Every man, woman, and child stands upon an intricate scale. A scale that if balanced, can lead to happiness and success, but if tilted, can lead the person spiralling out of control. There are many aspects to this scale, money, friendship, and love, just to name a few. It is this balance between the many aspects in a person’s life that leads a person to fulfillment. It is the perceived winners of society that have a heavily tilted scale, and the perceived losers that have a more balanced one, which is why sometimes the perceived losers are actually, the winners. In society we often regard someone who has conquered a certain aspect of their life as successful. Whether that be building an empire worth billions or finding their one true love. …show more content…
Gatsby to be a winner. He has the fancy house and drives the fast cars. He is widely known because of the grandeur of his parties and his welcoming atmosphere. However we learn towards the end of the book that Mr. Gatsby never truly had anything of real value. All he had were materialistic possessions, but had no real friends or family to keep him company in the …show more content…
It was only Nick, his father, and one other random person in attendance at his funeral, willing to see him off. “The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn’t any use. Nobody came.” (Fitzgerald 165) This showed us that Gatsby didn’t have anyone that cared for him because he was so busy building his fortune that he forgot to make real friends along the way. He was so focused on earning money that he forgot about the other aspects of his life such as friends and family. He was so confident that he could win Daisy with his wealth that he forgot about what made Daisy fall in love with him in the first place. While he was constantly pouring sand on the wealth side of his scale Gatsby forgot that the other side was being sacrificed, and even when the plate hit the table he was still pouring and pouring into it, hoping that the scale will somehow balance out. Through all the grand parties and the fancy cars, we see Mr. Gatsby for who he really is. A materialistic man. A man that was so focused on building his empire that he forgot what truly mattered, and let Daisy slip away into Tom’s arms. It was his illusion of wealth that made him die regretful and
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
It would appear that if only a few small things were to change, Gatsby would end up as the winner. Regrettably, Gatsby was set up to fail from the start. Daisy is a wicked person, her and Tom simply hurt others and retreats back to their money for security. After she left Gatsby for Tom, not only did she refuse to resolve the issue with Gatsby, she refused to even attend his funeral. When Nick calls Daisy to inform her about the funeral, their butler answers. Their conversation went like, “Left no address?” “No.” “Say when they’d be back?” “No.” “Any idea where they are? How I could reach them?” “I don’t know. Can’t say.” (Daisy was Gatsby’s goal, his life. She knew Gatsby did everything for her, yet she would not even show up at his funeral. When daisy cried at Gatsby’s mansion it becomes obvious that she only felt that she missed an opportunity. That she could have been with Gatsby who who was more exciting than Tom but equally as rich. Daisy would have used Gatsby up and thrown him away as fast as she let him in. Gatsby changed his life for Daisy, but she wasn 't the right one to change his life for. Even if Gatsby earned his money earned properly, his goal would prevent him from
What is later revealed is that Gatsby’s wealth and luxurious lifestyle is all in the name of getting Daisy, Tom Buchanan’s wife, to fall in love with him. But in the end, even with all his money and power, Gatsby is not able to get the girl. What this brings to light is, was Gatsby’s money truly worth anything? “I love her and that 's the beginning and end of everything” (The Great Gatsby, Chapter ) This quote from Jay Gatsby shows that his entire life is centered around Daisy. That his only motive for the things that he does, for the massive parties that he throughs, for working to become incredibly wealthy, is to have Daisy fall in love with him. Gatsby’s life is one that is incredibly lavish. It is full of expensive amenities many would only dream of having. But Jay Gatsby is not living this fabulous lifestyle for himself. He is living it for Daisy, and only for Daisy. Gatsby’s only desire in life is to have Daisy be in love with him, and he chooses to live the way he does because he believes that is what she wants. Gatsby spends money at wild abandon simply to make an effort to impress Daisy. He throughs incredibly immense parties, with hopes that Daisy and Daisy alone will be impressed. But what is troubling about Gatsby is that, unlike most books, he doesn’t get the girl. Gatsby is, despite his entire life being dedicated to getting the one thing
...’s perfect and carefree lifestyle. Although Nick tries to cover up with his frustration with criticism for his house, he is ultimately jealous of Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship. Readers must ponder: is Gatsby’s lifestyle really so “perfect”? At the end of the novel, Gatsby’s ultimate death is certainly not “perfect”. Gatsby ultimately dies due to his excessive cheating and lying. His death is a type of payback for his actions. This is something that Nick should not be jealous of. If Nick were not such a shallow character, focusing on Gatsby all the time, he could spend more time focusing on himself and he would end up having a happier life. In the end, Nick moves to the Midwest to seek a fresh start for his life, and terminates his relationship with Jordan. Nick’s ultimate jealousy forces him to rethink his life’s objectives and start a new beginning.
The last thing that Gatsby’s best friend, Nick, manages to say to him before he is murdered is, “They’re a rotten crowd, you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” (198). This shows that Gatsby, even though he is wealthy, has a lot more to look to in his life than others. It isn't exactly a compliment, but it certainly states that he is better than the rest. However, the thing that kills Gatsby is his desire for intangible things like love and status, which he believed he could acquire with wealth alone. His death is the symbol of his inability to live up to his dreams.
Gatsby is a local celebrity, and everyone that goes to his parties has a theory about how he's made it in the wealthy world. In reality, everyone seems to know his name and is endlessly interested in his life for unknown reasons. So in that way, he seems to be pretty great, he even wins back the girl of his dreams for a short period of time.
Gatsby is a very rich young man who lives in the West egg and always throws big huge expensive parties. Gatsby is the main character of the story. Gatsby only cares about having Daisy and having money and material things. In the book Gatsby how Daisy his beautiful shirts Daisy cries of how beautiful they are she states that she has not seen nothing more beautiful than that ¨There are such beautiful shirts,¨ she sobbed, ¨It makes me sad because I've never seen such- such beautiful shirts before” (Great Gatsby 92).
