alth has taken precedence. Family relationships exist superficially amongst high-ranking members of society. Marriages become simply labels of society rather than bindings between two individuals. Catherine observes the superficiality of marriages when remarking about the couples of the story, "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to" (Fitzgerald 37). The binding of a marriage has become very weak when Daisy "had told [Gatsby] that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw. He was astounded" (Fitzgerald 125). Gatsby accepts the fact that marriages rarely represent true love, and does not hesitate to tell his love to Daisy right in front of her husband. More than the institution of marriage, Gatsby loses all sense of family. His wealth has metaphorically become his family. He relies on his money rather than a family to bring comfort and security to his life. Gatsby's musician sings, "The rich get richer and the poor get - children" (Fitzgerald 101). Gatsby makes an attempt to regain the loss of family he experiences through his wealth. Nick describes a story about how Gatsby "agreed to pay five years' taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family" (Fitzgerald 93). Yet again, Gatsby takes advantage of his wealth to replace his deteriorated spirit and emotions. As a result of superficial family relationships, all love for that matter becomes based on social status. Myrtle's love for Tom is ultimately doomed to failure due to her standing in a lower social class than Tom. This large social gap appears when Tom "had discovered that Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him in another world" (Fitzgerald 130). The couple is never meant to be. Gatsby had experienced this exact situation with Daisy when he was in the army. His love for Daisy was impossible in society because "he was at present a penniless young man...
