High Life

"The rumor is," whispered Jordan, "that that's Tom's girl on the telephone." One of the themes of the book was trying to live the highlife and the shallowness of the people up there. For Gatsby to even be considered by Daisy, he had to change his name, come into a lot of money, buy a huge house and expensive things, and through lavish parties for so-called friends. (They also aid the theme by pretending to be Gatsby's "friends" but don't even show up to his funeral.) Just as James Gatz, Jay Gatsby had no social standing in the world. Daisy portrays her shallowness by her actions with her daughter and how she carries an affair with Gatsby. Although Daisy and Tom have a child, she is only mentioned a few times and is only physically in a scene once before being quickly lead away. It is almost as if she doesn't even have a daughter. Tom also shows the same trait. He takes a mistress, is obsessed with his social standings, and thinks people are inferior to him. Jordan could also be grouped in this highlife category. She doesn't really spend her time on anything but golf and maintaining her image. Because Nick is dating Jordan, is neighbors with Gatsby, and is cousins with Daisy, he sort of gets swept up in the highlife when he has no business being there. This is probably the reason why him and Jordan didn't work out.