Midrea Samuel

Mrs. Olson

English II Honors, 5th hour

6 April 2019

Wanting and Needing

I heaved a frustrated sigh as my sister went on about the golden locket she so desperately needed.

When I tried to explain to her that it was not important, she spat in my face about how I did not understand.

My parents were listening as she droned on, watching as her face grew red with desperation and frustration.

But it was obvious she was not close to receiving the jewelry. Her reasons for supposedly needing the locket

was because her other friends already had one in their possessions and that she would not--​could​ not--be the

only one without the item. I observed her rather childish attempt to beg our parents for the money necessary

to buy the locket, and thought to myself how ignorant she really was. Her reason for needing the golden

locket were not worth the time and effort it would take to purchase it. She did not need it. She wanted the

golden locket. My parents and I saw the desired object as nothing important, but it was clear that in her eyes

she saw the necklace as an item she required, as if it were the very air she breathed. The simple observation

made me wonder why she would think she needed the necklace. She was so insistent on getting the locket

that she did not see how ridiculous she was. Her reasons for it and her desire for it were enough for her to

think she needed the locket. Deciding between what a person wants and needs is based on the level of desire

and reasons for such items. When one thinks of a want as a need that will begin to confuse them, resulting in

unhappiness in the end.

Primarily, the amount of desire for a certain thing and reasons for so-called thing can determine if it is

a want or a need. Given that there is not anything that is really needed other than water, food, shelter, and

clothes, people can say that there are other desired things that are necessary. Including cell phones, such

items are not required for survival, yet it can be very useful nowadays. For example, if there was a child lost
in a store then the child can use a phone to call their parents for directions. Likewise, in the “Great Gatsby”

by Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby claimed that he needed Daisy Buchanan in his life, when in fact he only

wished for her to be his lover. When Nick was asked to arrange a date with Daisy for Gatsby, Jordan said,

“...if you’ll invite Daisy to your house...and then let him come over,” (Fitzgerald, Ch.4, pt.3). Gatsby was

wanting to meet with Daisy so she could so his home, to see how much he has changed since the last time

they had met. The reasons for wanting Daisy was so that he could have her the way he did five years ago,

except this time he had to deal with her controlling husband, Tom Buchanan, and the fact that she had a

daughter. When Nick tried reasoning with him that he could not repeat the past, Gatsby said, “Can’t repeat

the past...Why of course you can” (Fitzgerald, Ch.6, pt.3). Gatsby believed that if he could have the same

relationship with Daisy as it was from the past he would happy. Because he assumed he would be happy with

a relationship with her, he began thinking that he needed her. Equally enough, Tom Buchanan was in a

similar situation as well. He too had a lover he was romantic with, whose name was Myrtle Wilson.

However, his relationship with her was more for control. It seemed as if Tom was with Myrtle and Daisy to

feel in control, since that was the way his character came off as. He knew Daisy was aware of his affairs, but

he had no worries because he knew Daisy relied him. Knowing how to decide between wanting and needing

cannot be easily identified for there could be major reasons for needing such things that would seem as a want

and other times the same item can be wanted with a deep desire.

Consequently, when receiving a wanted item overlooked at as something needed, this can result in

unhappiness. Even after getting what he wanted, Gatsby was still not happy in the end. He managed to

sweep Daisy up as his lover, but she was not that interested in him the same way he was. In chapter seven,

part four, Daisy said to Gatsby, “I love you now...I can’t help what’s past...I did love him once--but I loved

you too.” It was at this part of the story that Gatsby’s and Tom’s desires were going downhill. Gatsby was

demanding Daisy tell Tom how she truly felt for him, but Daisy was in love with Tom the same as she was

with Gatsby. When Gatsby seemed to finally realize this he was not as happy as he thought he would be and
Tom was left not knowing what to do. Tom was so used to being in charge that he was not sure how to

handle the news of his wife cheating on him. Later when they were going back to their homes an accident

occurred which ended the life of Myrtle Wilson, soon leading to the murder of Jay Gatsby and the suicide of

Myrtle’s husband. Tom, who desired Myrtle, was left heartbroken when he heard the news of her passing.

That was one thing he could not control: death. After Myrtle died, Tom was unhappy. As for Gatsby, he was

devastated that he did not have Daisy all to himself. Daisy was responsible for Myrtle’s death, but because

Gatsby was in love with her, he took the blame. He was unhappy for the shared attention he had with Daisy,

yet he still loved her.

There are times where deciding between needs and wants can be challenging. Especially when a

person’s amount of desire for something can be so strong that she or he begin to see the object as something

necessary. My younger sister wanted a golden locket so badly that she began to think that she needed it.

Gatsby and Tom from “The Great Gatsby” desired for their lovers so badly that they began to need them.

Reasons for wanting anything can also confuse the someone to see it as something needed. My younger sister

“needed” the locket because she refused to be the only one between her friends without it. Tom did not

realize it, but he wanted Myrtle to make himself feel more in control. Jay Gatsby wanted to have Daisy to

himself to feel the same relationship between them. In the end, though, both men ended up unhappy because

they received what they wanted by looking at it as a need. It is not always easy to decide between wanting

and needing, but if the two were to be confused it would result with unhappiness.