Gatz and Glamour

My 21st century Gatsby is Kendrick Lamar, a Compton based writer and rapper. His songs, specifically the one I am focusing on in my writing—Swimming Pools— embodies the issues and conflicts within The Great Gatsby.

Growing up in Compton, California—a notorious location for gangs, violence, drugs, and poverty—Kendrick was predisposed to alcohol from a young age. Like Gatsby, he went from rags to riches through his career and created a new identity for himself. Furthermore, the importance of how these events impacted him and, in this case, how they impacted characters in The Great Gatsby such as Tom and Gatsby himself.

In Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, the now-iconic van represents a metaphorical Sodom and Gomorrah where he indulges in sin and transforms into an immoral, worst version of himself. In To Pimp A Butterfly, his car becomes a literal Hell; the one thing keeping him from coming in contact with God.”

David Dennis, 2016

The album this song comes from is called, Good Kid M.A.A.D City and details his interactions in Compton that shaped his childhood into teenage years. The cover of the album is his family car that was used in their crimes that he has lots of memories with. In the same sense, the car of Gatsby was used in the murder of Myrtle, Toms car crash while he was having an affair (and assumed he was drinking), as well as the crash outside of Gatsby’s house due to their overindulgence in alcohol at his parties. Cars, were also used to transport Tom to and from the city with Myrtle to help him carry out his affairs, making cars an important part in crime for both Kendrick and the novel.

Gatsby made such a good living because of the chronic addiction of many people during the Prohibition era. His parties were free, elaborate, and most importantly—flowing with alcohol. In the chorus of Swimming Pools Kendrick states, “I wave a few bottles, and I watch ‘em all flock… I got a swimming pool full of liquor and they dive in it” People gravitate towards Gatsby’s house in the same way, and it certainly is not to just see him and converse with friends—it was the cocktails.

What better way to make something universal than to speak about drinking? I’m coming from a household where you had to make a decision—you were either a casual drinker or you were a drunk.”

Kendrick lamar

Much like the decisions Kendrick had to make about alcohol, neither of them included not drinking—it was a choice of a casual drinking or the abuse of it. Once Daisy entered her new class, she begins to drink though she was once sober. Once Nick indulges in outings with Gatsby and the Buchanans, he too, becomes a chronic drinker. For Tom, he was born into his wealth, and therefore born into making his choice to become a drunk.

More lyrics in the song state, “Now I done grew up round some people livin’ their life in bottles Granddaddy had the golden flask, backstroke everyday in Chicago some people like the way it feel, some people wanna kill their sorrow some people wanna fit in with the popular, that was my problem” He talks about how from a very earl age, he was surrounded by his closest family being heavy drinkers. In the image below, young Kendrick is seen at a table with his grandfather and family, where his bottle of milk is right next to a bottle of alcohol. He began to feel pressured into drinking alcohol because he wanted to fit in with his peers.

While the setting is at a house party in Compton, Kendrick accounts that he, “Took a sip, then another sip, then somebody said to me ‘— why you babysittin’ only two or three shots? Imma show you how to turn it up a notch, first you get a swimming pool full of liquor, then you dive in it’” This is one of his first accounts when he was older where he gives in to what people are doing around him, and spirals from there. Similarly, Gatsby’s party are flowing with alcohol—enough to fill a pool and surround yourself in it as well. Nick is a parallel to Kendrick in the way that he began to drink more and more throughout the novel despite not drinking much before being around those people.

Annotated Bibliography

Programming, S. (2016, January 28). Examining Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s Work Through a Literary Lens. WDET 101.9 FM. https://wdet.org/2016/01/28/examining-rapper-kendrick-lamars-work-through-a-literary-lens/#:~:text=In%20Good%20Kid%2C%20Maad%20City,coming%20in%20contact%20with%20God.

Kendrick Lamar – Swimming pools (Drank). (n.d.). Genius. https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-swimming-pools-drank-lyrics

Granroth, Lucy Anderson, “”Could I annoy you for a drink?” : Social management and alcoholism in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Tender is the night” (2019). EWU Masters Thesis Collection. 554.

