Who Is Jay Gatsby A Hero

216 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: American dream as a concept

The American dream is defined as endless possibility- the ability to be able to be whomever or whatever you dream of, the only limit being you. Jay Gatsby epitomizes this definition with his rags-to-riches tale. He began his life as James Gatz, unsatisfied, but refusing to be complacent and accepting of his predetermined plan. Therefore he took his fate into his own hands and re-invented himself as a fairy tale hero, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby understood through hard work and determination and a little luck he could be Somebody and “to this conception he was faithful to the end.” Gatsby had the perspicacity to recognize the fortuitous opportunity he was presented with when he met Dan Cody, and he took the initiative to better himself. As a result of

Show More
Related

  • Jay Gatsby is a Sympathetic Character in Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby American Dream Quotes

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American dream is an idea that every American has an equal chance of success. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us this is not the case. Fitzgerald wrote the character Jay Gatsby as a tragic American hero. Jay Gatsby went from a nobody to a millionaire and most people believe that he had achieved the American dream. However, he did not achieve the American dream because he lost a piece of himself in his pursuit of his supposedly incorruptible dream.

    Read More

  • Flaws In The Great Gatsby

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, deals heavily with the concept of the American Dream as it existed during the Roaring Twenties, and details its many flaws through the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and ambitious entrepreneur who comes to a tragic end after trying to win the love of the moneyed Daisy Buchanan, using him to dispel the fantastic myth of the self-made man and the underlying falsities of the American Dream. Despite Gatsby’s close association with the American Dream, however, Fitzgerald presents the young capitalist as a genuinely good person despite the flaws that cause his undoing. This portrayal of Gatsby as a victim of the American Dream is made most clear during his funeral, to which less than a handful

    Read More

  • What Is The Hero's Journey In The Great Gatsby

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Hero’s Journey can be used to describe most stories, even ones that don’t seem like they really have a true hero. In “The Great Gatsby” by F Scott. Fitzgerald, yes the story is told by an allie and not the hero, Gatsby. He lives in 1920’s America, where new money is rising and old money is standing strong. It is also a post world war era, where many young adults had just fought in the war. The story contains all the main components of a traditional Hero’s Journey. Gatsby goes through this journey that focuses on his quest, the supreme ordeal, and in the end the restoring the two worlds.

    Read More

  • The American Dream In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1522 Words  | 4 Pages

    American clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger once said “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve the American dream.” This idea of the “American dream” has been around since the founding and has become a prominent part of American culture and identity. This same idea is what the raved about novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is based around. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, pursues this American dream through his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan and his need to be insanely rich.

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Aristotle, there are a number of characteristics that identify a tragic hero: he must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. These are all characteristics of Jay Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby.  Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition.

    Read More

  • What is the Cost? The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Dream is nothing new to world. In 1925 F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby” which was about a man truly living the “American Dream”. Everything he did though was to achieve wealth. He had elaborate parties in his fabulous house, bought the best of everything, and did whatever he had to do become the best. He started out with nothing and worked his way up by creating a fake life, even the woman he loved most did not know of his past. The woman, Daisy, he loved most was not even in Gatsby’s life, but in the life of another man. Gatsby worked and strived to get everything he had for a married woman who did not even love him. Though Gatsby thought he loved Daisy he only loved the idea of her. Someone who he had a few wonderful moments with, someone who he could see his life spent with. What did he really get out of life though? Wasted years to impress someone who never really mattered when he could have been spending it with someone who could of loved him for who he really was. Who was Gatsby though, no one can e...

    Read More

  • Pursuit of the American Dream in Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    While everyone has a different interpretation of the "American Dream," some people use it as an excuse to justify their own greed and selfish desires. Two respected works of modern American literature, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, give us insight into how the individual interpretation and pursuit of the "American Dream" can produce tragic results. Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, built his "American Dream" upon the belief that wealth would win him acceptance. In pursuit of his dream, Gatsby spent his life trying to gain wealth and the refinement he assumes it entails. Jay Gatsby, lacking true refinement, reflects the adolescent image of the wealthy, and "[springs] from his Platonic conception of himself" (Fitzgerald 104).

