Greatness In The Great Gatsby

In Gatsby’s mission to attain wealth, power, and status he loses sight of his morals through his “dealings” with various shady people that are rumored to be lucrative and illegal. The extent of Gatsby’s criminal activities is confirmed by Tom Buchanan one hot summer night when Tom shares that Gatsby and “Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores…and sold grain alcohol over the counter,” (133) an illegal venture during prohibition. In addition to Gatsby’s business investments, his obsession with winning Daisy clouds his mind with thoughts of inspiring her to leave her husband and abandoned her child. Nick believes Gatsby would “want nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you,’” (109) and prove her marriage was a sham.

I’ve only known Gatsby for a few months, and so I’ll start with my first impression. It was summer, and many people came to enjoy his premises. He held huge parties at his mansion every Saturday.1 They were the most opulent and ostentatious parties, typical of the West Egg. All sorts of people came, from the city or just across the lake, looking to mingle and join the wealthy. They basked in Gatsby’s display of wealth, enjoying the alcohol, the music, and the atmosphere. They enjoyed so much of his parties, yet they never got to meet

Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the novel, fails to realize that when one tells a lie, it comes back to bite you. For example, he initially tells his neighbor, and potential friend Nick, that he had inherited his redundant sums of money from his family. One night, the night Gatsby reunites with Daisy, he and Nick are admiring his substantial house. During the

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famed novel The Great Gatsby incorporates many dynamic characters and situations into the world of the Roaring Twenties. Given the title, many readers will argue over whether the main character, Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man who throws elaborate parties, was truly great or not. The true definition of great is one who is selfless, pure of any illegal actions, and who doesn’t lie. Gatsby rebelled against all of these characteristics. Gatsby was selfish, committed illegal actions and lied about his overall past. Using these three reasons, one can prove that Jay Gatsby was not as great as some believed him to be.

A marvelous novel, “The Great Gatsby” written during the 1920’s by F. Scott Fitzgerald proposes a question about the truth of being “great”. The novel's protagonist, Nick Carraway grows close to Jay Gatsby; a rich, party man. Carraway strongly believes that Gatsby deserves to be known as “great.” Nevertheless, Gatsby should not be considered “great” for many reasons. To list a few, Gatsby does not do anything extraordinary to earn the title of “great”, does not work hard for success, and pretends to be somebody he wishes to be.

He made money his goal, but only sees what he wants to see. He only sees the large house he lives in, the expensive clothes he wears, and the happy people at his parties. In chapter 9, a man Nick called to visit Gatsby’s funeral had “implied that [Gatsby] had got what he deserved.”(pg#), showing how little everyone truly cared for him apart from his money. Gatsby saw the money as a chance at happiness, as a chance at Daisy. The rose tinted glasses he wears prevented him from foreseeing the fake friendships, and his sad, empty funeral that the money would play a large part in causing

In order to attain his wealth, Gatsby creates this identity by bootlegging. There are multiple rumors and stories that go around about his previous life, and what he has done. People who have never even met him say that “he’s a bootlegger” (61). However, to cover up his confidential business, he is deceived as an enhanced version of his actual self. Instead of telling the truth, he tells people that he “was brought up in America but educated at Oxford” (65). Gatsby says this so that he sounds more important and successful. People aren’t supposed to

Gatsby, while raised poor, dreamed of wealth as he grew up. When talking to Nick at the funeral, Gatsby’s father, explained to him that though he was poor, he always knew he had the potential of being something great. He said, “Jimmy always liked it better down east...He had a big future before him...he had a lot of brain power”(Fitzgerald, 168). There is no doubt that Gatsby was dedicated. He was seldom able to let go of a goal he set out to reach. Moreover, as

Being great is something that a lot of people have different perspectives on. Perhaps to some people a person who is great is someone who cares about the wellbeing of others and always has hope. There are many different key points in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that make Jay Gatsby great. Gatsby is a poor man who had nothing to offer to Daisy, this woman that he had fell in love with. Ever since Gatsby has been trying to work his way up to win Daisy back by doing everything in his power to be wealthy. Gatsby is deserving of the title “Great” because of his optimism and ambitions to grow in his wealth.

The novel The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald, revolves around the main character, Jay Gatsby, his actions, and his ambitions. The book tells of the twisted, corrupt love triangle that is formed between Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan. This develops when Gatsby is reacquainted with Daisy after not seeing her for five years. As the story develops, unfavorable aspects are demonstrated by Gatsby: his obsession with Daisy, his dishonesty with Nick and Tom, and his manipulation of Nick and Daisy. These traits portray him as a corrupt man, wanting only what is best for himself. Therefore, Gatsby’s actions prohibit him from being the hero of the novel.

Is Gatsby truly great? Gatsby was truly great because he was incorruptible. NOTHING could stop Gatsby from following his American Dream which was of an amazing and long lived life with Daisy, the woman who he has loved for years.

The Great Gatsby was written during the 1920s, which is also known as the Roaring Twenties. In the narrative F. Scott Fitzgerald gave a critical view of this time. In the 1920s and the 1930s there was a lot going on, for example bootlegging, drinking, criminal activity, and an evolution of jazz music. The women were also going through an evolution, in 1920 they got the right to vote and since then they changed a lot and they became known as Flappers. Women not only wanted to take care of their families but also wanted to have a career. “The independent New Woman, who rejected marriage for career and political action who often rooted her emotional life […] was gradually discredited. In her place came the flapper, who celebrated her sexual independence

Throughout reading The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatz was somewhat a great man at some parts but it was mainly because Gatz was the only character in the book who sounded decent and kind compared to Tom and Daisy. But looking at the overall picture, Gatsby is not a “great” man because he does not really have a goal for something

This shows that Gatsby seems to strangely disappear from Nick’s view, and with Nick unaware of who Jay Gatsby legitimately, this gives the character an aura of mystery. Gatsby is a mysterious unique character that many people seem to guess who his true identity is, for example when Nick and Jordan attend on of Gatsby’s great parties Nick begins to ask Jordan questions about Gatsby “‘where is he from, I mean? And what does he do?’ ‘Now you’re started on the subject”” (Fitzgerald 53). This shows that nobody fully understands who Gatsby truly is, and that although many people participate at his parties, no one really knows who the host actually is, making Jay Gatsby mysterious as ever.

What is the meaning of greatness? This question at first seems quite simple to answer; yet after substantial thought, a consistent definition of the term is either vague or nonexistent. The question of what greatness is encapsulates one of the many messages relating to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In this novel, Nick Carraway, a man from the Midwest who moves temporarily to the east to work in the bonds business, tells of his meetings and encounters with a number of individuals, including his cousin, Daisy Fay Buchanan, his cousin’s spouse, Tom Buchanan, and the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. Nick soon learns of Gatsby’s past and interests. Gatsby has known Daisy for five years, and has loved her ever since; he planned to marry Daisy, but do to financial issues, fails to marry the love of his life. When Gatsby discovers Daisy has married another man, he works to develop enough wealth to live as close to Daisy as possible, in the hopes of winning her back over. However, Gatsby’s efforts to win back Daisy are futile, as despite his massive wealth and charming nature, Daisy is too concerned with money and self-image that she is unable to leave her current husband. Gatsby, lost in a trance of disillusionment with the loss of his love, spends his last moments of life waiting for Daisy to call him, professing her desire to be with Gatsby. Despite Gatsby’s losses, it can be argued that Gatsby was the embodiment of greatness due to his loyalty. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great