• (THESIS/BOOK)—KEY TERMS: alcoholism, power, authority, control
• affirms the idea that the characters such as Gatsby struggle with the effects of alcoholism in their life
• Motive for author is that alcohol is a social management in which it brings comfort into our life and IS a power authority
• Alcohol rules the life of Gatsby and is his tool to control and get Daisy
• “While a social drinker is a person who drinks in a social situation because those around him are imbibing, a social alcoholic will feel comfortable only in a social situation while intoxicated” (Granroth, 18)
• Nick is a social alcoholic—can use him as one of my characters to further the mental illness (anxiety, low self esteem, deflects that on to the others)

BYNUM, WILLIAM F. “CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 42, no. 2, 1968, pp. 160–85. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44450720. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.

• (JOURNAL ARTICLE)—KEY TERMS: alcoholism, disease, habitual, mental illness
• Details the findings of alcohol as turning into a mental illness (history of it)
• “Trotter defined drunkenness as a ‘disease; produced by a remote cause, and giving birth to actions and movements in the living body, that disorder the functions of health’” (Bynum, 168)
• furthers my point of alcoholism being a mental illness and getting treated like an illness
• Tie back symptoms and drivers of the characters to drink into this article
• Drinking was a habit and a craving (Nick beginning to drink throughout the book though he claimed to not drink before then ends up in a psychiatric evaluation in the movie at least, Gatsby becoming a bootlegger—alcohol is part of his life and work—it gives him a living, Tom and his whiskey while he is with his other women and typical acts of violence)

Project MUSE – Chronic Alcoholism and Alcohol Addiction. (n.d.). https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/50/monograph/chapter/3540039/pdf

• (BOOK)—KEY-TERMS: alcoholism, addiction, personality
• this chapter goes over different psychological tests conducted on alcohol abuse in both men and women, as well as tendencies in both of them
• “Sexual maladjustment seemed to be present in all of the subjects. Halpern especially noted the absence in the addicts of those mechanisms used by other maladjusted people to avoid complex and difficult situations. The addicts accepted impossible situations as a challenge and attempted to meet the challenge “head on.” They experienced a great deal of anxiety. Halpern believes that basically the addict desires to play a passive role, but that there may be an element of self-punishment in his continued exposures to frustrating situations. He seems to be constantly testing himself or trying to prove himself to himself and the rest of the world” (Henheffer, 26).
• The quote above applies to Tom in a huge way (affairs, aggression, emotional immaturity, being a “cruel body”, etc)
• It also applies to Gatsby because he can be seen as anxious and passive in his way of trying to gain Daisy, as well as “continued exposures to frustrating situations” which would relate to all the parties he has thrown and Daisy never showing up, and constant focus on repeating the past

Levine, H. G. (1978). The discovery of addiction. Changing conceptions of habitual drunkenness in America. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 39(1), 143–174. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.1978.39.143

• (JOURNAL ARTICLE)—KEY TERMS: prohibition, alcoholism, addiction, drunkenness, effects of alcohol
• “Thus the Prohibition campaign of the early 20th century focused on other evil effects of alcohol: Liquor’s role in industrial and train accidents; its effects on business and worker efficiency; its cost to workers and their families; the power and wealth of the “liquor trust”; and especially the role of the saloon as a breeding place for crime, immorality, labor unrest and corrupt politics” (Levine, 1978)
• This quote can play a role on the way that many of the characters act in the move and the crime that was associated with alcohol once it became illegal
• (Gatsby and Wolfshiem being gangsters and Tom being an adulterer and abusive)
• Talks about the process reasons behind the temperance movement, prohibition, and effects on the atmosphere of American cities with alcohol

Wojnar, M. (2020). “The bottle of whiskey – a second one – was now in constant demand by all present” : Alcohol Consumption as Cultural Capital and Part of Habitus in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. DIVA. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1527719&dswid=-4640

• (THESIS) — KEYTERMS: prohibition, status, alcoholism, drunk, habitus
• “Daisy, a former non-drinker, lays intoxicated in bed and states; “Never had a drink before, but oh how I enjoy it” (92). Being sober gave Daisy “an absolute perfect reputation,” (93) but based on the class aspect she becomes a drinker when she marries Tom and starts to adapt his practices and values of the elite society” (Wojnar, 24)
• Perfect quote because it adds to Daisy growing into this society like Nick does from the beginning to end of the novel
• Shows how alcohol is a means of life for these people
• Addicting and begins to control them
• “Years later, when she finally finds her way to West Egg, Gatsby is sure to serve her “a glass of some Chartreuse he took from a cupboard in the wall” (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 110) as an act of communication of his status and access to cultural goods. Daisy belongs to the society that Glickman declared to centre on mass consumption. It is not only alcohol itself, but also this particular rare brand that impresses her” (Wojnar, 2020).

