The Great Gatsby: What a Girl Wants

        While The Great Gatsby may not be considered a romance under Regis' definition, the hero and heroine are betrothed to one another by the end of the story, it can be considered a romance if you look at secondary characters. If you consider the central romance to be that of Tom and Daisy Buchanan, then The Great Gatsby can be considered a romance as the two end up together at the end  of the story despite at the problems that their relationship faces throughout the story.

         Throughout the novel, the theme of manipulation is present in the form of lies and deceit between the characters. This manipulation is clearly observable in the relationship between Daisy and Tom Buchanan and their interactions with the rest of the characters in the story. One example is Tom's interactions with his mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Tom does nothing to hide the fact that he has the mistress, in fact he often takes her with him on his excursions to the city.

"It's not enough for him to take a mistress; he flaunts her... making sure that everyone sees her with him and apparently unconcerned with Daisy finding out about it" (Shmoop Editorial Team). 

This demonstrates how Tom does not care about what other people may think of him, he only cares about getting what he wants when he wants it. He does not care if his wife knows that he has a mistress or if Mr. Wilson knows that he is having an affair with his wife. Tom does not care if people knows that he has a mistress because he wants people to know that he has the power to take what he wants whenever he wants it.

"He doesn't care about Daisy; he doesn't care about Gatsby. All he cares about is getting what's his" (Shmoop Editorial Team). 

Tom Buchanan is also a brutish man that needs to put himself in control of every situation he is in.  He asserts his dominance through physical force as he is normally the largest person in the room. He uses his physical dominance to push people around and get want he wants, gaining control over the situation.

"Nevertheless, jealousy gets the better of him and he once again uses threats and demands to reassert a sense of control" (SparkNotes Editorial Team). 

Tom also manipulates Daisy throughout their relationship. When Gatsby is killed, Tom does not allow Daisy to go to the funeral. He also does not stay behind to help clean up a mess that he in part caused. Instead he forces Daisy to stay with him and move away from East Egg. In order to maintain control, Tom moves away while everything he leaves behind falls to ruin.

"At the end of the book, even after it becomes clear that both Tom and Daisy have cheated on each other, Tom stubbornly maintains that they have always loved each other and that they always will, no matter what. Taken together, Tom’s physical and mental hardness produce a brutish personality that uses threats and violence to maintain control" (SparkNotes Editorial Team). 

     In a similar way, Daisy also manipulates the people around her. Her manipulation style stems from the fact that she is often manipulated herself, by her husband Tom. She follows Tom and does whatever he says because he allows her to continue living the lifestyle she was born and raised in. By growing up wealthy, Daisy became accustom to a certain set of rules, and marrying Tom allowed her to continue living this lifestyle, even if she didn't actually love him.

"And ultimately, like a kid, she lets Tom make the decisions for her. She's used to her life being a certain way – she follows certain rules, she expects certain rewards" (Shmoop Editorial Team).

Daisy marries Tom out of convenience.  While she may have loved, and may still love Gatsby, she could never be with him as he could not provide her with the lifestyle that she wants to continue living in. Thus, by the time Gatsby can provide Daisy with what she wants, it is too late. Daisy already has everything she wants with Tom, even if she is not truly happy.

"Daisy falls far short of Gatsby’s ideals. She is beautiful and charming, but also fickle, shallow, bored, and sardonic. Nick characterizes her as a careless person who smashes things up and then retreats behind her money" (SparkNotes Editorial Team). 

 Thus, Daisy resorts to the only resource she believes she has to manipulate the people around her. She uses her body and sexuality to manipulate people into giving her what she wants. In this way, she can give the men what they want without giving herself away.

"Daisy shape[s] the novel by ways in which conflict revolves around [her] charm and [she is] able to manipulate men through the desire that they have for the [her]" ("Manipulative Charmers"). 

Daisy manipulates Gatsby by giving him the hope that they still have a chance to end up together. Daisy knows she will always go back to Tom in the end. She will always go back to the person that can continuously provide her with the lifestyle she wants to live in. However, Gatsby does not know this and he continues to go to extreme lengths in order to try and win Daisy back. 

"Daisy shape[s] the novel that [she is] in by playing a manipulative role that causes other characters to go to extreme lengths to keep a relationship together" ("Manipulative Charmers").

This extreme dedication that Gatsby has to Daisy is evident in the last few scenes of the book. Daisy hits and kills Myrtle in a hit and run. However, Gatsby says that he will take the fall and admit to driving the car so that Daisy does not get in trouble. However, Daisy does not show the same devotion. Her actions end up getting Gatsby killed, and instead of staying and attending his funeral, Daisy leaves with Tom. In fact, instead of sending anything or telling anyone what is happening, Daisy simply sends a note that she is leaving with no forwarding address or way to contact her. Daisy flees instead of staying to help clean up the mess that she made.

"Where Daisy has manipulated Gatsby and taken advantage of him is the way in which she doesn’t thank or hardly even recognize that Gatsby has taking the fault for something that could put her in prison for the rest of her life" ("Manipulative Charmers")

      Therefore, there is manipulation throughout the story in the form of lies and deceit. This often pushes the characters away from one another. However, this manipulation is central to the plot as it is what allows the characters of the central romance, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, to end up together at the end of the story.

References

18Woodsq. “Manipulative Charmers.” American Literature (G) Portfolio, 17 May 2017, blogs.hebronacademy.org/americanlitg/2017/05/25/manipulative-charmers/.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2018.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2018.

SparkNotes Editorial Team. “Daisy Buchanan.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/character/daisy-buchanan/.

SparkNotes Editorial Team. “Tom Buchanan.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/character/daisy-buchanan/.

Written by Bree McKeen