Great Gatsby Great

Kyle Reser
B. Lowery
English 1301
9 April 2017
Is Gatsby Great?
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a story that is widely understood to be about the American dream. Jay Gatsby, the main character, is a successful self-made man who at first glance seems to be living in the way that every American would aspire to: he throws fabulous parties in his huge house and seems to have many friends. However, at second glance, it is clear that Gatsby does not truly represent the American dream—if his is the life the American dream denotes, then it is a dream that is empty. Gatsby seems like a perfect gentleman to Nick Carraway, the book’s narrator. He lives in a huge house that, while it is not in the best part of the area, is still surrounded

The American dream involves coming up via one’s own merits: the ethos of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps and making good even if one is not born into wealth is a huge part of the idea. Gatsby seems to be that way: he is a self-made man who, although there are many rumors that he “was a German spy during the war” or “killed a man once” has made good on his own (Fitzgerald 48). The amount of time that Fitzgerald spends describing his parties, his huge mansion, and even his clothes makes it clear that Gatsby has become wealthy and successful: a crucial part of the American dream. He also seems to have many friends, with hundreds of people vying for invitations to the amazing parties he

Scott Fitzgerald is doing in the novel The Great Gatsby, which is critiquing the American dream itself. At first glance, Gatsby is a perfect specimen of the American dream made good, having brought himself up through luck and hard work to live an incredibly wealthy and exciting lifestyle. However, this does not keep him from experiencing heartbreak, such as when Daisy won’t leave Tom for him, or from being exposed to tragic circumstances. It does not even keep him from being the target of mean spirited gossip at his own party. Here, the author seems to be saying, is Gatsby, who should be the ultimate exemplar of the American dream, but he is unhappy and lives a hollow life. Even his friends don’t really know or like him and Fitzgerald repeatedly has Nick tell us how lonely Gatsby seems. At the end of the book, he dies, floating in his pool. The pool itself is representative of all the amazing material things and success that Gatsby has achieved, but clearly even all of those things cannot keep him from dying alone, mourned by only a very few