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.
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.
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.
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.
Jay Gatsby, a mysterious, young and very wealthy man, fatally chases an impossible dream. Gatsby attempts to rekindle an old relationship and has confidence in repeating the past. Gatsby claims that he is going to “fix everything just the way it was before” (Fitzgerald 117). In a a conversation with Nick, Gatsby discusses how the past can be repeated and how he wants the relationship that he once had with Daisy (Fitzgerald 116). Secondly, Gatsby attempts to exemplify his wealth through fancy cars and stylish clothing. Gatsby shows his clothing to Daisy and informs her that he has a “man in England” who buys his clothes every season (Fitzgerald 97). Illustrating his wealth, Gatsby drives a Rolls Royce that “was a rich cream color, bright with nickel” (Fitzgerald 68). Although Gatsby’s foolish quest of the American dream exemplifies a respectable aspiration, it ends in a tragic death that goes virtually unnoticed. A sharp contrast to the parties , the funeral was sparingly attended and “nobody came” (Fitzgerald 182). Following the ...
Gatsby spent his whole life striving for one thing. The American Dream, which for him is mainly dominated by Daisy. In chapter nine of the book you can see that Gatsby started striving to meet the American Dream at young age. The reader learns of a book of Gatsby's. He has his everyday routine planned out in this book. Things like "Read one improving book or magazine per week." Show That Gatsby wants to improve himself to a point where he can succeed. That isn't all Gatsby did to improve his chances of success though. He even went to the extent of changing his name from James Gatz, to Jay Gatsby in an attempt to create a new, successful man that people could admire.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1995.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, may at first glance resemble a story of unrequited love. However, closer examination reveals the work to be much more than that. The Great Gatsby is a story about The American Dream and the moral corruption that sometimes occurred in the pursuit of that dream. The American Dream has been described as being the pursuit of happiness while maintaining strong moral values. However,as Fitzgerald vividly portrays, The American Dream seems to have become the pursuit of wealth accompanied by extreme moral decay. Greed and selfish pleasure are the focal points of the book as portrayed by the interactions of Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.
Jay Gatsby lives in an enormous, extravagant mansion resembling a castle that a wealthy brewer had constructed ten years prior to the events of the novel. Gatsby’s house is located in the West Egg area of Long Island, where the population is made up of mostly newly wealthy people. Gatsby is living the so-called “American Dream” after spending a period of his life striking it rich by smuggling grain alcohol as a bootlegger. The effects of Gatsby’s riches on himself and people around him are comparable to how alcohol causes self-destructive behavior and bad judgment in people when ingested in large amounts. Gatsby strived to gain his wealth in order to become high-class enough to be with Daisy, Tom’s wife who fell...
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print. The.
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
Jay Gatsby is a self-made man who started out as a poor farm boy with nothing more than some resolves to make his dreams come true. He became blinded by his love for Daisy and luxurious possessions, and was unable to realize that he was losing himself in the process. Gatsby’s life, although filled with hundreds strangers, is extremely lonely. Gatsby had more acquaintances than most people could ever imagine, but none of them were true friends, as evident by his funeral comprised of four people: Nick, Gatsby’s father, Owl Eyes, and the minister. Although Gatsby did reach the dream he had thought he wanted, he in no way achieved the true American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby’s story to demonstrate the corruption of the American Dream in the 1920s as a result of an over indulgent America who had lost all sense of morality.
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...
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925