Writing under the influence. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mb3HAAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=alcoholism+and+the+great+Gatsby&ots=tvKjcVJ2jI&sig=ddM1buN08O49WVur6pC7N2Albyw#v=onepage&q=alcoholism%20and%20the%20great%20Gatsby&f=false

• (BOOK) — KEYTERMS: under the influence, alcohol/ism, disease, relationships, guilt
• “Anyone who is crippled by the disease of alcoholism is not likely to have much sensitivity to the integrity of others. He consistently violates the most sacred boundaries of self-respect and decency; if he is dishonest with his friends, he is the worst of deceivers with his family; if he feels shame and overwhelming guilt, he projects that shame on his family with even greater force; and where he sees himself as worthless and shallow, he suspects those same qualities in those he pretends to love” (Djos, 69)
• This fits Tom perfectly (projection of the racism on book from upcoming races after drinking at dinner, dislike of Gatsby bc of his wealth, mean to his wife and cheats)
• “To the alcoholic, the most intimate of relationships are perceived as totally “other”; sex amounts to little more than a gymnastic exercise where a certain amount of detachment is perfectly acceptable; and longstanding concerns of a deeper texture are hatefully evaded” (Djos, 69).
• Tom successfully navigates his affairs throughout his relationship with Daisy and is not seeing it as bad, uses Myrtle, and definitely does use it as just a workout and to show himself

View of the role of Women in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (n.d.). https://jh.ibsu.edu.ge/jms/index.php/SJH/article/view/282/297

• (JOURNAL) — KEYTERMS: women, roles, flappers, traditional woman, female characters
• “Myrtle’s foolishness is that she saw what she wanted to see, a man who was providing her lavish gifts because she thought he loved her. She thought Tom would leave Daisy for her sake. In reality Tom was using her, but blinded by her own foolishness she couldn’t see it” (Samkanashvili, 48)
• Her “foolishness” could be because her brain was altered by the presence of Toms top shelf liquors and lavish parties they threw in the city
• the money and booze makes Myrtle feel differently for Tom than she would if she was sober

Project MUSE – The Prohibition Hangover. (n.d.). https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/176/monograph/chapter/140171

• (BOOK) — KEYTERMS: Prohibition, alcohol, America, health, negative effects
• “Heavy consumption can increase the risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure. It heightens the risk of domestic violence, unsafe sex, and accidents caused by driving while under the influence” (Peck, 161)
• we see all of the things listed in the second sentence in The Great Gatsby with the Buchanans
• Tom has affairs with other women and violent when drunk, and Daisy kills Myrtle when drinking
• “We like the feeling of intoxication. It brings joy to every celebration—birthday parties, dinner parties, promotions at work (drinking after the work day, of course). It is a social lubricant and icebreaker, a tem- porary escape from the monotony of daily life. It releases anxiety—and helps us get through inescapably tragic family events like Christmas. Alcohol serves an important social role in the community: it helps bring people together. Humans do not just drink—we drink socially. My friend, bartender Derek Brown, remarks: “I don’t know of any other substance that helps people become friends.”4 Because alcohol helps give courage to shy people, you might say that it has a strong role in perpetuating our species” (Peck, 162)
• for Gatsby’s parties and counterargument P, he is willingly providing all of these things for people to drink and encouraging all the bad things by them being unlimited and plentiful cocktails

I will be writing about the topic of alcohol and mental illness throughout The Great Gatsby. This topic is present in all of the chapters through the drinking and ways that the characters would behave. I am extremely interested in the field of psychology and medicine so I decided to chose this as my number one topic. I am particularly interested in researching effects of alcoholism on the body and how those things relayed on to each of the characters who were drinking frequently, and get the answers behind many of their actions.

The only course reading that really led me to this topic was the book itself. From what I can remember, none of the secondary sources were in relation to this that I have read in class—possibly only briefly touched on it.

