How much do we learn about Gatsby's character and how is it revealed

How much do we learn about Gatsby's character and how is it revealed

to us?

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby appears to be motivated by the

pursuit of wealth and a life with Daisy, but how does this show up his

character? What we know about Gatsby is severely limited by the

information that Carraway, who himself only meets Gatsby at the start

of the novel, feeds to us. During the short summer, in which the book

takes place, our information is limited by the format of the story

i.e. the first person viewpoint limits what we know about Gatsby. We

can tell through the way that he acts in his pursuit of Daisy that he

is ultimately a shy, reclusive person who will try anything in order

to meet his old love. But the first knowledge of when Gatsby first met

Daisy at Camp Taylor, before he went to Europe, was at the beginning

of the chapter in which he was killed. During this period, he was in

the company of many rich and successful officers who all wanted to be

with her. In going out with Daisy, Gatsby had proved that he could

have a relationship with a person from a more privileged background

than he had. The fact that he falsified his wealth in order to become

acquainted with her shows that he is longing for a trophy of success

that capturing Daisy's heart will bring him. The way that he asks

Carraway to arrange a meeting between himself and Daisy is strong

proof of this link. Soon it becomes apparent that Gatsby wishes his

relationship to return to the state that it was before he left to

fight in Europe during the war. This is demonstrated by the quote,

'Can't repeat the past? Why of course you can!'. These words from

Gatsby demonstrate a very profound wish for his relationship with

Daisy to be as i...

... middle of paper ...

...e. As Carraway

puts it, 'They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up

things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their

vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let

other people clean up the mess they had made'. Such a strong

statement fully shows how these people could have taken in Gatsby.

Trying to hide business dealings cast doubt for the reader but for any

man to go to all the trouble of arranging to meet his true love shows

his romantic side. One thing that this novel shows to the reader is

that although Carraway is told some details by Gatsby, what we know

eventually turns into a great deal of information. I believe that

Gatsby is overall a good person trying desperately to achieve the two

things that his life has desired - Daisy and the pursuit of money,

which were denied to him earlier.