Jay Gatsby becomes so enthralled in his American Dream and the immoral means that he would use to obtain it, however, that he could not see foreboding events around him. He acts in a manner of obliviousness when many of the people whom he associates with mock him, such as when and an unnamed woman in Gatsby’s house in Chapter VI gives an insincere invitation for Gatsby to come to dinner and, after Gatsby naively accepts the invitation, Tom ridicules him by asking Nick, “Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?”(Fitzgerald 103). Such an honest reaction, however, could only be expected from the man who went about his business of illicitly acquiring money differently than he did his personal life. Despite reservations of the narrator, readers are not straightforwardly exposed to the character of Gatsby that would correspond with the man who is involved with gamblers and criminals such as Meyer Wolfsheim. Instead of unequivocally portraying Gatsby as a man of shoddiness, the novel more strikingly depicts Gatsby as a decorous and innocent character; for example, he worries about whether Daisy still loves him, and seems genuinely indifferent to the falsehoods told about him. Thus it is that readers feel sympathy for the title character, even though they are aware that Gatsby almost certainly did not acquire his grandiose fortune through entirely respectable means. It is also a result of this contradiction of direct portrayal and indirect portrayal that Gatsby can be seen as a victim of the affluence and superficiality of upper-class American society during the 1920s. The “Platonic conception of himself” from which James Gatz sprung from his humble roots and with which he determined to act in “the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretriciou...
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...ng to the resolutions that he made for himself. The point at which Gatsby diverged from an otherwise honorable route to success, however, came when he decided that, in his desperate need to gain the kind of wealth that Daisy was accustomed to seeing in those who constituted her company, he would amass his fortune through criminal activities. Despite having devoted his childhood toward resolving to be a better, more organized, and more efficient person, Jay Gatsby’s American Dream led him to wrongly believe that somehow it was permissible for him to lower his standards of respectability and still be able to be the recipient of a status of humanity that traditionally was engendered on account of decent work or the benefits of an otherwise advantaged family.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Scribner trade pbk. ed. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby provides the reader with a unique outlook on the life of the newly rich. Gatsby is an enigma and a subject of great curiosity, furthermore, he is content with a lot in life until he strives too hard. His obsession with wealth, his lonely life and his delusion allow the reader to sympathize with him.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,1996. Print.
This novel was set in the 1920s, when everything was easy. Money was easy, love was easy, and life seemed easy. The American dream was alive and kicking in every American heart. The primary character in the novel, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, is the embodiment of this time. He is a classically handsome, self-made man who is envied by all, but known by none. He and his wealth appear out of thin air and he flies up the social ladder by throwing lavish parties in his extravagant house. Nick Carraway, the narrator of this novel, reveres Gatsby before they are even introduced. The first time Nick sees Gatsby, the mysterious man was all alone on the lawn and he “stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way… I glanced seaward - and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away” (Fitzgerald 25-26). The reader’s first glimpse of Gatsby reveals a man desperate to procure his dream. As the men grow to be friends, and Gatsby confides in Nick, the narrator discernibly loses respect for Gatsby. Gatsby originally appears to be a worldly, charming man...
As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy. He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man. This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards. He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick." Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth. Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively. His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly. Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention. A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.
Jay Gatsby is an enormously rich man, and in the flashy years of the jazz age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby has endless wealth, power and influence but never uses material objects selfishly. Everything he owns exists only to attain his vision. Nick feels "inclined to reserve all judgements" (1), but despite his disapproval of Gatsby's vulgarity, Nick respects him for the strength and unselfishness of his idealism. Gatsby is a romantic dreamer who wishes to fulfill his ideal by gaining wealth in hopes of impressing and eventually winning the heart of the materialistic, superficial Daisy. She is, however, completely undeserving of his worship. "Then it had been merely the stars to which he had aspired on that June night. He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor" (79). Nick realizes Gatsby's estate, parties, shirts and other seemingly "purposeless" possessions are not purposeless. Everything Gatsby does, every move he makes and every decision he conceives is for a reason. He wants to achieve his ideal, Daisy. Gatsby's "purposeless splendor" is all for the woman he loves and wishes to represent his ideal. Furthermore, Gatsby believes he can win his woman with riches, and that his woman can achieve the ideal she sta...
