Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Cars, once stated, “ An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous”. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the main character, Jay Gatsby, is an idealist who becomes a new person in New York City to escape his poor upbringing and to pursue his new life as “old money”. Unfortunately, Jay Gatsby’s beliefs, combined with falling in love with the wrong person, ultimately led to his downfall.Gatsby is essentially an innocent victim (romantic idealist) who is destroyed by his inability to accept reality.
Throughout The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan represents one of Gatsby’s biggest idealistic ideas. Michael Glenway, the author of F. Scott Fitzgerald, comments on Gatsby’s love for Daisy
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when he states “ Gatsby’s Grail is not only to recover Daisy Fay, but, more importantly, to recover ‘some idea of himself… that has gone into loving Daisy’”(Glenday 67).
Here, Glenday states that Gatsby is hopelessly trying to recover the time that was lost when Daisy and Gatsby weren’t together. Clearly, Gatsby can not let go of the part of him that loved Daisy seven years ago, which leads to his downfall as a person. Fitzgerald confirms this when he describes Gatsby talking about reliving the past, he illustrates “‘ Can’t repeat the past?’ He cried incredulously. “‘ Why of course I can”’(Fitzgerald,110). Gatsby desperately wants and believe he needs to relive the past to get Daisy to feel the way she used to about him in Louisville. Clearly, Gatsby believes he needs most is to get Daisy back to be truly happy in life. Fitzgerald goes on to describe Gatsby when he states, “‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,’ he said, nodding determinedly. ‘ She’ll see”’(Fitzgerald, 110). Gatsby, here, is stating that he will fix everything that has gone wrong between Daisy and him in the past years. Unfortunately, Daisy doesn’t truly care for him and is self centered, which leads to the downfall of Jay. Fitzgerald states “ Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that …show more content…
year by year recedes before us”(Fitzgerald,180). The green light in The Great Gatsby represents hope between Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby believes that the green light will bring them back together after so many years. Fitzgerald goes on to create Daisy as the perpetrator of Gatsby’s downfall when he describes why Tom and Daisy can not go to Gatsby’s funeral, “But [Daisy] and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them”(Fitzgerald,164). Gatsby makes sure that Daisy is taken care of ,but in wake of Gatsby’s death, Daisy can not be there for him. Because Gatsby truly loves Daisy is self centered and careless, Gatsby is the innocent victim of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s desire for the American Dream is the second idealistic view that makes Gatsby the innocent victim of the story.
Riveting writes comments on this dream when they state “His desires not only for Daisy, but to fit into an uncompromising society that he so desperately wants to be part of” (riveting writes). Here, Riveting writes is commenting on the Gatsby’s need for the American Dream that forces him to do anything possible to get that dream. Clearly, Gatsby’s need for this dream leads him blindly through life, which creates a horrible ending for Jay Gatsby. Glenway farther comments on this dream when he quotes Chase saying, “Since in Nick’s eyes Gatsby is already redeemed as ‘an idealist who is compelled to a meretricious way of life in order to realise his dream in society obsessed with money”(Glenday, 68) (Chase, 114). Through Nick’s eyes, Gatsby is victimized by his meretricious ways because he strives for his American Dream. Riveting writes goes on to say, “His victimisation becomes particularly visible at the end when nobody apart from Nick attends his funeral. Even in his last moments he cannot fulfil the dream he spent his entire life trying to achieve.”(Riveting writes). Riveting Writes farther this explanation when they state, “The irony that throughout his adult life he was surrounded by thousands of people during his frequent parties, and yet in death he was alone, emphasises his victimisation further” (Riveting Writes).Riveting writes, here, talks about
how Gatsby worked so hard for most of his life to become the American Dream, but in the end no one besides Nick shows up to his funeral; which shows the failure of creating the American Dream. Because Jay Gatsby works so hard to achieve the American Dream, Gatsby is the victim of The Great Gatsby. Gatsby’s third and final idealistic characteristic that leads to his downfall is trying to hard to be accepted into society. Fitzgerald shows Gatsby’s need to be accepted by describing the parties he throws, “ Men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars”(Fitzgerald, 39). This Fitzgerald description of Gatsby’s parties shows that Gatsby doesn’t care about who comes to the parties as long as people come and accept him as a member of society. Clearly, this is not a way to be accepted into a society that is characterized as classy and mannered. Riveting writes comments on Gatsby’s position when it state, “ The character of Gatsby epitomises a victim who is burdened by his desires”(RivetingWrites). This analysis states that Gatsby is so burdened by his dreams and goals, he ultimately becomes an innocent victim. Clearly, Gatsby’s need for acceptance drives him to do crazy things that aren’t accepted in the old money society. Glenway further comments on Gatsby’s personal and need to be accepted when he states, “ Gatsby’s persona makes him a victim of others’ needs and interests”(Glenday, 68). Here, Glenway is saying that Gatsby is used by others around him to further their own lives. Clearly, this shows that Gatsby is an innocent victim in all of this mess. Fitzgerald shows how much Gatsby was used throughout the story when he describes the scene of Gatsby’s funeral, “About five o’clock our procession of three cars reached the cemetery”(Fitzgerald,174). Here, Fitzgerald is showing how people took advantage of Gatsby his whole life and at the end of all of this, no one truly respected or cared about him besides Nick. Clearly, in the end, all Gatsby worked for, didn’t pay off because he was never truly accepted. Because Gatsby is used for his wealth and power throughout all of The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is clearly the innocent victim who is blinded by his idealistic ways. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is essentially an innocent victim (romantic idealist) who is destroyed by his inability to accept reality. Gatsby inability to let go of Daisy, his pursuit of the American Dream, and people using his power and wealth to further themselves, ultimately leads to Gatsby’s downfall. His downfall, nevertheless, was truly created outside of him, but unfortunately, he is too deep to be able to get out. In the end, if you are an idealist are you inevitably going to become the victim and hurt by someone.
