Ambitious Characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Melville’s Moby Dick, and Shelley’s Frankenstein

Mankind has, throughout the ages, sought to escape their prescribed limitations, acquire knowledge, attain wealth, and achieve happiness. Whether we look at the life of a prideful child, a fanatical scientist, a single-minded captain, or a self-made man, ambition is distinguishable among people. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby desires to reconstruct his past in order to create for himself a perfect future. In Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab pursues a life of vengeance against the infamous Moby Dick. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack sets his interests on becoming the tribe’s new leader. And in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein seeks to possess the secrets of life and with such knowledge, use his abilities to reanimate the dead. Because of the endeavors pursued by Captain Ahab, Jack, Victor Frankenstein, and Gatsby, it is conclusive to state that any human, regardless of their occupation or background, is embedded with ambition.

First, Jay Gatsby demonstrates ambition by desiring to create a perfect life for himself. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is about a boy named Jay Gatz, who like most during the Roaring 20’s yearns to establish a perfect life. One night, Gatz meets a young woman, Daisy, whom he falls in love with; however, because of their differences in social class, they cannot be together. Desperate to find a place within the rich, Gatsby establishes a bootlegging business with the money he acquires from a self-made man. For the rest of his life, Gatsby spends his days trying to reconstruct his past by getting Daisy back. The first instance readers see Gatsby’s ambition is when the book states, “Gatsby believed in the green l...

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...Moby Dick, which is what makes him ambitious.

In conclusion, because of the endeavors of Victor Frankenstein, Jay Gatsby, Captain Ahab and Jack, it is logical to conclude that ambition is a fundamental building block of human nature. Despite never being taught how to be ambitious, living completely different lives and seeking to achieve different goals, all of these characters have ambition. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, a man tries to hopes to create a perfect life. In Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick, Captain Ahab pursues a life of vengeance against the infamous Moby Dick. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, Jack sets his interests on becoming the tribe’s new leader, even without initially having the approval of the other tribesman. And in Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein sought to possess the secrets of life.