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Jay Gatsby’s dream became corrupted by money and dishonesty. Gatsby’s obsession with wealth and social standing defined his greatness. Ironically, it was this perceived importance which became his downfall. He gained money and social riches, and the obsession with Daisy continued. Gatsby presents an image of a classy, fun-loving and generous man, but in reality, he is lonely, vulnerable and unhappy. He even felt it necessary to make up his entire identity. Gatsby’s dream of life with Daisy is beyond his reach and unattainable.
The Great Gatsby is a story of the American Dream. The Great Gatsby is a view into the society of the 1920's masterfully created by Fitzgerald. In this society, the one and only Gatsby falls right into the middle. Gatsby is an exemplary example of one trying to live out the American Dream.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby was born into a life of poverty and as he grew up he became more aware of the possibility of a better life. He created fantasies that he was too good for his modest life and that his parents weren’t his own. When he met Daisy, a pretty upper class girl, his life revolved around her and he became obsessed with her carefree lifestyle. Gatsby’s desire to become good enough for Daisy and her parents is what motivates him to become a wealthy, immoral person who is perceived as being sophisticated.
The novel, The Great Gatsby focuses on one of the focal characters, James Gatz, also known as Jay Gatsby. He grew up in North Dakota to a family of poor farm people and as he matured, eventually worked for a wealthy man named Dan Cody. As Gatsby is taken under Cody’s wing, he gains more than even he bargained for. He comes across a large sum of money, however ends up getting tricked out of ‘inheriting’ it. After these obstacles, he finds a new way to earn his money, even though it means bending the law to obtain it. Some people will go to a lot of trouble in order to achieve things at all costs. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, conveys the numerous traits of Jay Gatsby through the incidents he faces, how he voices himself and the alterations he undergoes through the progression of the novel. Gatsby possesses many traits that help him develop as a key character in the novel: ambitious, kind-hearted and deceitful all of which is proven through various incidents that arise in the novel.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print
In the novel “The Great Gatsby,” author F. Scott Fitzgerald writes about a character that goes by the name Jay Gatsby, who captures the attention of those around him by surrounding himself with rich people and materialistic possessions. The title of the book itself is named after the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, who is a well-off man that moves from the west to the east to obtain the one thing in his life that he deeply desires; to be reunited with his one true love, Daisy Buchanan, who he had lost five years prior. Gatsby’s physical appearance, mannerisms and impressions contribute to his pursuit for The American dream drives him from rags to riches, into the arms of the love of his life, and ultimately to his death.
No one can be perfect in everything; it is good to make mistakes as long as we learn from them. Jay Gatsby was a man of secrets; he leaves an insightful mark on every person he talks to. Gatsby’s neighbor, Nick, says “it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.”(Fitzgerald 6-7). Nick was simply appalled by Gatsby and wanted to know about him and any secrets he may have, Nick felt Gatsby was a great man of mystery and was extremely interesting. Gatsby told Nick “I don’t want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear” (69), then opened himself up to Nick and told him “My family all died and I came into
Starting at a young age Gatsby strives to become someone of wealth and power, leading him to create a façade of success built by lies in order to reach his unrealistic dream. The way Gatsby’s perceives himself is made clear as Nick explains: “The truth was Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God… he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald 98). From the beginning Gatsby puts himself beside God, believing he is capable of achieving the impossible and being what he sees as great. Gatsby blinds himself of reality by idolizing this valueless way of life, ultimately guiding him to a corrupt lifestyle. While driving, Nick observes Gatsby curiously: “He hurried the phrase ‘educated at Oxford,’ or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces…” (Fitzgerald 65). To fulfill his aspirations Gatsby desires to be seen an admirable and affluent man in society wh...