Some research that I have touched on is a thesis that talks about alcohol as an authority figure in the works of Fitzgerald and Gatsby in particular. This lead me to narrow down and possibly creat my thesis revolving around alcohol ruling the lives of characters in the novel. A couple questions I hope to answer include; did any of the characters exhibit the traits of alcoholism? How exactly did alcohol control the character’s lives? What was the social impact of alcohol during the time?Possible perspectives and assumptions surrounding the topic can include what an alcoholic looks/acts like. Many people tend to assume that alcoholics are “easy to spot” and often visibly struggling because it is something that is highlighted through the media. An argument surrounding this is the huge presence of functioning alcoholics and the disapproval of people having a mental illness in the public eye without being outcasted. Mental health outreach was little to nonexistent in the time period, and I think it went hand in hand with alcoholism and the behaviors of characters.

My research plan is the observe all of the things mentioned in the above paragraph through scholarly articles and books, as well as the novel itself. I plan on doing my PRELIMS as well as any work by the due date and also keep relevant information related to the topic within them.

I read an online page that cited evidence from different parts of the book on how Gatsby could possibly be African American. This is a really cool take on the book and brings up small details that I never thought about before but I am not sure if I am entirely convinced of it.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence is the promise of “40 acres and a mule” after the Civil War from the Union to freed slaves. In the novel, Nick observes that Gatsby’s property was, “more than forty acres of field and garden” (Fitzgerald, 5). Like the article had stated, it is super interesting that Fitzgerald opted to describe it as more than specifically forty acres rather than any other number or estimate. Though it could be a coincidence, I think this was Fitzgeralds way of showing how Gatsby had WAY more than the average person and the average black person after the Civil War.

Another theme that keeps true with the novel is the failure of Gatsby at the end. It lives up to the failed dreams and hopes of the freed slaves after the war because they were often not given much land, let alone 40 acres at all. The idea that Tom was suspicious of Gatsby’s race can be argued through him bringing up interracial marriage and the allusion to the book about the rise of other races in power. Furthermore, Tom would not have liked Gatsby in the first place, but I think it is interesting that in a setting where there were no other races around Tom but white, he was on edge about how society is going downhill through the fortune other races are receiving.

The death of Gatsby could be tied to Tom wanting to take down the success of other races by whatever means is necessary, as him and Daisy are “careless people.”

Gatsby can demonstrate racist ideology of how African Americans are lesser than, as well as the gangster. He was seen as different because of the ways he gets his wealth, dresses, and acts. At the same time, he can also be seen as different because of his race, and the other characters like Tom can create as much as a power divide between them like the way he would between anyone else that is not his race.

Reading it from this perspective makes sense, and can be used to fill in a lot of the open-ended questions and interpretations of the book. I think that the Baz Luhrmann film would also be really cool to see if someone who was black played in the role of Gatsby, perhaps someone like Michael Ealy.

In my previous post, I discussed the idea of the Great Gatsby being set in the location of New Orleans, Louisiana. I recently read a Q/A on Sparknotes that answered the question of why Tom was always brining up race in the novel. I had known before that he was racist towards anyone that was not white, which was something that was not uncommon for the time. I began to think about how I wanted the novel to be set in New Orleans and how that maybe would not work, as opposed to how I stated it could work.

Louisiana is a Creole state where a mix of many minorities reside and is a huge melting pot of culture, mainly in places like NOLA. I do not think that Tom would want to live in such a culturally dense and rich city in such a time like the Jazz age, where many African Americans were gaining public fame. In the first chapter, his perception of competition between other races that are seemingly “infringing” on his influence and power. He discusses that, “Civilization’s going to pieces” which is just him outwardly displaying his insecurity of losing wealth to minority groups.

Though there are different people that live everywhere, and especially so now, the wealthiest parts of Long Island were not as diverse and clustered as New Orleans was during the twenties. Tom was someone who liked to reap the benefits of others and take advantage without giving that person a second thought or credit. His treatment of Myrtle and Daisy are perfect examples of this, and Nick states at the end of the novel that the Buchanans are, “careless people.” The vibrant culture of African Americans through hair, clothing, music, and dance would completely engulf someone like Tom to the point where he would not be able to stand living there.

The influx of African Americans returning to New Orleans postwar flourished in the twentieth century, where nearly a quarter of their population was black. In 2021, 60% of the NOLA population was made up of African Americans alone.

A little over a hundred years ago, the 18th amendment of the Constitution was added that prohibited the, “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” (Library of Congress). It was not repealed until 1933 with the 21st amendment that then again allowed alcohol to be sold and distributed.

During the era of The Great Gatsby, the Prohibition Era was in full swing, but was clearly not working in major cities through bootleggers, moonshine, and speakeasies. The Great Gatsby without alcohol would be hard to create, and without it, there would be no novel. If anything, there would be no novel if the characters followed the law.

