pursuit of love was all part of his external interest to impress Daisy, but not as an internal drive that comes as a part of Gatsby’s interest in materialism” (M. Bani-Khair, pg 2). He even throws these extravagant parties in hopes of her walking through his doors. He never even mingled with the guests at his shindigs. He would simply watch in the shadows, searching for his beloved Daisy. His undeniable love for Daisy turns into like a weird obsession. “ “When I said you were a friend of Tom's, he started to abandon the whole idea. He doesn't know very much about Tom, though he says he's read a Chicago paper for years just on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy's name.' (Fitzgerald, pg 152)

Daisy Buchanan: Conflicted Hearts and Desires

He thoroughly believes that Daisy never ever loved Tom and has always loved him. He wants to hear her say it. He actually believed that she never loved Tom, which is insane because if she did not have some sort of attachment to him, she would not have had a child with him. “Daisy, that’s all over now,” he said earnestly. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Just tell him the truth that you never loved him, him-and it’s all wiped out forever.” (Fitzgerald, pg 132) He seriously thinks that Daisy just loves him. He is planning out the whole scenario in his head. “He became fabulously prosperous, and his money has brought his beloved back into his life just as he had hoped. For him, the money was a tool, not an end. Even a mansion means nothing to him without the love of Daisy” (Nagel, pg. 116). He hustled his way to the top to impress women, and he really didn’t even care about his riches like that. He did it all for Daisy. And in return, he wants her to leave Tom for him. How could he even come to think that Daisy can just forget everything she has been through with Tom and rekindle a relationship that happened five years ago? At what point should a person draw the line between loving and obsessing?

Love Dilemma: Navigating the Great Gatsby's Love Triangle

Daisy Buchanan is an elegant old money woman who seems picture-perfect to most men. She is in a serious love triangle. While Gatsby is away at war, she meets Tom, marries him, and eventually has a kid. Gatsby and Daisy rekindle their relationship and start an affair. She is aware of Jay’s feelings for her, and she also loves him as well. “Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily.' They're such beautiful shirts,' she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. 'It makes me sad because I've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before.' (Fitzgerald, pg 118-119) Is she crying in his shirts because she loves Jay so much? She is literally getting emotional over his shirts. Daisy is later confronted by Jay and Tom while they are in New York, “Even alone, I can’t say that I never loved Tom,” she admits in a pitiful voice, “It wouldn’t be true. (Fitzgerald, page 133) “Daisy was willing to love many men, unlike Gatsby, who dedicates all his time and money to impress her” (www.ijhssnet.com). She is being completely honest with Gatsby by telling him that she does love Tom at one point in time.

Tom won her over with diamonds and pearls, as well as anything her heart desires. Tom’s money wants to get Daisy’s attention as well Gatsby’s. Now that Jay has gotten himself a couple of dollars, Daisy has an interest in him again.“Oh, you want too much!” she cried to Gatsby. “I love you now; isn’t that enough? I can’t help what’s past,’’ she began to sob helplessly. “I did love him once, but I loved you too!” (Fitzgerald, page 132) Although she just loves Jay now, she admits that she loved both of them at the same time. “Daisy’s failure to express her love to Gatsby was not because she was afraid of Tom, but it was because she never saw in Gatsby the love she wants until he goes back again with a new shape” (M. Bani-Khair, pg 2) The men seem as though they are willing to just drop everything to be with her. She, on the other, loves both of them and just cannot drop everything to be with Gatsby.

Conclusion

The Great Gatsby may seem like a classic American love story from the 1920s, but in reality, it is like a chaotic Kdrama. How each character feels in this certain predicament reflects on their actions and thoughts. The different perspectives of this hectic love triangle are absolutely visible within the story. A love-struck man, a selfish cheater, and a conflicted woman. They all have a different mentality in this hectic mess.

References

1. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.
2. M. Bani-Khair. "Jay Gatsby: Love and Obsession." Journal of American Studies, vol. 30, no. 2, 2010, pp. 1-15
3. Nagel, James. "Gatsby's Love Dilemma: Obsession or True Love?." American Literary Review, vol. 25, no. 4, 2008, pp. 112-120.

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