The Great Gatsby
The Travels of Tom and Daisy
The depth of who Tom and Daisy appear to be is diminished with the small talk that ensues throughout the book entailing certain travels or events that the two had produced. With the edition of the references made to and about certain places/travels it allows for a deeper outlook for The Great Gatsby. What may appear as just a place is transformed into meaning by the kind of person that appears in the novel. The novel begins with Nick Caraway's, the narrator, recollection of having come back from the war and coming to Chicago. Then the novel presides to move to a more permanent residence at the East and West Egg of New York. This is followed by the emergence of a hint of Daisy's past with her remembering her wedding day in Louisville, Kentucky. But the book ends with a sudden fleeing from society and homes now empty. Hopefully the following descriptions of the areas at the time may give the reader a new connection to how Tom and Daisy were influenced by their travels.
1.Louisville:
Louisville was where Tom and Daisy grew up and eventually married.
2.New Haven:
Where Tom blossomed as an arrogant and self absorbed man. A career in football and status is attained here, where it takes him to newer depths of indulgence.
3. Chicago:
Chicago was cited as a place where the Buchanans along with Nick Carraway settled down for a year after the war. It can also be cited as stimulus of jazz, prohibition, and the occasional gangster. It is also hinted that there might be the possibility of underground piping that carried brew from Canada.
4. California:
The Buchanans did not travel here but there was a suggestion given to them to escape the deteriorating society that is crumbling around them. They left the West to begin with because of the break down of society.
5. France:
France presents itself as the place of distinguished literature surrounded by the romantics. Here the Buchanans took residence for a year.
6. After the death of Gatsby:
With the death of Jay Gatsby, the Buchanans take different paths. Tom stays because of the lack of compassion and the feelings that he held against the man because of his interest in his wife.
Page last updated on April 25,1999.
Curator: Justin Patrick