For the past five years, Gatsby has been on the lookout for his past lover, Daisy. The epigraph at the beginning of this book perfectly describes Gatsby’s behavior when it comes to Daisy. From the extremely expensive house and lavish lifestyle, Jay Gatsby stops at nothing to win the sentiment of his suitor. Jay spends a large portion of this time trying to show Daisy how he could replace Tom, and liven up her life. This is truly a challenge because according to the text “he gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars” Tom is no stranger to extravagant acts of ‘appreciation’, setting the bar very high for Gatsby.
Due to his desperation to gain Daisy’s affections he often ends up making himself look like a fool. When Daisy was leaving to visit Nick for tea, Jay wears a gold tie with a silver undershirt and in his attempts to look as expensive as possible he ends up losing any class he had to his look. Almost as if he felt he didn’t fully complete his look, when giving Daisy, and Nick a tour of his apartment area he pulled out every shirt from his closet, boasting about his fashion expert who sends him these articles. This does happen to gain some of Daisy’s attention, according to the text “‘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.’” This relates back to the epigraph on the first page where it states “Then wear the gold hat if that will move her” because he didn’t give up on showing off all of his apparel until she responded quite literally with tears.
If Daisy is attracted to one thing, it’s luxury, and Jay Gatsby took that and ran with it. When he first introduced her to his mansion, he does some very strange but calculated moves. Instead of taking her through the short cut, which is a short walk across Nick’s lawn into Gatsby’s, he chose to go all the way down the road, that way he could take her through the main entrance. Jay had 5 years to plan out his next meeting with daisy, and he wasn’t going to let it flop. According to the text “I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well loved eyes.” This relates back to the epigraph at the beginning of the book because this incredibly rich and independent man is willing to do whatever it takes to keep her attention. Jay isn’t very discreet about it either, according to the text “‘My house looks well doesn’t it?’ he demanded. ‘See how the whole front of it catches the light.’” Gatsby bought the flashiest and biggest house around, and it’s very specifically facing daisy’s house.
In conclusion, Gatsby’s quest for Daisy’s love lines up perfectly with the epigraph, his desperation for her approval is blatantly clear with every action taken, and he has proved that he will not give up on her. He has such undying devotion to her despite her being married. According to the text “‘Gatsby’s very careful about women. He would never so much as look at a friends wife.’” For daisy, Gatsby doesn’t care who he has to disrespect or go through, and just like the epigraph “If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry, ‘Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover, I must have you!” Gatsby isn’t going to let Daisy slip out of his grip again.
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