Image from inside a speakeasy during the prohibition.

For starters, Gatsby himself would be nothing without liquor in the novel. It was the way he made his money, and it even if he did have another means of making his money, the cocktails is what drew people to his parties and nightlife. Gatsby would be forced to arguably work harder than he did in the novel, going to a typical 9-5 job and working his way up in postwar society. He would have a more difficult time trying to appeal to Daisy through the way that she likes to be “fun and carefree” but is secretly destructive.

Tom would undoubtedly be better off with following the 18th amendment. He was an aggressive and strong man around people, which is never a good mix with alcohol that we saw clearly in the novel. While out with his mistress, it is safe to assume he was heavily intoxicated when he hits Myrtle right in the face and breaks her nose. Though it is not how he makes his money like Gatsby, he would still be heavily affected by not drinking alcohol. His influence would likely go down in its appeal to lower class women, who probably had less access to quality alcohol, or alcohol at all. Since there was no connection outside of physical between Tom and his other women, it is assumed that all they would do was engage in sex and drink copious amounts without a care. This all comes from what we see in Nick’s interpretation of the apartment in NYC one evening, but I believe it for the most part (even though he was intoxicated too).

Last year, I took a psychology class and it was undoubtedly one of my favorite classes I took in all of high school. Something that I am especially interested in is the psychology behind serial killers and those who do some of the ugliest things to others. Tom, is one of those people I am particularly interested in trying to dig up more about. Though he is undeniably a bad person, I think that there is a deeper complexity to him—a battle of nature versus nurture.

“The dispute over the relative contributions of hereditary and constitutional factors (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to the development of an individual.”

American Psychological Association (APA)

Above is what the APA defines as the nature-nurture theory in psychology. Many psychologists agree that there is no set one in an individual, and it is typically a mix of both of these ideologies in many people.

As for Tom, I would like to think that there had been a deep rooted history of feeling inferior that likely stemmed from his parents when he was young. Being born into a wealthy family [it is typically shown] that you are often left with others to take care of you, and many things may take precedence over you (eg. special dinners, vacations, and events. Though we do not know this for sure, we can assume it through him not being a family oriented man with his wife, and especially child. He often seems to regress emotionally when situations do not go his way, like a child. Regression is the act of revering to a lower cognitive and emotional state of functioning (immature behaviors). In Sigmund’s psychosexual theory, this commonly means that individuals were not able to fully express/develop themselves in childhood for a variant of reasons, usually various trauma. Freud, did have some out there ideas, but I largely agree and am intrigued with the way that Tom seems to show some of his theories. For Tom, his coping mechanism of regression causes him hit, yell, and throw a tantrum like a child. These behaviors are not normal in adults, and especially ones of that high of a status, the sophisticated people.

Secondly, the most obvious aspect of Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual theory is Toms obsession with women, power, and sex. He outlined the id, ego, and superego. Tom is someone who seems to exclusively be ruled by the id, which controls the animalistic side of us—immediate pleasure. Though it is mainly sexual, it is immediate pleasure of eating, drinking, or emotional. The ego is what controls our id’s inappropriate thoughts, like wanting to leave work early to get a donut, or wanting to leave a class early because you do not want to be there anymore. For Mr. Buchanan, he seems entirely ruled by his need for instant gratification through the id that is on his shoulders.

Although Fitzgerald was the man who coined the term of the Jazz Age, it shines through the novel of Gatsby and its ideals. The novel, takes place in upstate New York in the 1920’s and I think, it should be in New Orleans.

With Daisy being from Louisville, I see her as a sweet southern belle—and not an upstate New York girl. If the novel was set in New Orleans, I believe that the storyline would be more enjoyable when it comes to the characters and their personalities. For example, the sports Tom enjoyed, polo and horses, are popular not only in New York, but in Louisiana as well.

New Orleans was, and still is, a buzzing city with great nightlife and was huge during the prohibition era. It was also one of the nations biggest alcohol distributors. This, would work in Gatsby and Wolfshiem’s favor, as well as Tom’s, who was a major drinker throughout the book.

below is the link to a house in the Garden District that seems like a house the Buchanans would live in (built in 2005).

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1415-3rd-St-New-Orleans-LA-70130/84469779_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

The rich culture and wealth to New Orleans was also super attractive during the early twentieth century. It also contained new and old money that the eggs had in New York. The generational wealth areas, like the Garden District, were lined with beautiful French mansions that I could see the Buchanans living in.

