The Great Gatsby: A Great Conspiracy

Hardly ever do I encounter profound epiphanies, they seem quite rare in their timing and presence, but then again that probably constitutes their profundity. Furthermore, the categorization of an epiphany varies for many and usually encompasses a life altering revelation, maybe at lest a temporarily ameliorating or devastating thought. However, today during the last thirty seconds of my ever awakening first period AP English class an epiphany struck me with the force of a Mack truck t-boning a Smart car. What if Nick's luck of moving into a proverbial "shack" so seemingly different from all other houses in the area, mansions of sorts, took place at the hand of the mysterious Gatsby himself? Does not it seem suspicious that this man with no prevalent reputation lands a house right next to the vast estate of the fantastic Mr. Gatsby? However outlandish this may seem, and however idiotic I may look to many of my peers who unlike myself have read this classic already, it may just come to fruition. For instance, a questionable deal lands an astray Nick Carraway next to Mr. Gatsby in the first place reflecting on how an unnamed young man "suggests [they] take a house together" (3). Normal, yes, but at the last minute "a firm ordered him to Washington" (3). Thus, I believe Gatsby played a hand in that young associate of Nick's convincing him to move right next to him, where he would remain at the disposal of Mr. Gatsby, who we found out in our last reading desperately needs the help of Nick. How seemingly perfect to have Mr. Carraway, the key to reaching Daisy, quite literally at his doorstep. Now, before jumping to conclusions that all of this seems a conspiratorial claim one must account for the resourcefulness of Gatsby as seen in chapter four. He feverishly searches for Daisy, cutting out newspaper clippings of her in the Chicago newspapers, eventually moving into an incredibly expensive mansion just across the bay from her. Therefore, Gatsby obviously has no reason not to do research to find a connection with Daisy in the form of Nick he could use to bridge the abyss that grew between him and his lost love. The idea that the same man that has cities like "Chicago calling him on the wire" and "lived...in all the capitals of Europe" (48, 65) possess the ability to pull strings in such a manner to track and influence an average man from the Midwest does not seem so brash. Finally, the finishing touch on my pseudo-revolutionary epiphany comes with the motivation that backs his drive to perform all of theses tasks to get to woman across the bay. What more could a man with seemingly everything, money, cars...hydroplanes want? Maybe he wants the one material possession that can complete structure of his happiness: love. The one thing he can not purchase with money or influence he can not have, and thus he channels his ambition, I would say more-so than greed, to put Nick under his influence, and acquire that which lays just beyond his reach, the green light across the bay, his own american dream, love.