The Great Gatsby has it’s fair share of despicable characters. Almost all of the characters in the book do something morally despicable at one point or another. From Jordan Baker’s eavesdropping and gossiping, to Daisy killing Myrtle Wilson, a case could be made for most of the characters as the most despicable. Personally, I believe that the most despicable character in “The Great Gatsby”, is Daisy Buchanan. From the start of the novel, Daisy displays herself as a kind, and welcoming person seemingly unaware of her husband's affair with Myrtle Wilson. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that Daisy is a selfish, manipulative woman with little interest in the well being of others.
The most obvious example of Daisy’s selfishness, is when she is forced to decide between Tom and Jay. Despite having told Gatsby that she always loved him, and giving him hope that the two of them may be together someday, when asked to pick between the two she is unable to decide between the two. This shows just how selfish she is, by not being able to let one or
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While Gatsby is an extremely admirable character in my opinion, he is also extremely naive. His whole life has been based on the dream that he might one day be reunited with Daisy, and even after Daisy refuses to pick Gatsby over Tom, he refuses to accept that his shot at a life with her is over, despite all signs that Daisy is not going to start a new life with Gatsby. While Gatsby’s unrelenting pursuit of Daisy is admirable in a sense, it's also Gatsby's rags to riches story that gives the reader a sense of admiration for Jay Gatsby. Coming from so little, and having no regard for the obstacles that he faced in acquiring Daisy’s love, Gatsby built a life for himself that people could only dream of. Gatsby’s drive and commitment to the dream of being with Daisy is what makes him so
Tom is the most selfish character because everything he does is in concern for himself. Tom is married to Daisy simply for wealth. After finding out that Daisy wants to be with Gatsby, Tom says, “‘...women run around too much these days to suit me. They meet all kinds of crazy
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...
His desire for Daisy made Gatsby willing to do whatever was necessary to earn the money that would in turn lead to Daisy’s love, even if it meant participating in actions that were not completely legal.... ... middle of paper ... ... When reflecting on his memories of the man he knew as Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway recalls the unique individual’s finest quality: “It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again” (Fitzgerald 2). Although Gatsby occasionally stepped off the straight and narrow, he never lost sight of his ultimate goal: Daisy’s love.
Gatsby is a dreamer, he dreams that one day he and Daisy will be able to be together once again. To achieve this dream Gatsby has made himself a rich man. He knows that in order to win Daisy back he must be wealthy and of high social stature. Gatsby becomes rich, has a beautiful mansion, nice things, things like shirts “They’re such beautiful shirts. . . it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful clothes” (pg.98).Gatsby believes his dream will come true because of all the money and nice things he has. The way that Gatsby becomes rich is in a way the demise of his dream. Gatsby becomes wealthy by participating in organized crime, including distributing illegal alcohol and trading in stolen securities. Daisy eventually learns about this and it is one of the reasons she will never again be with Gatsby. The other reason is Daisy a...
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.
Daisy Buchanan may look like the persona of beauty and innocence, but in reality she is cunning and deceitful. She has men wrapped around her finger with little to no effort, and her manipulation runs deep. In F Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchannan betrays those who care about her most in this world, and leaves a path of ashes and destruction.
...illingly for a murder Daisy committed and not him. Gatsby had a period of happiness when he was with Daisy and thought it was the best time of his life, and Daisy seemed to think the same. Gatsby was still not good enough for Daisy though because he was part of West Egg, the lesser wealthy. But everything seemed to be an illusion; the story took place in the time of the Gilded Age. Nothing was how it seemed to be, while everything seems to be good on the outside, deep down there are always problems and abandoned memories, which eventually come up again and often causes problems. We all make mistakes in our life, love can influence our decisions greatly, but what’s important in life is setting your priorities straight, becoming a better person from our mistakes, and lastly, loving a person for whom they are on the inside rather than any material possessions or looks.
Scott Fitzgerald’s presentation of Jay Gatsby was a heroic one. He overcame a poor childhood, fought very hard for his dreams, and achieved them. In the 1920’s it was very difficult to change classes of people. Gatsby was able to do this with a lot of hard work. Even though he didn’t acquire Daisy he still achieved the riches he wanted. Jay Gatsby’s persistence tells the audience that anything is possible. No matter what the circumstances people can achieve their dreams. Jay Gatsby’s dreams were very admirable and he is an obvious hero.
Gatsby was a rich man, but that doesn't mean he is happy in life. He lived a some what boring life. All he wanted was to be together with Daisy. He always had the idea of winning her back for all these years. Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay." and threw big parties all the time hoping Daisy would just show up and be in love with him. He also made many stupid mistakes that got some people to very much dislike him, and some to like him, but not many. His dreams were almost unattainable; he coldly win back Daisy from Tom or any way. His mistakes along the way of trying to impress Daisy, may have been a reason he got
...ess and selfish girl who only cares about wealth and power, which makes her the most despicable character in the novel. Daisy proves this in many situations such as choosing Tom over Gatsby, when he truly loved her for her, and wanted to be with her. She also proves this when she lets Gatsby take the blame for hitting Myrtle with a car, which ultimately ends in Gatsby’s death. And to top it off, Daisy doesn’t even go to his funeral but instead she moves away, leaving no information at all. She is in love with money, power, and luxury, but definitely not affection. She pushes her daughter, Pammy out of her life, and wishes for her to grow up the same way she did. She even pushes away the love of her life to be with someone who has power and money. Daisy Buchanan is selfish, careless, and conceited and is the most despicable character in the novel of The Great Gatsby.
...s drive him to be patient, determined, secretive, and careless with his wealth. He truly was a “great” man, as title suggest, stating from nothing but through hope and inspiration from his one true love he creates a “promising future” for himself (Myer). While at first the traits Gatsby posses may seem in some ways beneficial, they prove themselves to be just the opposite as this story progressed. One reason proving that these qualities were detrimental was the fact that Jay Gatsby possessed and used the qualities for all the wrong reasons. The main reason being that Gatsby did everything for Daisy was one of his greatest assets and sweetest downfalls. Furthermore, Gatsby allowed these traits to consume him and cause him to make poor mistakes, thus leading to his tragic death. And although that is true, his unbending love for her ruined him even before his death.
Jay Gatsby believes that wealth and power can lead to love and happiness. He spends his entire life trying to create himself and change his past so that he can rekindle his love affair with the love of his life Daisy Buchanan. The two were young lovers, unable to be together because of very different social statuses. After Gatsby learns that he cannot be with Daisy because of this, he spends the rest of his life attempting to acquire wealth and power.
If there is someone antagonistic or just a bad person in the Great Gatsby, it is Tom. He is a racist and angry man and he more often than not, ill-treats everybody he meets. Tom adores Daisy but he treats her more like a thing than a wife. He is having an affair with Myrtle, which obviously says something about his so called “love” for Daisy. During a party with some acquaintances, Tom broke Myrtle's nose for just talking about Daisy. Tom is extremely condescending to George, the man who works in the garage and is also Myrtle's husband. Tom seizes the opportunity to incriminate Gatsby in Myrtle's death as quickly as he can, thus ultimately leading to Gatsby and George's deaths.
In the famous great American novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a romantic hero, hopeful dreamer, and as someone who is completely unforgettable. What makes Gatsby so great was not his wealth, position in society or his personal belongings, but his determination to make something of himself during a time in which moral corruptions were common. Jay Gatsby’s personal greatness was exemplified in his struggle against his own fate, devoted love towards Daisy, and self sacrifice.