The Great Gatsby Theme of Isolation

Isolation in The Great Gatsby is not the same as being alone. Although the characters are always in the company of others, the isolation is an internal one, stemming from their inability to truly experience intimacy with one another. The narrator reveals his fear of loneliness when he mentions his thirtieth birthday; his fear of aging seems to be tied to his fear of isolation. Gatsby, despite throwing lavish parties with hundreds of people, dies alone. Daisy’s need to be adored is most likely the cause of her own fear of isolation.

1. Who is lonely in this book and why? Are there any characters not alienated from others?
2. Jordan remarks that she prefers large parties because they are more intimate than small parties, where there isn’t any privacy. What does this say about the nature of isolation and intimacy in The Great Gatsby?
3. Nick comments on an "unmistakable air of natural intimacy" around Daisy and Tom after Myrtle is killed. Do these two share intimacy? More so than Daisy and Gatsby?
4. Nick shouts at Gatsby that "They’re a rotten crowd!" speaking of Tom, Daisy, and Jordan. Does Nick see Gatsby as part of them, or isolated from them?
5. Does Nick see himself as part of that crowd? What about his comment that they are all westerners who don’t belong in the East – is this his way of finding commonalities they share? Does he want to be a part of them?

Although Nick seems to be everybody’s closest friend and confidante, he is the loneliest, most alienated character in the book.

Although Nick seems to fear isolation, he is self-destructive in his relationship with Jordan, ending things when he fears they are becoming too intimate.