What kind of person is described as “great”? What personality a “great” person usually has? A person who has high fame and social status? A person who is rich? Or a person who is good looking like the celebrities? In the novel The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald Scott, the protagonist Jay Gatsby is being described as great. He is considered being great in different aspects - his determination and hope of pursuing his American Dream, his ability of creating a new identity for himself and his heroic figure for his love. In the novel, Jay Gatsby is great because is so determined and hopeful to make his dream come true. His dream is not a typical American dream during the 1920s of pursuing happiness, materialism, or individualism, but the …show more content…
In opposed of the sophisticated people with extravagant and lazy lifestyle in the east egg who could have whatever they want because of their family background and high social status, Gatsby has a dream to chase, which sustained his hope and his life. With a dream, his life is more colorful than the others. Although Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy are all rich people, they are quite difference toward life. Holding grand parties during that time period depicted the corruption of luxury. For example, Daisy’s husband Tom holds an affair with his mistress Myrtle in an apartment, their lavish use of money in the party shows their self-indulgence of their wealth. However, Gatsby is totally different; he welcomes everyone to attend his party. His one and the only purpose of holding parties in his house is to attract his golden girl, Daisy, to make his dream come true. Gatsby himself is just alone in the mists of his party. “When the Jazz History of the World was over, girls were putting their heads on men’s shoulders in a puppyish, convivial way, girls were swooning backward playfully into men’s arms even into the groups knowing that someone would arrest their falls - but no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and
In the Novel The Great Gatsby, not many people really knew the man known as Jay Gatsby. When he was rich and powerful, he was the man you "want to know." But when he was dead, life went on without him. It seemed as if nobody cared that he was the man behind the parties and all the good times. He was dead and nobody mourned. This shows that the opinion of the great Jay Gatsby changed by the end of the story. He was an icon of not only every man's image of the American Dream, but he was also apart of Americanism and the American Experience. He was seen as the richest and luckiest man during his time.
Jay Gatsby, who is one of the main characters of the Great Gatsby, is a man with a mysterious background and an unknown personality. He doesn't mention too much about his past except certain fabricated highlights of his life which were designed to impress others. The strange and humorous thing is that he carries articles of evidence that back up most of his lies to prove that he isn't lying. Gatsby is also the kind of man that is used to getting what he wants no matter what the consequences are, causing him to be a very determined man that once has an idea in his mind won't let it go until he accomplishes it. The things that Jay Gatsby values the most is money, to impress others and gain acceptance and most of all, having things his own way. In a manner, these are some of the characteristics of the American Dream and what people strive for when they come to America.
Gatsby throws lavish parties to create a image of wealth for those attending. However, the people who show up do not care about Gatsby, rather they care about the “show” he puts on through these celebrations. The party-goers are only seeking an escape, they are lured to the bright lights and excessive alcohol, like moths to a flame. Not ever paying attention to a wondering Gatsby (if in fact they even know
The Great Gatsby is a view into the society of the 1920's masterfully created my 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. "The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity." (Wikipedia) So basically the American Dream is to have money, and a family. Gatsby got his money, but what he really wanted was Daisy Buchanan.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby, the central character, Jay Gatsby, is a paradox. In one sense, his rise to material success is a remarkable accomplishment. Viewed through another lense, however, he is not great at all, but a massive failure. His goal of winning Daisy is never attained and he has amassed his fortune through very questionable means. Yet the term “great” is open for interpretation. Gatsby is certainly great in his ability to conjure up stories and an image of himself. His masterful ability to present himself to the world in a new light is similar to that of the one and only Great Houdini, and other performers of the past and present. But Gatsby’s greatness, like a stage performance, is only surface deep, and hides a deeper sense of failure.
