I also think that what Jonas could not articulate is that there is a risk of loss in love. His life of emotional deprivation does not give him a vocabulary with which to express this idea, but the book makes clear that people are not really emotionally invested in one another in any way. If Jonas were to die, his parents, parental units, really, would no doubt miss him, but there is nothing to suggest they would feel grief. They are on record as not loving him. Death is unknown in this community, since it is euthanasia that is tidied up, euphemized, and hidden from the people. If one's beloved grandparent were to die, it would be a painful loss, one of the risks of love. Similarly, if people chose partners based on love, that love could be lost, another of its risks.
James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
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