    Read More

  • Materialism In The Great Gatsby

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Dream is the concept that anyone, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in his or her life through perseverance and hard work. It is commonly perceived as someone who was born and starts out as poor but ambitious, and works hard enough to achieve wealth, prosperity, happiness, and stability. Clearly, Fitzgerald uses Gatsby to personify the destruction of the American Dream. Gatsby started out as a poor farming boy, meticulously planning his progression to become a great man.

    Read More

  • An Inquiry on the American Dream

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American dream has been a tangible idea, greatly sought after by many over the course of American history. The dream has eluded many, to strive for success in America’s open markets, and become a self-made man from the sweat of one’s brow. The idea of becoming self-sufficient, and having limitless dreams that take one as far as they are willing to imagine is captured very differently from The Great Gatsby to A Raisin in the Sun. Both novels seem to have the American dream as their subject, but both end up having very different outcomes to how one achieves it, and if the dream is truly in existence, namely with the characters of Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger. The books mainly brush upon the idea of what the American dream truly is, how one achieves the dream, and what the real fulfillment of the dream encompasses.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Heroism In The Great Gatsby

    2085 Words  | 5 Pages

    At the beginning, Henry Fleming has an undeveloped identity because his inexperience limits his understanding of heroism, manhood, and courage. For example, on the way to war, “The regiment was fed and caressed at station after station until the youth [Henry] had believed that he must be a hero” (Crane 13). Since he has yet to fight in war, Henry believes a hero is defined by what others think of him and not what he actually does. The most heroic thing he has done so far is enlist, but even that was with ulterior motives; he assumes fighting in the war will bring him glory, yet another object of others’ opinions. At this point, what he thinks of himself is much less important than how the public perceives him. As a result of not understanding

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby: The Tragic Hero in The Great Gatsby

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Aristotle, a tragic hero character can be defined to be of noble status, but not necessarily virtuous. There is some aspect of his personality that he has in great abundance but it is this that becomes his tragic flaw and leads to his ultimate demise. However, his tragic ending should not simply sadden the reader, but teach him or her a life lesson. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the tragic hero who portrays the corruption of the American dream through his tragic flaw. His devastating death at the end of the novel portrays the dangers of centering one’s life on money and other materialistic things and warns the reader not to follow his foolish steps. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of a tragic hero; his greatest attribute of enterprise and ambition contributes to his ultimate demise but his tragic story inspires fear amongst the audience and showcases the dangers of allowing money to consume one’s life.

    Read More

  • The Corrupt Dream In The Great Gatsby

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American Dream is a goal that people have aspired to achieve for many years. Frequently, the dreamer “dreams” of rising from rags to riches while also obtaining love, high status, and power. Though the dream is mostly based on freedom, and the desire to achieve something greater, the concept has also evolved over time. For instance, early settlers dreamed of “living off of the land,” homesteading, and starting families. But over time, those dreams have been morphed, twisted, and corrupted into something completely new and different. Within the last century, the American Dream has been focused on obtaining money and class status; spiraling downward into corruption for its persistent obsession with pleasure and material objects. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows how one’s simple dream can be twisted and corrupted when one’s obsession is only obtaining wealth. Fitzgerald demonstrates this with the use of his character Jay Gatsby.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Great Gatsby And A Raisin In The Sun

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    As people go throughout their life, they strive to make dreams they believe are unachievable, come true. The iconic American Dream is a symbol of success within the United States that many people aim to secure throughout their lifetime at any cost, even compromising their true identity. In Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun, both authors work to display how Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger work towards obtaining their dream, but fall short due to society and timing. By attempting to reinvent themselves through money, gaining power within their personal life, and their image, Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger aim to complete their American Dream to become successful in their lives.

    Read More

  • The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American dream is an ideal that has been present since the onset of American Literature. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a critical theme throughout the novel. Fitzgerald, in an obvious way, makes a mockery of the American dream. From the novel, one can conclude that Fitzgerald believes in the idea that the American dream is a hoax, and one must be born into money in order to reap the benefits. Fitzgerald makes use of Gatsby’s dream of being with Daisy and his hunger for wealth and Daisy’s dream of having both financial security and love to portray the death of the American Dream.

    Read More

More about Who Is Jay Gatsby A Hero

Open Document