The Circular Lives of Huck Finn, Jay Gatsby, and George Milton T. S. Eliot’s famous lines of poetry, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time,” explains that we are all on a lifelong journey to explore, not only our physical world, but our experiences in the world. The goal of this investigation, however, is not to simply reach a final destination where we understand it all, like getting to the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Instead, the purpose is to gain a new perspective on the same place where we started. Eliot’s notion that our lives are circular is a theme explored by many American authors through protagonists’ revelations only…show more content… He begins his life as James Gatz, a son of poor farmers from North Dakota. He is not happy with this lifestyle and is driven to be more successful. This leads him to deny who he really is and follow a wealthy man, Dan Cody. From Cody, he learns how to act like he is rich. However, when Cody dies, Gatsby is left knowing how to act like he is from the upper class with no money to actually be in the upper class. Shortly thereafter, he meets Daisy during his time in the military. She alone is the one person that gives true meaning to his life, but even with her, Gatsby cannot he cannot be truthful and continues his charade to make her believe that he is wealthy. Ultimately, this need to live up to his lies pushes him into illegal activities in order to be rich. Gatsby does become affluent and lives a very extravagant lifestyle, however, his life continues to be filled with deceit to cover up his humble beginnings. In order to hide his criminal activities and conceal his true identity, Gatsby forgets his family and never makes any true friends. Daisy is the only person that offers meaning to his life and when she ultimately rejects him, he is left once again with a meaningless life. After Myrtle is killed, Gatsby stands pathetically outside Daisy’s house “watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145) and waiting for her as she sits in the kitchen with her husband. Gatsby cannot accept that the one person that gave his life meaning has left him. He dies alone after being shot in his pool because of the lies that led George Wilson to believe that Gatsby killed Myrtle. Referring to Daisy, Nick reflects that Gatsby paid “a high price for living too long with a single dream” (161). In the end, Gatsby is alone. The mobs of people that attended his parties, and even Daisy, do not show up for his funeral. Only Nick, Mr. Gatz, Owl Eyes, and the
