Affluence and Isolation

Submitted by: Tiago Dantas

Submitted to: Mr. Costa
ENG4U - 04
May 7, 2024
 One of the worst feelings in this world is waking up and realizing that everybody loves

you, but nobody truly likes you. We are all searching for companionship; it is human nature;

however, no matter how wealthy we are or how many people we surround ourselves with,

isolation always finds a way into our hearts. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, amidst the

blinding lights, colorful dancers, and extravagant parties, like a shadow, loneliness follows every

character, pushing along a narrative of isolation and emptiness. Everyone loved Gatsby and

enjoyed his generous hospitality, yet not a single person truly cared about him, and in death, just

like another celebrity, he faded into a realm of oblivion. In a world where women are seen as

nothing more than their husbands, Daisy struggles with true isolation; she lives with profound

emptiness as she moves through her wealthy yet meaningless life. Nick Carraway serves as a

lens through which we view the events of the story. Through this lens, we see the gray nature of

the story as Nick is constantly surrounded yet seemingly disconnected from the people around

him. In analyzing The Great Gatsby, it is evident that wealth can be used to hide hideous secrets,

but I cannot stave off loneliness.

Obsession can be amazing; it can motivate us to create wonderful inventions and

technologies, but it can also drive us into inescapable isolation. When we become laser-focused

on a singular goal, that obsession consumes us and becomes the center of our being. James Gatz

was rejected by his one true love, Daisy, and from that day forward, he became obsessed with the

singular goal of getting Daisy back into his life forever. In chasing this impossible dream, Gatz

created a new persona that he thought could get Daisy back, but in reality, simply pushed him

into greater solitude from the outside world. Gatsby, with only “a single green light, minute and

far away “(Fitzgerald 21) in his gaze, held lavish, extravagant festivities in the hope that on one

special day, Daisy Buchanan would stumble into his life. Even though hundreds of partygoers
seemingly loved the mysterious Gatsby and enjoyed his amazing hospitality, just like a celebrity,

no one truly liked Gatsby or cared for the human being behind such an extravagant lifestyle.

Gatsby is truly alone, and the moment his parties end, “a sudden emptiness seemed to flow” out

of the house, “endowing with complete isolation the figure of the host.” (55). We see the “rare

smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it,” (48), but we forget the underlying loneliness

behind Gatsby. Although hundreds enjoyed his festivities, at his death, Gatsby was wiped out of

existence. Along with his body, Gatsby’s legacy and dreams were also buried, leaving no one to

remember the tale of The Great Gatsby. In chasing the idea of Daisy, James Gatz recreated

himself, but in doing so, he created a meaningless, lonely life.

My greatest fear is living a meaningless life. I would much rather die young and have

family and people to remember my legacy than die old and rich, alone, with nobody to remember

me. When we first meet Daisy in that lifeless mansion, we see that behind her facade of wealth,

happiness, and laughter lies a deep emptiness and loneliness lingering in her heart. After Gatsby

departs for the war, Daisy becomes lost, leading to her marriage to Tom. This marriage is devoid

of any real love, and as Tom continues to have affairs with different women, Daisy struggles with

absolute solitude as she seeks a deeper connection to her husband. Despite having vast wealth

and social status, Daisy is plagued by “an utterly abandoned feeling, ”(17), due to her

meaningless life. She has no goals, worries, or dreams; she is simply living, hoping for a better

“day after that.”(118). It is this depressing realization that differentiates Daisy. She is drowning

in isolation and is living this life because she is much more than “a beautiful little fool.” (17).

Daisy understands the depressing reality of her life and knows that there is nothing she can do to

change it. Daisy longs for the same fairytale romance she had with Gatsby, yet she still needs the

wealthy security of Tom. She is alone, and in the end, she chooses Tom Buchanan, embracing the
pointlessness of her carefree life. For a long time, I too embraced a meaningless life based on

future success masked as materialism. However, I now know that living a life chasing

possessions brings only haunting loneliness, which can only be cured through loving

relationships and peace.

There have been many times in my short life when I have been surrounded by people I

know, yet I still feel utterly alone. It was as if I was disconnected from them and the outside

world, simply living in my mind, feeling as though nobody truly understood the real me. Nick

Carraway is the narrator of The Great Gatsby, and it is through him that we see the melancholy

loneliness behind this novel. Nick moves from his hometown to West Egg in hopes of learning

the bond business, but instead, he is thrown into this glittering world of wealth and moral

ambiguity. Nick stands alone in his “weather-beaten cardboard bungalow,”(3), observing the

extravagant, yet hideous lives of those around him. Nick was “within and without,

simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”(35). Nick was

constantly surrounded, yet he always felt disconnected from the luxurious lives of his

companions. Unlike Gatsby and Tom, Nick “had no girl whose disembodied face floated along

the dark cornices,”(80), and ‘tightened his arms’. So he began a relationship with Jordan, hoping

to obtain the same passion Gatsby and Tom had for Daisy. However, this only sends Nick into

deeper solitude as he realizes he only tricked himself into forming a connection with Jordan so

that he too could have that same special someone. As the novel progresses and tragedies continue

to occur, Nick becomes more and more involved in the recklessness and selfishness of the

ultra-wealthy, he finally understands the loneliness that comes with living a life like Tom, Daisy,

and Gatsby. Although Nick paints a gray, melancholy image of this story, he also stands as a
reminder of hope, showing that real friendships like the one he had with Gatsby can bring color

and happiness into our lives.

I used to always hope that one day someone special would magically come into my life

and finally make me want their company more than my own. But what I seemed to forget was

that in order for this to happen,I had to remove myself from the comfort of loneliness and into

the wonderful uncertainty of meaningful relationships. When dissecting the different storylines

in The Great Gatsby, we can see that the only cure to being alone in this life are genuine

relationships that may never pan out the way we want them to. Gatsby was a world-renown man;

everyone knew of him, but nobody truly knew him. He was alone until the end, with only the

memory of Daisy to keep him company. Daisy lives day by day without purpose; she has no

dreams or worries, and even though she has wealth and status, she still feels the horrible pain of

being alone. Nick serves as an observer of the hideous and wonderful actions that occur

throughout the novel; he moves in and out of the story's lavish lifestyles, never truly fitting in

with anyone. Wealth has always been connected to money and material possessions; in reality,

true wealth does not seek solace behind meaningless possessions but in the beauty of human

experiences and the wonder of authentic human relationships.

 Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1925.