Furthermore, the class divides would not only entice someone like Myrtle to want to spend a day in the city serenaded by Jazz music in an expensive dress, but there was a sense of exclusivity that New Orleans jazz represented. This was an era where we see the emergence of popular black musicians, who were hired to give performances for wealthy white Americans. To put it blankly, many of these musicians were ripped off by white Americans, and I think that the story taking place in NOLA would add to the idea of the wealthy exploiting those under them.

Starbucks is one of my favorite things ever, and is something I think I am beginning to look forward to a little too much.

Writing this while I am currently drinking my Nitro cold brew with sugar free vanilla syrup and a splash of almond milk, I began to think of what drink the characters would be and why.

Tom screams an iced americano. Made with shots of espresso roast over ice and water. An iced americano in and of itself is something that does not seem enjoyable in the slightest. In the same way, Tom is not enjoyable in the slightest. It is very plain, and needs something to dress it up to make it more appealing. Tom is very much like this, plain and insecure, and uses other woman and abusive tactics to “dress himself up” and make himself feel and seem better than he is—in his eyes at least. This drink is cold, intimidating, and unappealing, just like Tom Buchanan.

On the complete opposite note, Jordan is an iced black tea. Tea is on the healthier side because of its health benefits and generally low in caffeine compared to coffee. Since Jordan is an athlete, this would be the perfect drink that represents her. We do not get to learn too much about Jordan as we do the other characters, so I chose not to make her too intricate of a drink, just one that is neutral and can be pretty versatile.

Daisy is the physical embodiment of a strawberry açaí refresher with lemonade (honorable mention for a pink drink). This drink everyone is familiar with and can recognize it from a mile away, just like Daisy and her charm. I can not think of anyone I know that does not like this drink. This drink will never go out of fashion and I think Daisy is the same. She, just like the drink, is sweet and seems to leave you with wanting more (in Nick’s point of view at least).

Gatsby is definitely a coffee drink. He is smooth and rich. For that reason, I think he would be a brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso—and a venti too. Then, I would add cold foam and an extra shot of espresso too. Coming in at around $10, it is an overpriced drink (that I am sad to admit I treat myself to often), and Gatsby also spent a lot of money on his parties and outward projection of himself. He cared very much about his status and was relatively new to having wealth. This drink is also relatively new to the world of the Starbucks menu, and very intricate, just like Gatsby.

Lastly, Nick is a vanilla bean frappe. This drink is very plain and is a safe choice for literally anyone, except, if you are allergic to vanilla of course. Nick is in the same light, he seems to be a regular, “honest” man. He freely judges others without thinking out of habit for their flaws without acknowledgement of his own. He seems to think he is safe from judgement of the events in the novel because he is watching from a distance. This drink is also seen as a safety net, but it has its own flaws, like perhaps the sugar intake, or even just how plain it is. Nick does not see his own shortcomings as well.

Alix Earle is a 22 year old who blew up on social media overnight, and became famous for “GRWM” (Get Ready With Me) content. She was a senior at the University of Miami when she became super popular on social media.

The other night, my friends and I watched Alix Earle’s new podcast, and she talked about how one night she went out to a Gatsby themed party. It stuck with me, and I began to think about how she is todays Daisy.

Alix came from a very wealthy family from New Jersey and is undeniably one of the most influential ‘it’ girls right now. She is someone that many look at and just see her as a pretty, rich, Miami party girl and become obsessed. I think that Daisy was also seen in that light, a wealthy and pretty girl who did not have much behind the surface.

Alix Earle for Elle Magazine (2023)

I unfortunately, began to fall down the trap of assuming the same about Alix in the past few months, when I would only see the highlights on social media of her constantly going out, partying, and just having fun. On another famous and recent podcast of another girl, Alix opened up quite a bit about her personal life and how it affected her. I immediately felt guilty because of all the things I assumed about her life being enviable and carefree. Likewise, Daisy had lots of things going on beyond the surface that she did not show with her marriage. Daisy was very aware of her situation with some of the things she would tell Nick in chapter one, like how, “Tom was God knows where” (Fitzgerald, 16) for the birth of their child. Daisy seems to keep a lot of things to herself and project herself differently in society. Alix does the same, and I do not see much wrong with keeping your personal life out of the media, especially in todays world.