Gatsby’s explanation of this dream focused on money and social status. He has always yearned for this, even when he was a child. Fitzgerald frequently emphasises Gatsby’s desire, throughout the entirety of this novel. Though, Fitzgerald accentuates this desire when Nick discovers the truth of Gatsby’s past. During this elucidation, Nick explains that “his [Gatsby’s] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people-his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 98) This shows the reader Gatsby’s lifelong determination for wealth and power. Even in his adult life, he strives for more than what he has. In John Steinbeck’s essay, he explains that “we [Americans] go mad with dissatisfaction in the face of success” (Steinbeck, 1) This is exactly how Gatsby feels, he is not content with his success, the amount of money he has, or the height of his social status and is constantly wishing for more than he has. Though, once he meets Daisy he no longer strives for wealth, but rather for her. As shown in this novel, even though Gatsby has achieved all he had wanted when he was growing up, he will not be content until he is able to call Daisy his
Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.
thought. Jay Gatsby is an enormously rich man, and in the flashy years of the jazz age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby’s close friend Nick Carroway once explains that he respects his streagth and unselfishness of his idealism. For example, “Can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (Gatsby 110). However, Gatsby’s expression may not be a possibility, but it is a motivation toward positive idealistic thinking. It is because humans are selfish beings’ which are simple minded and think of their own self. Also, Young Gatsby is an over achiever by becoming a quite wealthy, but there were many doubts about his past that holding him from moving forward. Nick Carroway state’s, “Gatsby believed in the green light,
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’s love life has become surrounded by ideas from the past. No longer is he able to fall in love with the moment, but instead he is held up on what have and should have been. He spends his time reminiscing on old times and previous relationships while he has also been building up a new life in order to return to the past. The unreal expectations he has for Daisy prove to us that he has trouble letting go of his old romantic ideas. Gatsby doesn’t want to accept and love this new Daisy, and instead he is hoping for the Daisy he knows to come back. But people change and there can be no expectations for someone to continue to remain the same after a number of years. Instead we must let go of the past and embrace the future for everything it could be.
Rowe, Joyce A. "Delusions of American Idealism." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 87-95.
Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has indisputably been one of the most influential and insightful pieces on the corruption and idealism of the American Dream. The American Dream, defined as ‘The belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone,’ was a dominant ideal in American society, stemming from an opportunist pioneer mentality. In his book ‘The American Tradition in Literature’, Bradley Sculley praised The Great Gatsby for being ‘perhaps the most striking fictional analysis of the age of gang barons and the social conditions that produced them.’ Over the years, greed and selfishness changed the basic essence of the American Dream, forming firmly integrated social classes and the uncontainable thirst for money and status. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ was a time of ‘sustained increase in national wealth’ , which consequently led to an increase in materialism and a decrease in morality. Moreover, the
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...
Jay Gatsby’s life proves the unrealistic expectations people set for themselves when trying to achieve The American Dream. Gatsby used what we think of as The American Dream to help gain Daisy’s love back through things she left him for even if the means didn’t justify the ends. People will do anything to achieve the American Dream and although they have good intentions the American Dream seems to corrupt the mind of even the purest of souls. Gatsby becomes consumed with money, social status, and what his leisure time consisted of because he cannot obtain what he truly wants even with all of his money which shows that the American Dream he strived will never become a reality.
