The Great Gatsby Character Analysis

Throughout The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s character was the strongest and most developed. In the beginning of the novel, it was challenging to get a good idea of what kind of person Gatsby was. Although, as the novel progressed, it was shown that he was very admirable, dedicated, a romantic, and always had hope.

This is a common theme due to the fact that Nick is present during all of the key characters interactions. This enables him to have a clear picture of certain situations. Of course, there were other characters that could also have seen the fact that characters were not showing their true feelings, but in order to enable flow, I thought it ideal to show Nick observing each situation. In order to show that Nick is not the only one that is able to notice things, I took it upon myself to study his relationship with Jordan. I was able to glean some details about Nick and Jordan that they were oblivious to. What I was able to discern is the fact that Jordan was a bit more attached to Nick than him attached to Jordan. This is displayed when Jordan says, “You threw me over on the telephone. I don’t give a damn about you now, but it was a new experience for me, and I felt a little dizzy for a while” (178). I was able to pick up a strong sense of jealousy in her voice, which attends to the fact that Jordan still harbored some resentment over Nick’s abrupt annulment of their relationship. This shows that anyone observing from a third person perspective would be able to see a relationship’s dynamic, not only one character, such as

Gatsby is a character who aspired to be successful and to realize his dreams of love and wealth, however, when he faced his reality he was never able to fully accomplish his dreams, revealing that one will use all their energy to hold on to a dream that will never reach a reality.

“The orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” is the unattainable goal of those living in Tom and Daisy’s world—a world where lives are wasted chasing the unreachable (Fitzgerald 180). In his 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, author F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that making any progress whatsoever toward this aspiration often requires people to establish facades that enable them to progress socially, but that a crippled facade will backfire and cause detriment to its creator. In the passage where Nick realizes who Gatsby is on page 48, Nick observes two different versions of Gatsby—one that is reassuring and truthful and another who “pick[s] his words with care” (Fitzgerald 48). Nick is at first attracted to Gatsby’s constructed

Gatsby cannot be classified as a truly moral person who exhibits goodness or correctness in his character and behaviour. Gatsby disputes most moral damage throughout the novel. Gatsby exhibits characteristics explaining the reason behind moral decay in society. Corruption and lies are responsible for the destruction of humanity. Gatsby’s whole life’s basically is a lie as he created a fake identity for himself. A whole new persona, Jay Gatsby is not even his real name. Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, by F.Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about a man that is in love and thats wants his love that he had 5 years ago he want to repeat the past. How did Gatsby changes in the book from the beginning, to middle, to end of the book? Gatsby changes throughout the entire book. changes in him are linked to daisy.Gatsby changes and things start going his way, until the end, when he loses everything he worked for.Gatsby changes the most

Have you ever noticed how people almost always talk about what they do not have instead of what they do? Well in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this is a major part of the book. Fitzgerald’s characters are used to show that people are greedy and always will be. Specifically, Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to show that society is greedy because he always focuses on what he does not have instead of what he does have. First, Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby does everything to impress Daisy, by how Gatsby becomes rich to win her over and how he does everything for Daisy. Secondly, Fitzgerald shows how Gatsby throws extravagant parties to impress Daisy. Finally, he shows how Gatsby is not happy being rich or poor. This is important because

Gatsby was an exceptional man with boundless potential. At the age of seventeen, James Gatz had completely reinvented his name and image. By cause of becoming Jay Gatsby, he had proven his longing for spiritual greatness. Nick as the narrator, admired this quality within Gatsby, he shared, “Extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” (6). Initially Gatsby had struggled with the idea of accepting his lower social class and poverty that he was born into, “[A] life with poor, unsuccessful parents.” (20). The narrator described,“ For over a year he had been beating his way along the south shore of Lake Superior as a clam-digger and a salmon fisher or in any other capacity that brought him food or bed.” (98). Gatsby had endured a difficult life however after his encounter with Dan Cody, a wealthy man that gained his riches from copper mines, Gatsby’s perception of his ultimate potential was reformed. Likewise this made Gatsby determined to obtain that

Although he claims not to have a judgmental bone in his body – surprise, surprise – he readily holds other characters to a standard that casts himself in a better light. For example, Nick describes Tom and Daisy Buchanan as careless, and Jordan Baker as hopelessly dishonest. It is as if he hopes his audience will conveniently misinterpret his hypocrisy, and think of it more as putting others down to make himself look better in an entirely unbiased way. The narrator’s chicanery is furthermore conspicuous with an inspection of the story he tells of his past. He claims descent from a family in the mid-west, and glosses over the fact that the eligible member did not even fight in the war. Instead, he sent a substitute – the most noble and moralistic thing to do in the situation, obviously. Later on in the Carraway saga, Nick leaves home, seemingly with no explanation. Moving from the mid-west to New York City is a pretty radical change, one that would not usually come without just cause. This begs the question, why did Nick really leave home? And moreover, why is he withholding this information? Nick quite possibly may have left out these details because it would inhibit his creation of a façade of

One way Fitzgerald hints at Nick’s orientation is through his narration and physical descriptions of other characters he is acquainted with. Nick first describes Jordan Baker as a “...slender, small-breasted girl with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet” (11). Jordan’s characteristics- her appearance, her profession, and her name, are very masculine, especially in comparison to Daisy. It seems rather indicative that Fitzgerald frames her as Nick’s primary love interest. Nick also seems very perceptive of feminine characteristics in other men, noticing them in both Tom and Mr.Mckee, and his

4. After spending time with Jordan Baker, Nick remembers the story of Jordan moving her ball in a semi-finales match that she lied about. Also, another incident that she was dishonest about where she left a convertible car out in the rain. He realized that she is a dishonest person and does not like being at a

The novel is set in the twenties, following World War I. The economy is booming, which is crucial for the ability to convey the themes of the American Dream and post-war moods. Set in New York City, the book opens in the West Egg, a new money part of the upper class neighborhoods.

In “The Great Gatsby”, Jay Gatsby is, to some, a materialistic gangster who makes his money through bootlegging and acts conceited enough to woo Daisy, a married woman. Gatsby’s character is quite questionable due to his mischievous and partially unknown background, some considering him a con artist or even a villainous man. However, the “negative” characteristics of Gatsby are some of the prominent characteristics that classify him as a heroic character. Gatsby not only works his way up to becoming a well-respected man, but he understands the exact purpose of all of his actions, something that is rare in the ignorant, snobbish setting of New York City in the 1950’s. The prominent reason that Gatsby is a hero and is even “worth the whole damn bunch put together” is because he is his own man, one that is pure and kind-hearted from beginning to end (Fitzgerald 160). Jay Gatsby, although on the surface portrayed as a villain, is a hero throughout “The Great Gatsby”, as he has a clear-cut, moral goal in mind that becomes blurred by the actions of others and represents prestige, determination, and the American Dream.

Key Passage: "He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself."

“The Great Gatsby” is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922. The novel takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyed prosperity during the “roaring” as the economy soared. At the same time, prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers. After its republishing in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely