Gatsby first moves to a giant home across the sound from Daisy and throws lavish parties to try to attract her attention. Then, once he reunites with her through Nick and Jordan, he tries to win Daisy's affection in the following ways:
He gives her a personal tour of his immense home, showing off all his possessions. This includes having Klipspringer, a party guest who lurks around Gatsby's mansion and more or less squats there, play the grand piano for her. Gatsby also shows her his many, many shirts in a myriad of colors, which makes her cry. He is conveying to Daisy, who has long represented money and security to him, that he has wealth to rival Tom's—wealth enough to support her in the style to which she has become accustomed.
Gatsby also invites her to one of his lavish parties, which she attends with Tom. However, she is unimpressed by the crush of people not of her social standing, and Gatsby understands she is unhappy. He therefore stops throwing his famous parties, as they have existed only to impress her.
Finally, Gatsby is more than willing to cover for the fact that she ran over and killed Myrtle by letting people assume he was the culprit. Even at this late point, he harbors the illusion that she will turn to him from Tom. However, though the deception costs him his life, Daisy does not appreciate the gesture.
In The Great Gatsby, everything Gatsby does is done in an attempt to get Daisy back.
He works to become wealthy so that he can be what she wants. His association with Wolfsheim and his bootlegging are attempts to get rich so he can win Daisy back. His wealth is a means to an end.
He secures a home close to Daisy, across the bay from her, where he can even see the light on her dock. He creates an image that creates a buzz about him in the area. Ultimately, Jordan does mention his name in Daisy's presence, and Daisy's cousin happens to move into the house next to him. His living where he lives works.
He is even willing to take the blame for Myrtle's death, instead of identifying Daisy as the driver.
Of course, everything Gatsby does is for nothing. His dream cannot come true because his dream is an illusion. Daisy never loved him as much as he loves her, and nothing he does can change that.
In order for Gatsby to win Daisy's affection, he has to make his presence known in the first place. I would add to the excellent list above his extravagant parties. His sole motive in throwing these events is to try to attract Daisy to one of them, or at least have his name brought up in conversations among the type of people that may run in the same social circles as Dasiy. The parties are another example of how he displays his wealth and status, which he gained in the hopes of winning Daisy. The parties of "over the top affairs" which create a buzz among the people of West Egg, and even in the more austere neighborhood of East Egg. The almost over abundance of food, flowers, music and other entertainment is a public show of his success. Sadly, he doesn't realize how these displays are actually off-putting to the true, old-school, wealth of people like Daisy and Tom. While the parties don't directly work, they are still can be considered part of his plan.
1. JAY PLANS THE PERFECT REUNION. In chapter 5, Jay has treats and tea specifically brought over to Nick's house for his meeting with Daisy. Knowing Gatsby's character, I am sure they were treats he knew she liked. He arranged a neutral meeting point at Nick's on purpose. After given a few minutes alone, Nick our narrator returns and Daisy is crying. We don't know what happened while Nick was out of the room, but we can assume it was good and those were happy tears because Daisy and Gatsby are in a relationship from that point on out.
2. JAY USES MATERIAL ITEMS TO IMPRESS. Daisy comes from old money. She doesn't mean to, that was just her lot in life. Jay changed his whole life so he could make the kind of money that fits her social class. When Daisy goes to Gatsby's house in chapters 5 & 6, we see his shirts and cleaned mansion he uses to impress her.
3. JAY ABANDONS OTHERS FOR HER FAVOR. Jay let go of his entire staff lest they might talk about his relationship with Daisy as she came over frequently. This demonstrates respect for her risk because she was still in a marriage to another man, but it also demonstrates extreme sacrifice. Those folks had likely been with Gatsby for awhile.
Get Ahead with eNotes
Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.
Already a member? Log in here.