Tom- Alcohol- Can’t
recapture the past? Of course you can!
Go back to basic. In the book
the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald one theme is “Can’t recapture the past?
Of course you can!” which the whole book is built up on. To this story line
alcohol is a reoccurring symbol, which is a motif and Tom, even though he’s not
one of the main characters, he ads special tension to the book. Alcohol makes
Gatsby what he is in the 1920s. Recapturing the past is Gatsby’s goal. The only
obstruction is Tom- keeping Daisy as a possession.
“I don’t give big parties. I
suppose you’ve got to make your house into a pigsty in order to have any
friends...” (Pg. 124) While Tom gives the impression of mocking Gatsby, he
addresses it indirectly at him by adding the comment as last “ in the modern
world” to generalize the whole statement. Toms knows what Gatsby’s aim is, but
himself he knows that Gatsby will never reach it: to recapture the past of
Gatsby and Daisy. Through Tom’s statement he makes him self a bully of Gatsby
but also completed the transition from libertine to prig (compare pg. 124-
Nick’s judgment about Tom). All the parties are filled with alcohol
representing wealthiest since in the era of the 1920s it was illegal, yet for
Gatsby this didn’t matter- with those parties he wanted to attract attention of
Daisy by “representing the staid of nobility of the countryside” (Pg.46) with
his mansion and unknown friends. The quote above by Tom reflects in a way
jealousy, but he knows he has nothing to worry about.
She is a possession. A
possession Tom would never let go of, but Gatsby desperately is trying to get.
When the lie had been told: “ She’s a Catholic, and they don’t believe in
divorce” (Pg. 36), it was to keep Daisy and in order to keep Myrtle as a
mistress and nothing more. For Tom this was totally self-centered and suitable
to his own good. Daisy was for Tom a status icon, which differentiated him from
Gatsby, because, money- they both had. At this point in the book, they are
enjoying whiskey severed from Tom, the alcohol representing his wealth. It was in Gatsby’s dream to win Daisy back, to
recapture the past and have everything the same as five years ago. He tries
everything- and it is slowly developing.
Even illegal development
didn’t bring him to his goal. Gatsby got himself into a different level of
earning money, just to follow his dream. Gatsby’s dream differed from the dream
of others in the 1920s; the American dream was the desire for money. Gatsby’s
was more to that. He wanted Daisy back for which he needed wealth to impress
her. “He owned some drug-stores, a lot of drug stores. He built them up
himself.”(Pg.104), this made him new money and enabled him to throw parties.
The quote of the book was part of Tom’s investigation about Gatsby when Daisy
tells him that he illegality of supplying alcohol was how Gatsby has become
rich. It shows that Tom is worried about Gatsby’s present and his and his
wife’s past.
It’s not like she never
believe in their future. It was not easy for Daisy to do the right decision.
Gatsby came up to a point where he was about to behold Daisy. This short except
of the past has been added right before the middle stanza. Daisy being unsure
of her decision with Tom, because she Gatsby had tried so hard that she kept
him in her mind. Yet Tom has all the old money and Gatsby later on becomes
wealth through new money. “She had a
bootleg of Sauterne in one hand and a letter in the other.” (Pg. 74) This was
right before the wedding of Tom and Daisy, the letter being from Gatsby- was
Daisy really ready to be married to Tom? But since Daisy was drunk, which
supports her rich lifestyle and in juxtaposition to it- Gatsby. Gatsby, who at
that point of time hasn’t been rich, yet working on it in order to win back his
love.
He knows he got it. Tom
explicitly showing off with Daisy, and how she just belongs to him. Everything
is falling apart. “Tom was evidently perturbed at Daisy’s running around alone,
for on the following Saturday night he came with the to Gatsby’s party” (Pg.
100) The party: Daisy didn’t like it, all a sign of a fail in recapturing the
past. Alcohol, people, light and nobility was all there but it didn’t help.
Especially the party is set after the middle stanza indicating that everything
is about to fall apart and everything up to the fifth stanza had built up to
nearly recapturing the past. Tom has Daisy all the time through out the book-
Gatsby tries to have her for a few seconds and eventually more.
“He raised his hand and
pointed across the bay.”(Pg.112) Gatsby has his house in West Egg opposite to
East Egg. All his lifestyle lead to one thing. Tom needs to push the boundaries
and being a total bully towards Gatsby. Gatsby has set his mansion and total
symbol of wealth directly opposite the sea of Tom’s and Daisy’s house to
present his nobility, which should attract Daisy’s attention. Therefore Gatsby
will recapture the past and have everything as before. But Daisy isn’t the girl
he used to know, but still imagines her the way to be it, that way he doesn’t
let go of her. Tom knowing it all, had to emphasize of him having Daisy as his
possession and no one else’s by bringing Gatsby outside his house. Which
indirectly shows that Tom shows he lives he with Daisy while Gatsby is far out
of reach. And even if the alcohol represented his excessive lifestyle, it
didn’t bring them together.
Everything for nothing? Tom achieved
his goal and alcohol did not help Gatsby. Even though Gatsby has built up his
career on illegal drugstores and built his whole life compromising with the
desires of Daisy. Yet it was all wrong- she didn’t come back. Tom being in
juxtaposition to Gatsby, both wanting Daisy as their status icon but only one
can have it. Tom always had it, while Gatsby was just that close when it all
collapsed. Recapturing the past isn’t as easy as it might seem, Mr. Gatsby.
