The Great Gatsby; an American Love Story?

The Great Gatsby; an American Love Story?
Many people say that The Great Gatsby is a great American love story. This isn’t the case. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is not a story of perfect love. It is a story of love and lust corrupting people’s lives. This novel follows many relationships, but focuses on one in particular; Daisy and Gatsby’s. If a reader was to base their judgment of Daisy solely on Gatsby’s perception of her, most people would say she is perfect. In reality, she is not. Although in Jay Gatsby’s opinion Daisy is everything desirable, she turns out to be materialistic and selfish.
Gatsby sees Daisy as someone who will stand up for their love. He believes that she really does love him and would do anything for him. When she’s faced with the decision between Gatsby and Tom, she chooses the one with the money and ignores Gatsby’s love. For example, David L. Minter says in an essay about The Great Gatsby, “When Gatsby confronts Tom with the reality of his love for Daisy, she is not able to fill Gatsby’s idealized vision of their relationship” (Minter) Although Gatsby has this vision of perfect love with Daisy, the vision is unrealistic. Daisy does not want what Gatsby wants.
Daisy’s selfishness is demonstrated when she does not tell anyone that she was driving the car that killed Myrtle. Since it was Gatsby’s car that killed Myrtle, many people assumed it was Gatsby that was driving. In actuality, it is Daisy that is driving the car. For example, Fitzgerald writes, “He [Gatsby] threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you would a dog and never even stopped the car” (Fitzgerald 178). This quote shows that Tom was never informed that Daisy was driving the car that killed Myrtle. Tom is still blaming Gatsby for Myrtle’s death which implies that Daisy never admitted to the crime.
Daisy’s selfishness is also displayed when she does not show up to Gatsby’s funeral. After Gatsby...