Compare and contrast the themes of love and fantasy within "The Great Gatsby" and "The Whitsun Weddings".

Throughout both "The Whitsun Weddings" collection and the novel “The Great Gatsby” the themes of love and fantasy are frequently explored and shown by both poet and author to be somewhat interchangeable. With peoples’ fantasies and expectations of love ultimately causing them to be disappointed and unfulfilled. These fantastical expectations of love can blind people and cause them to have impossible standards towards others, such as Gatsby who dreams about achieving Daisy’s love and affection however is sorely disappointed when confronted with the reality of her character. Larkin similarly turns peoples’ ideas of love against them in the poem “An Arundel Tomb”, leaving them with the harsh reality that love isn’t what they expect it to be. Firstly, both writers employ fantasy and expectations in regards to love. Fitzgerald for example, regularly refers back to Gatsby’s past when he is describing his love for her despite Nick’s declarative “you can’t repeat the past”. It is almost as if, for Gatsby, his memories of his past with Daisy have been tainted with a sense of exaggerated nostalgia, making him believe more romance happened than it did in reality. For example, in his reminiscing in chapter 6 his various word choices make their relationship much more romanticized “the sidewalk was white with moonlight” in combination with the life-giving metaphors “suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder” amplifies Gatsby’s perspective of the date, almost transforming it into something magical and wondrous. The fact he focuses on the moon, a well-known tool of Romanticism highlights how lovesick he is with this own interpretation of Daisy and how incredibly invested he is within his own fantasy, so much so he expects Daisy to act like her imaginary counterpart. Hence, why in the confrontation scene in chapter 7 Gatsby cannot process the thought of his fantasy falling to pieces. His use of repetition “you loved me too?” in combination with the emphasis on the adverb “too” highlights his incredulous tone of voice and draws attention to the fantasy-shattering shock Gatsby just underwent. As a result, the readers immediately feel a sense of pity for Gatsby as throughout the novel it is evident to everyone (readers and fellow characters alike) Daisy never loved him the same way he loved her and it is almost as if everyone has been waiting for Gatsby’s fantasy to be shattered by this one little word. Like Gatsby’s fantasy of his and Daisy’s relationship, Larkin similarly draws attention to how the fantasy of love can influence reality and transform itself into something completely different. For example, in “Arundel Tomb” Larkin excellently conveys the human desire to romanticize everything. Like Gatsby’s misrepresentation of the truth of his date with Daisy the stone couple have been “transfigured…into untruth [by time]” by “a sculptor’s sweet commissioned grace”. It could be argued that Gatsby is almost like the “sculptor” and has altered something that was never meant to be in order to mirror his fantasy of love. And taking into account the post war attitude towards love, it is unsurprising that people “look. Not read” when it comes to love which as a result, causes unrealistic expectations towards love. The fact the “love” between the stone couple is artificial and false connotes the 1960s idea that many marriages were based upon the artificial aspects of their partners and reinforces the idea that their “love” is simply another’s romanticized fantasy, much like the relationship between Daisy and Gatsby. Like Fitzgerald’s subtle hints such as Daisy’s child, Pammy, Larkin also drops signs of the fantasy of love being tainted by reality. The fact that he utilizes a combination of oppressive verbs and adverbs “stiffened…rigidly [they lie together]” shows how the sculptor’s illusion of love is spoiled as he indicates they are unwillingly bound and unhappy together and no amount of reworking will change that. To conclude, both writers employ the themes of fantasy and love and show how the two are often interchangeable with characters such as Gatsby and the sculptor attempting to alter the past with their own romanticized fantasies. This can be dangerous, as evidenced by the confrontation scene in chapter 7 as fantasy can ultimately override reality which can cause serious consequences as we can see with Gatsby’s death and Nick's disillusionment.