 

However,‭ ‬Daisy is clear about the fact that although she once loved Gatsby,‭ ‬she loves Tom now,‭ ‬and the other characters are equally conscious of this fact. Nick is clearly aware of it,‭ ‬saying‭ “‬Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault,‭ ‬but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion‭” (‬Fitzgerald‭ ‬95‭)‬. Nick understands that the problem stems not from Daisy’s feelings per se,‭ ‬but from the way Gatsby has blown the situation out of proportion in his head. Nick points out this delusion when he says Gatsby‭ “‬wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say:‭ ‘‬I never loved you‭’” (‬Fitzgerald‭ ‬100‭)‬. He sees Daisy as a Rapunzel-like character:‭ ‬locked away in a tower,‭ ‬waiting for the gallant knight to come save her. 

	Wheeler Winston Dixon argues Gatsby’s view that he can‎ “‏repeat the past‭” ‬reflects Fitzgerald’s interest in film,‭ ‬relating Gatsby’s delusion to the way‭ “‬one can reconstruct the past through film staging‭” (‬Fitzgerald‭ ‬110,‭ ‬Dixon‭ ‬22‭)‬. Fitzgerald lived in a time where film was a very new creation,‭ ‬and through Gatsby he is saying that film distorts the way we see the world and the reality in which we live,‭ ‬perhaps to the point of hopeless delusion. It is important to note that Fitzgerald appreciated the film medium greatly‭; ‬Dixon says‭ “‬Gatsby’s sense of visual imagery is drenched with metaphoric and iconic connections to motion picture technique‭” (‬21‭)‬. As fond of film as Fitzgerald is,‭ ‬he still warns against its overuse. The same way the American dream can be a great thing if taken in the right context,‭ ‬so must the perception of film. As with any kind of entertainment,‭ ‬when fiction begins to take over reality,‭ ‬the disillusionment that results can be monstrous. Gatsby allows his personal reality to take over,‭ ‬and he lives in his fantasy for too long. He only allows the truth to set in and realizes that the battle for Daisy’s heart has been fruitless when it is too late‭; ‬he dies hours later. At this point in time,‭ ‬Daisy has already left him behind,‭ ‬emotionally and physically.

‎	‏Daisy once loved Gatsby the way he loves her,‭ ‬and when he went to fight in the war,‭ ‬she promised she would wait for him. However,‭ ‬she becomes overwhelmed by the impatience of waiting:

Tom and Daisy’s relationship soon becomes loveless,‭ ‬however. This is because Daisy married him almost out of convenience,‭ ‬rather than bona fide affection. Although she believed that Tom would be the right choice for her—his money and social standing made him an obvious candidate for an upward mobility-minded woman like Daisy—she soon realizes that he is not all he seemed.  He has an affair,‭ ‬and loses interest in her as well as their relationship. Several times in his description,‭ ‬Nick highlights the futility of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. This comes through most clearly when Nick describes a moment at the dinner table the first time he encounters the Buchanans.