The Great Gatsby Psychological Analysis

It is common human nature for people to keep secrets and tell lies. The brain is developed in such a way that when we see something we want, we need to have it and sometimes we are even willing to fight for it. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby demonstrates this kind of behavior and through his character the reader can see the human desire for love. Jay Gatsby is suspicious, obsessive and aggressive which shows the negative effects of lost love. Gatsby’s nervousness when talking about his past makes him suspicious. From the first time Nick encountered Gatsby he thought there was something mysterious and abnormal about him. As Nick and Gatsby become closer, Nick’s curiosity grows concerning how Gatsby has acquired all of …show more content…
The way that Gatsby reacted to this question really makes readers feel suspicious about Gatsby because of the nervous behavior he exhibited after one simple question. Also, this causes Nick to believe that Gatsby is lying about something, but he cannot be sure of this yet. During this same interaction, about how Gatsby has all of his money, or where he got it from, Gatsby tells Nick “I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now” (65). The way that Gatsby introduced his family for the first time as “all dead” shows how broken and lonely Gatsby must be. It seemed like it was hard for him to talk about his family because they are all gone now. On the other hand, since people have made conclusions that Gatsby killed his family in order to get the money, readers may look at Gatsby in a different way, with suspicion. However, his peculiar behavior could also be because …show more content…
Gatsby and Tom Buchanan do not exactly get along once Tom finds out that Daisy and Gatsby have history. Tom and Gatsby get in a fight about Daisy and Gatsby says, “‘she never loved you, do you hear?’ he cried. ‘She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me!’” (130). This argument causes Tom to seek the truth from Daisy which makes everything seem more intense. Since Daisy does not always know what she wants, Gatsby attempts to persuade her to say that she does not love Tom. He believes that Daisy could never love anyone other than him for those 5 years, when in reality Daisy moved on because she thought he had died. Gatsby tells Daisy that it can all be fixed and be exactly like it was before he left if she would “just tell him the truth—that you never loved him—and it's all wiped out forever” (132). Gatsby is trying to force Daisy into a divorce with her husband without asking what she wants. Gatsby is so set on the thought of him and Daisy together that he starts to be forceful and aggressive with Tom, telling him that Daisy never loved him. All of Gatsby’s feelings towards Daisy have been building up inside for 5 years. He has watched the woman he loves get married, have a child and he cannot take it anymore. He expresses his anger through words and arguments with Tom because he is the reason Gatsby

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