Jay Gatsby, aka James Gatz is the subject of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Through the course of the novel, this enigmatic and powerful character, defined by his preceding reputation is gradually deconstructed and revealed to be a lovesick man, a hopeless romantic. Understanding this statement affirms the actions taken by Gatsby in the course of the story. Unfortunately his actions also lead to the demise of dream and one himself. In the larger spectrum Gatsby is seen as the archetypical self-made man under the microscope, scrutinized by a prod to unveil what’s beneath the layers of gold and green.
Reliving a memory is meant for recalling a joyous event or maybe even a catastrophic occurrence, but dwelling on a memory can cause permanent damage to man’s delicate brain. Gatsby abuses the ability of memory to recall past events to enliven the present time. Everything he has ever done, every party, every purchase, every thought, has been to used to galvanize his destiny. Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy in the past was exactly that, in the past! He has never done anything for himself. He, in fact, lives for Daisy. His purpose is Daisy. The lights that light up the back of the mansion, the car rides, the tea-party at Nick’s house, the reaching out to the green light across the bay, the very breath he breathes is for Daisy, but not the present Daisy. Gatsby had fallen in love with a Daisy in the past and wants the girl he once knew. Maybe Gatsby does everything he does in hopes of rejuvenating Daisy’s memory to center their present beings to reminisce their happy beginning. In trying to use the past to enliven the present, this makes Gatsby part of the Lost Generation. The Lost Generation, called by this name because of their unwillingness to settle and disillusioned worldview, describes the essence of Jay Gatsby. He is holding the past like a kite flying in the winds of time. Stuck in his memories, lost in his dreams, and wanting love, Gatsby is unwilling to settle for anything less than the love of
Gatsby has many issues of repeating his past instead of living in the present. A common example of this would be his ultimate goal to win Daisy back. He keeps thinking about her and how she seems perfect for him, but he remembers her as she was before she was married to Tom. He has not thought about the fact that she has a daughter, and has been married to Tom for four years, and the history there is between them. The reader cannot be sure of Gatsby trying to recreate the past until the reunion between him and Daisy. This becomes evident when Nick talks to Gatsby about how he is living in the past, specifically when Nick discusses Daisy with him. “‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ Gatsby ventured. ‘you can’t repeat the past.’ I said. ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’” (110). This excerpt shows how Gatsby still has not learned that eventually he will have to just accept the past and move forward with his life. If he keeps obsessing about Daisy, and trying to fix the past, more of his life will be wasted on this impossible goal. Througho...
Jay Gatsby’s mind believes in a world of idealism that circled around Daisy Buchanan, who he felt was a super woman. Gatsby is adamant that Daisy Buchanan is the same woman he envisioned in his dreams. Nick Carraway suggests that, “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way” (Gatsby 95). Nick is quick to realize that although Gatsby won’t admit he’s wrong, and Daisy could not ever live up to the hype. All Gatsby sees is an astounding and beautiful woman who is perfect. Gatsby’s love and desire for Daisy is a gamble he can’t win, he’s setting himself up for failure if he furthers this comportment. Although Daisy was his past he still feels that they could reconcile regardless of her social status and marriage. His idealistic mind runs the world the way he wants to. Gatsby had felt his return can usurp the marriage of the Buchanan’s. Ironically, Gatsby idealistically wanted Daisy to admit she loved him. In fact,
Ultimately, the American Dream can be blamed for Jay Gatsby’s downfall. His own American Dream was what motivated him throughout the novel, and eventually led to his death. The narrator, Nick, says that Gatsby’s dream was “already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity beyond the city” (Fitzgerald 180). Gatsby’s ambition causes him to overlook what he already has, and he is never truly happy since his wild dreams keep him from seeing the truth. His dedication to his personal American Dream has made him far more successful than most people with such humble origins could ever imagine, but his achievements have only increased his yearning for what he cannot have. In regards to his relationship with Daisy, Gatsby reaction is “‘Can’t repeat the past? he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can’” (Fitzgerald 110)! Daisy has become an instrumental part of his fantasy, and this aspect of it only ends up hurting everyone involved in the end. In fact, it could be argued that his obsession with her was selfish; not only does he completely disregard her situation and family, his
Jay Gatsby believes that his wealth gives him the ability to repeat the past. Daisy and Gatsby had love, but it was when they were both youthful. He wasn’t to rekindle the past that they had. When told that repeating the past is impossible, he replies with “’Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously ‘Why of course I can!’” (Pg. 110). Gatsby also believes that Daisy can be won over by his wealth and the amount of materials he can buy her. He wants his riches to make her, his. Daisy just isn’t that type of women. She wants to be shown love. She wants to feel it. Gatsby seizes to realize that love cannot be bought.