The central focus of the story is the enigma of Gatsby, his past life, and his perusal of Daisy. Desperate to rekindle their former love, Gatsby works tirelessly to achieve the pinnacle of the American dream, settles in a large, posh house, throws lavish parties, and seems on excellent terms with the world at large. That, however, is not what makes him truly happy. All he did, he did in pursuit of Daisy, and initially it appears to work. She insists that she still loves him ardently. However, when pressed, she chooses Tom once more, and Gatsby is shattered. Nick says that, “If that was true, he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream,” (161). In the end, Gatsby’s dream turns on him, betraying him to the caprice of the world. He had sincerely believed in the American Dream, and believed it would help him secure Daisy’s love. When both failed him, he was left with a lavish but empty house, and to Gatsby, his wealth and prosperity were nothing without someone to share them with. The final nail in the coffin is Gatsby’s funeral, where it becomes clear what his immense wealth gained him in terms of the human affection he was truly after. Nick Carraway jumps through all sorts of hoops and harasses many people in order to get them to go to Gatsby’s funeral, to no avail. When it came time for the burial,
Gatsby’s wealth did not bring him happiness nor did it bring him Daisy. Gatsby was so devoted to his love for Daisy that when she ran over her husband’s mistress, he took the blame. It was that last act of gallantry that cost him his life. In a mad rage the husband of the woman Daisy ran down killed Gatsby. It was only then that the truth that Gatsby’s new life was superficial came to light. His so called friends were users. His love affair a farce. Instead of staying by his side Daisy returned to her husband. None of the hundreds of people who came to his parties ventured to his funeral. Not even his partner in crime, Meyer Wolfsheim, cared about him in the end. He was no longer of value to any of
First off, as a person in general it is revealed to the reader that Gatsby is a very ambitious man who always wanted to live the finer life. Since Gatsby grew up dirt poor on a lonely and boring farm, he had his fair share of what being a nobody is like and grew tired of it. Even Though he had ambitions to be more successful in life, there is another, more stronger reason Gatsby would convert to a life of crime… and that was his first and only love Daisy. They met at a party and Gatsby had obviously woed her over but he refused to settle down with someone while he was dirt poor, so he promised that he would marry Daisy once he became rich. In his desperation, Gatsby most likely turned to a money machine that he already knew well… the crime syndicate. Since he had already been introduced to this line of work by his mentors he was already equipped to continue working in order to gain alot of money. Since Gatsby served time in the war before hand he was already accustomed to violence, also since he grew up on a farm he was already used to hard and intensive work. Making him one of the most perfect candidates for the job of
Apparently being wealthy is not all Gatsby wants, but also wants love from Daisy. He loves her so much he wants her to break Tom’s heart and come with him. This man is clever and cold hearted like Lord Voldemort and Sauron. Jordan glanced at Nick and told him in a calm tone, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). Gatsby’s way of being in love with Daisy is to be a creepy stalker, never giving her space and always spying on her.
Even if people, like Gatsby, become incredibly wealthy, people who were born rich, like Tom, will eye them skeptically. Gatsby, along with those like him, are treated as a separate class of people. For instance, Gatsby tells Tom that since they are both wealthy, they are equal. Tom disagrees with him in the movie. He tells Gatsby that they could never be the same since he was not born a gentleman. Gatsby and many other people who quickly became rich will never be like the wealthy and proper upper class. So, despite all his efforts to be part of them, it ends up being futile. He never made true friendships with them. He was their entertainment until his last breath. That is why even though everyone came to his parties, not one, including Daisy, showed up to his funeral. Gatsby became wealthy for Daisy, but even she abandoned him to be with Tom, the so-called rich and proper
... Nick makes a small funeral for Gatsby and Daisy does not attend it. He took the blame for her, and he is dead all because of her, he sacrificed for her. She and Tom decide to travel and take off. Also Nick breaks up with Jordan, and he moves back to Midwest because he has had enough of these people, and hates the people that were close to Gatsby and for bareness, emptiness, and cold heart they have of the life in the middle of the wealthy on the East Coast. Nick realizes, and reveals that Gatsby’s dream of Daisy was ruined by money and un-loyalty, dishonestly. Daisy all she cared about is wealth, she chased after the men that have a lot of money. Even though Gatsby has control, influence, and authority to change his dreams into making it into real life for him this is what Nicks says makes him a good man. Now both Gatsby’s dream and the American Dream are over.
... period. He should have been grateful for what Gatsby gave to him, yet he couldn’t make the time for his funeral. Nick couldn’t find anyone to attend Gatsby’s funeral, which goes to show how selfish people were. The partygoers used Gatsby for his house and his things, Daisy ended up using Gatsby to end up closer than ever to Tom, and because Tom was so self-centered and irresponsible, he used Gatsby to save himself from being killed by Wilson.
Gatsby downfall came when he sacrificed his morality to attain wealth. Gatsby realises that the illusion of his dream with Daisy, demands wealth to become priority, and thus wealth becomes the desire overriding his need for her [Daisy’s] love. Gatsby claims to others that he has inherited his wealth, but Nick discovers "[h]is parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people" (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, pg 104) and that Gatsby has lied about his past. In a society that relies on luxuries, Gatsby throws parties to attract Daisy’s attention. Also, Gatsby expresses that same need to keep busy, just as Daisy does, in a society of the elite. Nick describes Gatsby as "never quite still, there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand" (Fitzgerald, pg 68). Gatsby fills his house "full of interesting people...who do interesting things" (Fitzgerald, pg 96). Gatsby's dream is doomed to failure in that he has lost the fundamental necessities to experience love, such as honesty and moral integrity.