Although Nick Carraway plays an important role in the novel as the narrator and also a participant, it is clear that Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is the most important character of them all. Our first impression of Gatsby is filled with mystery and he has an almost god-like way about him. He is famous and popular, but no one knows where his wealth came from, leaving room for much speculation. However, when we really get to know him, we find he is a friendly, personable man. Gatsby has a very charming personality, and Nick describes it as being ‘gorgeous’ despite the gaudy mansion and loud parties. His smile is described as ‘one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it’ (Fitzgerald, 52). He is always at the height …show more content…
Gatsby has another side to him - he is a very ambitious and motivated person. This is epitomized by the strict daily regimen he imposed on himself at a young age. He was never satisfied with his status-quo and worked tirelessly for a lifestyle better than the one he was born into, a dream that came into reality. Throughout the novel, we see Gatsby as a ‘flat’ character, his character does not develop, as Nick’s does. His self-image was set in stone at age 17, when he changed his name and persona from Jimmy Gatz to Jay Gatsby. This new person he became didn’t grow or develop throughout his life. His lack of personal growth is evident in his ambitions and dreams. His selfless devotion towards Daisy shows us that, despite his age, he is still an idealistic, romantic teenager at heart. Daisy is his ‘raison d’etre’, his motivation, the reason why he accumulates such wealth, lives where he does, throws his great parties and buys ‘beautiful shirts’. Everything he ever did since they met was to please her and win her over. However, from the point where Gatsby finally meets her again, we see that it was all a delusion, akin to the ‘American Dream’. Gatsby has believed for his entire life that with enough money, you can do amazing things - bring back the past and keep moments frozen in time. This kind of romantic idealism and selfless devotion for love gives the reader a sense of sympathy for Gatsby. Even though he is in illegal business, that whole side of him
She was a girl with wealth, connections and means—everything a seventeen-year-old boy could aspire to one day attain. It is this illusion that Gatsby falls in love with, not Daisy, and he dedicates his life to become a man that could parallel Daisy in both social status and wealth. “So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” (98) Though Gatsby appears to be blinded by material possession and unethical in his means to acquire it, Fitzgerald sets him up to be the hero of the novel by contrasting his virtue to the sea of corruptness and material greed that made up the ambitions of most young folks in the 1920s. True, he made his money through illegal means, but his incredible sense of loyalty is striking against the dishonest, scheming American society. In the novel, it is clear that Gatsby is unfailingly loyal to everyone he loves, from his father to Dan Cody to Daisy, who he dedicated “five years of unwavering devotion” (109) to, even if they were not loyal to him in return.
Jay Gatsby from Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is a complex character. He is shrouded by an aura of mystery from the beginning of the novel and certain aspects of his personality are unclear. Gatsby’s corrupt route to wealth and the fake front that he displays, both to win the love Daisy, make him an ambiguous character. His moral ambiguity expresses the corrupt American dream of the 1920’s, a fake concept that influenced people to obtain wealth and social status in illicit ways.
Gatsby is a dreamer, he lives for and in his dreams. But his amazing ability to focus on and achieve his dreams makes him great.
“You can’t repeat the past?... Why of course you can.” (110 This enduring quote from the famous novel The Great Gatsby by none other than F. Scott Fitzgerald stirs the mind and imagination in wonder of the very character who had uttered these words. Infamous Gatsby is the mysterious man behind the lavish and enthralling parties; a man who made his money and his image in that of a king. But, who is this mysterious man? How did he receive the great fortune of developing all of which he had possessed? He had it all, but we are on the outside looking in; did this man with everything really have nothing at all? If Jay Gatsby is the real person we see him to be, then James Gatz is nonexistent. The day that the world had gained Gatsby, it had
In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character Gatsby, is a desperate man trying to win back his girl. But with Gatsby unique personality will it make or break him? Gatsby resembles orange, this is because We see him as an eager, charming, and optimistic person trying to make a living and ultimately win back Daisy. The trait that relates most to Gatsby is eager.
