Jay Gatsby’s Heroism Essay

The word “hero” is a Greek word coming from the word heroine, usually is considered of good character and noble. Making sacrifices that may affect themselves but will result in a greater outcome for others is a typical action made from people and characters who are considered heroic. Jay Gatsby, however, is not a heroic character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.” Compared to other characters in other novels who are heros, their personalities and actions do not match up. Take Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s iconic novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” for example. Finch is honest no matter what he is faced with; he wants to make sure his children are raised properly. No matter how something will affect his reputation, good or bad,

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.

The Great Gatsby is considered to be a great American novel full of hope, deceit, wealth, and love. Daisy Buchanan is a beautiful and charming young woman who can steal a man’s attention through a mere glance. Throughout the novel, she is placed on a pedestal, as if her every wish were Gatsby’s command. Her inner beauty and grace are short-lived, however, as Scott Fitzgerald reveals her materialistic character. Her reprehensible activities lead to devastating consequences that affect the lives of every character. I intend to show that Daisy, careless and self-absorbed, was never worthy of Jay Gatsby’s love, for she was the very cause of his death.

He has gone to great lengths to make himself appear as appealing to a girl who never proves herself to be worthy of sacrifice. Gatsby creates a facade for himself in order to appear as a man who- in his mind- would be worthy of Daisy’s affection.

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

T.J. Eckleburg. During the second time seeing the eyes, they are presented as a warning for Nick. This is seen when the group is on their way to Manhattan and they stop for gas and the narrator says, “Then as Doctor T.J. Eckleburg's faded eyes came into sight down the road, I remembered Gatsby's caution about gasoline” (Fitzgerald, 99). In this they end up stopping at Wilsons garage to fill up on gas and he talks about how he has found out that Myrtle is having an affair. Myrtle sees Tom in the yellow car and assumes it is his, so the next time she sees it she goes to run out to it to stop it but gets hit and dies. The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are believed to be the eyes of God or watchful presence by some of the characters. This is seen when Wilson is looking out his window to the billboard and says to Michaelis, “God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me but you can't fool God!” (Fitzgerald, 131). It means Myrtles lies could have gone past him without any consequences but when “God” figured this out she could not have gone unpunished which is the reason Wilson believes she was murdered. Therefore, the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg bring out a deeper meaning throughout The Great

The traditional hero, as defined by mythological scholar Joseph Campbell, undergoes a process in which he becomes a greater version of himself. This process is defined by Campbell’s archetype of the Hero’s Journey. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Nick Carraway, tells the story of a man who is unable to complete this journey as a result of his unrealistic ambitions. Goodreads reviewer Nataliya writes, “Jay Gatsby. . . dreamed a dream with the passion and courage few possess — and the tragedy was that it was a wrong dream colliding with the reality that was even more wrong — and deadly” (Nataliya). The essence of Nataliya’s argument is that Gatsby’s pursuit of happiness was extremely misguided and often conflicted

The Great Gatsby was a story written in 1925 by the American Writer; Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, more publicly known as F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is meant to show the lack of values in America at the time, and the tragedy that was the Sleazy, Jazz-filled, American 1920s. Following Nick Carraway, a young stockbroker, filled with naivety and indifference, and his transfer from country life to the big city way of life. His cousin, daisy, is a careless, somewhat dumb woman called Daisy, who, unbeknownst to him, is in love with a man named Gatsby, a shimmer of good in a world of corruption and evil. Daisy’s husband; Tom, is actively having an affair with a Gold-Digging woman by the name of Myrtle Wilson, and the love hexagon that is Myrtle, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy eventually leads to Gatsby’s death, a symbol of loss for hope and good in the world. Much like Fitzgerald’s opinion for the current state of his country. However, there are many more symbols in this story, and the one we focus on today happens to be the elusive green searchlight, that Gatsby is so eager to obtain.

“How helpless we are, like netted birds, when we are caught by desire!” Belva Plain, American author of mainstream fiction, believed society cannot be helped when they want something they cannot have. Gatsby, a respectable yet manipulative character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, loves Daisy and will go beyond what is normal to be with her. Through Gatsby’s decisions and social interactions, Fitzgerald agrees with the idea that desire can lead people into traps like netted birds.

Early in the book, the character Jay Gatsby, is introduced as a dreamer who is gracious, charming, and a bit mysterious. As the novel progresses we also learn that Gatsby is a self-made man who achieved the American Dream of rising up from the lower classes to the top of society. But to Gatsby, the desire for Daisy and love proves more powerful than money. Something that shows his obsession of her, is this example.

Another symbol used in The Great Gatsby is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is located between West Egg and New York City, and all it is, is land with the dumping of industrial ashes all over it. It represents the moral and social decay that results from wealth, as the rich enjoy nothing but their own pleasure. It also symbolizes the poor who live among the dirty ashes and lose their strength as a result. “This is a valley of ashes-a fantastic farm where ashes grown like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powder air.”(27) Looking over the valley of ashes are the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. “The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic…they look out of no face, but instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles.”(27) The Eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg could represent God staring down on the American society. They’re just a pair of fading eyes painted on an old billboard over the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald uses the eyes to suggest symbols only mean something because of the characters put meaning in them. George Wilson makes the connection of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes symbolizing God. They could also represent the meaninglessness of the

The first significant symbol appears when Gatsby reaches out toward the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock

     F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a tragic tale of love distorted by obsession. Finding himself in the city of New York, Jay Gatsby is a loyal and devoted man who is willing to cross oceans and build mansions for his one true love. His belief in realistic ideals and his perseverance greatly influence all the decisions he makes and ultimately direct the course of his life. Gatsby has made a total commitment to a dream, and he does not realize that his dream is hollow. Although his intentions are true, he sometimes has a crude way of getting his point across. When he makes his ideals heard, his actions are wasted on a thoughtless and shallow society. Jay Gatsby effectively embodies a romantic idealism

Gatsby does not belong to his own class and he is not accepted by the upper class, therefore he becomes an exception. Because of disappointment of being looked down upon and impossibility of accept by the upper class, he has nothing left except his love, which is also his “love dream”. Gatsby’s love for Daisy has been the sole drive and motive of his living. Gatsby’s great love is also the root of his great tragedy, because he is desperately in love with a woman who is not worthy of his deep love. Fitzgerald offers Gatsby with the spirit of sincerity, generosity, nobility, perseverance, and loyalty. All his good natures can be seen

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