Gatsby displays his new money by throwing large, extravagant parties. The old money establishment of East Egg think Gatsby does this to show off his new money, but his motif is different. Jordan states, “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties” (Fitzgerald 64). This shows that even Daisy’s friends know what the parties are centered around. Gatsby waits for Daisy to walk in one night, wanting her to see everything he has become, but she never does. He does it all for her: the money, the house, the cars, the criminal activities, everything. It takes Gatsby finding Daisy, to get her there. Gatsby tells Nick in a panic, “She didn’t like it,” he insisted. “She didn’t have a good time” (Fitzgerald 87). Ironically, Daisy does not enjoy the parties as much as Gatsby wants her too. She loves his new found wealth, but that still is not enough for her. Gatsby’s lack of understanding concerning the attraction of his money is described as follows:
After Daisy and Tom show up to the party, Daisy is amazed and enjoys the presence of famous people at Gatsby’s party, but she is “appalled by West Egg...she saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand” (Fitzgerald 107). Daisy has never been to a party and a town in which everything was so wild and uncontrolled. Daisy lives a life that is more sophisticated and mature, but the life of West Egg was quite different. She realized that West Egg is not a place for her and she didn't have much of an interest for the place. She preferred her sophisticated life in East Egg. She was dissatisfied with the life lived in West Egg so to make the situation better Gatsby terminated his wild parties. Nick knew this was official when “the lights in his house failed to go on one saturday night” (Fitzgerald 113). Gatsby didn't want to be viewed as unsophisticated and not like Daisy’s class. He wants to be seen as equivalent to Daisy and he wants her to know that they are the same type of people. If she believes this he can get her to truly love him. Gatsby shows that he will do anything to attain Daisy’s love. It is imperative that Daisy represents herself based on the ideals of her social class and not ruin her reputation. Gatsby has to fix his motives and match them to Daisy so she won’t risk ruining the reputation that she stands for. Daisy social class comes between who Gatsby is and what he has to do to get her to want
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. Jay Gatsby, the cryptic main character from F. Scott. Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is a man who has traveled through many rough roads throughout his life. These troubles that Gatsby had to overcome range from fighting in the war, losing the love of his life, and many shady dealings to obtain finances. Despite Gatsby’s life of controversy, many unanswered questions, and a plethora of luck, Gatsby is considered a man of many successes. Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor and close friend, considers Gatsby to have achieved greatness. Nick sees a greatness in Gatsby that he has never seen in any other man; unfortunately, all great characters do not always have happy endings. Gatsby’s
Jay Gatsby was a dreamer. His character personified the American Dream of rising from rags to riches.
Jay Gatsby, otherwise known as James Gatz, was originally born into poverty and raised in North Dakota. According to the novel itself, Jay Gatsby was considered “great” due to his extravagant parties, elite social status, and lavish wealth. However, when truly analyzing his character, Gatsby is nothing more than a man of no substance and a self-made con artist. Similar to a magician, he is an illusion to an act performed. Rather than serving as a metaphor for the lucre Gatsby has gained in the past years, the title of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays irony in the sense of how dishonestly Gatsby himself acquired his rich lifestyle, shattering the quintessential American dream.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" might be one of the most debated novels in American literature when it comes to it's importance and greatness. Most critics seem to either hate it or think it's the most magnificent piece of literature ever written; very few are somewhere in the middle. In my opinion "The Great Gatsby" is beautifully written, but its not a perfect as most critics say, it's filled with many symbols; with the American Dream being a common theme associated with it. In "Why Gatsby is so great" by Jay McInerney, he talks about the dialogue. While Kathryn Schulz in "Why I despise The Great Gatsby" believes the novel has many easy to read symbols. Yet the novel never actually reaches the American Dream, a theme that the novel is known for.
Dictionary.com defines ‘Great’ as notable; remarkable; exceptionally outstanding. In the Novel The Great Gatsby the reader is shown the wealthy side of New York City during the Roaring 20s. Nick Carraway, the narrator, illustrates this side to the reader through his own eyes. Through Nick, we meet the exquisite Jay Gatsby, who is nothing short of great for different reasons. Jay Gatsby is “great” because of his friendship with Nick, his social status, and his love for Daisy Buchanan.
...rom the elite rich, who possess old money. Tom also claims that Gatsby “threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s”, (142) and can be said to be using his false wealth to mislead and confuse Daisy and Nick into thinking he is someone of their standards, which shows that Gatsby is not recognised as one of their class. This undercuts the glamorous wealth associated with Gatsby, and the ideal of equality in the American Dream.
Readers often find aspects of "The Great Gatsby" attractive but ultimately the world of the novel is not admirable. Discuss.
Nick describes Gatsby as “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life(Ch.3).” Such description unifies the appearance of Gatsby with people’s expectation of a man who accomplished the American dream. The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of having everything they worked and struggled for redefined if the reality fails them. Just like strivers who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spent his whole life in pursuit of his American dream, which Daisy was a major component of.