The society our nation lives in today has developed morals and principles through the lessons experienced from the past. The Roaring Twenties was a time of change and a chance to pave a path for the person you wanted to become. Morals and principles served as guidelines rather than rules and were merely preached that practiced. Thus, the severity of the immoral actions taking place created opportunities for lessons to be learned. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrated various moral lessons through the downfall and corruption of various characters based on their immoral actions. The narrator, Nick Carraway is a young man who throughout the
As Nick continues to narrate throughout the story, the reader never has a good sense on who Jay Gatsby truly is. Nick’s description is very fluctuating of Jay and constantly fickle about who he perceives Gatsby to be. The reader constantly has this perception the narrator gives of Gatsby as either romanticized (“He smiled understandingly... It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it” (Fitzgerald 48).) or corrupt (“ Precisely at that point it vanished- and I was looking at an elegant roughneck” (Fitzgerald 48).)
The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby concerns the wasteful lives of four wealthy characters as observed by their acquaintance, narrator Nick Carraway. Jay Gatz, The Protagonist who gives his name to the story. Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg.
The first thing you see when you pick up the novel is the title. Fitzgerald chose the title ‘The Great Gatsby’ for his novel. This could lead us to believe that he personally believed his character to be great. However, this was not his only title for the book. The original title of the novel was: ‘Trimalchio in West Egg.’ Perhaps Fitzgerald changed the title as his story developed as he came to realise Gatsby’s greatness. However, this could be used to argue the other way, perhaps this original title relates more to the party throwing Gatsby and the hedonistic Jazz Age, suggesting that Gatsby isn’t great.
Therefore, when looking at Gatsby’s most impressive traits one thing that pops up is his energetic smile, vibrant personality, and loyalty to those who he respects or cares about. It is important to mention the fact that Gatsby always seemed to make every person feel important and at ease while conversing with him. It was his nature to express courtesy to any guest he came in contact with, no matter how insignificant they were or what their occupation was. As far as loyalty is concerned, it is best represented in his devotion to Daisy Buchanan. With his money and notoriety he could have easily have had numerous love opportunities. He sacrificed all openings for love as he stoked the coals trying to ignite a past flame with a married women. Even when Jay and Daisy’s relationship was over in the readers mind Gatsby still clung to a hope of having a life with her. He loyally stayed at her house to the wee hours of the morning, convinced her husband was a live wire that could erupt and physically punish his wife. This he displayed to a women that is impossible to love anyone but
The transformation between James Gatz and Jay Gatsby is an example of how people can transform themselves according to their ambition for wealth and prosperity. The use of illegal activities to gain Gatsby's wealth is alluded to in the book, this shows the extent of how the American Dream circumvented the moral revulsion and pushed people who were crazy about money into crime - driving the moral standing of wealthier citizens into the ground. To Gatsby, his dream was symbolised by Daisy, Gatsby even says that her voice sounds like money, a direct correlation between Daisy and the wealth and happiness that Gatsby would supposedly enjoy if only he could have married Daisy but could still enjoy if he had married her five years later. His pursuit of happiness with Daisy was the ultimate cause of the degradation of Gatsby's morals and realistic dreams. This is because he held an unrealistic view of life and how he could recreate the past. His dreams had distorted reality to the point where when his rationality realised that the image of life and of Daisy did not coincide with the real life version his mind did not grasp that perhaps the dream had receded to the point of no return, consequently his dreams helped to
The novel The Great Gatsby is a story that takes place in the 1920’s. The story
Since he died for taking the wrath of something he did not do. Gatsby is a man who struggled to get what he wants and who much reach a certain status before marrying the woman he is in love with. He was basically an outsider who comes from an uncertain past. Gatsby was able to win the hearts of many of the people around him with his tales of adventures and showing off his wealth. Yet, there is not a view that shows the success of Gatsby. He tries to convince Nick about his upbringings and his heroic exploits. Gatsby’s stories seemed extraordinary to the point where people questioned it but they still believe
The Great Gatsby - Chapter 1 Read the beginning of the novel chapter 1 up to page 12 “Tom Buchanan in his riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch.” How effective do you find this as an introduction to Great Gatsby. In your response you should pay close attention to voice, language and style. The Great Gatsby was written by F Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, and is set during 1922, a period tinged with moral failure of a society obsessed with class and privilege.
In The Great Gatsby, a classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is in love with Jordan Baker, George Wilson is in love with Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan. Regrettably, all of these women are unworthy of the love and affection bestowed upon them by these men. Throughout the course if this essay, the love between these individuals will be analysed and the reasons why these women are unworthy will be highlighted.