The Great Gatsby Reading Blog #3

For what purpose did Gatsby intentionally become the legend that he was regarded as in the beginning of the novel? In other words, why did he move to his enormous house, host his parties, allow rumors to fly, etc.?
Gatsby's life was entirely motivated by Daisy Buchanan. He moved to his house to be closer to her; her house was just across the water, and he was seen reaching across the water to her dock, where a green light shined. He hosted his many parties as a means of trying to reconnect with Daisy, hoping that one day she would come or that someone that knew her would. The rumors that regarded him, many of which were utterly ridiculous, did not seem to really affect him; in fact, they built up who he was, and it can be inferred that he did not entirely mind being mysterious.

Why didn't Wilson kill Tom, considering that it was he who had been Myrtle's lover?
Wilson, mad with grief and confusion, searched the town to find out who owned the yellow car that struck Myrtle. While he initially assumed that it had indeed been Tom, he realized that it could not be, because Tom had driven by later in a different car. Later, Tom told him that it had been Gatsby, and Wilson assumed that Gatsby had therefore been Myrtle's lover. As he never knew that it was with Tom that Myrtle had an affair, he killed Gatsby and then himself.

The eyes of Dr. Eckleburg are mentioned frequently throughout the novel. What might they symbolize to various characters?
Wilson stated explicitly that the eyes were God, and that God was always watching and that Myrtle could not possibly hide from him, even if she could hide from her husband. Indeed, throughout the novel, there seems to be the theme of a higher power of some sort watching through the eyes on the billboard. On page 24, Nick describes the eyes as "dimmed a little by many paintless days under sun and rain [that] brood on over the solemn dumping ground [of the valley of the ashes]." Daisy and Tom move away at the end of the novel, and though it never mentions it specifically, this means that they are out of the range of the eyes, and that they are no longer watched by them-though what the eyes mean to them, specifically, is not clarified.

Analyze Daisy's love for Tom and for Gatsby. Did she love either exclusively?
Daisy loved Gatsby as a young woman, and she did seem to regret her engagement to Tom on the night before their wedding. However, it seems that she did love Tom, to some extent, because of her dedication to him through their marriage, even when he was unfaithful, and through the quarrel between Gatsby and Tom. For her, loving Gatsby was stepping back in time, to when she was loved by someone who would not cheat on her and whom she loved as well.