...as revolutionary. Yet, greatness can be questionable, like with the character Jay Gatsby from the Great Gatsby. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows greatness in Gatsby through his charisma and his determination. One of the qualities about Jay Gatsby that made him a person worth admiration was his charisma. In his time with Dan Cody, “[his]... vague contour... had filled out to the substantiality of a man”(77). He learned how to be rich from old money, so when he finally got his fortune, he had that classiness as well. Nick Carraway recounts that, “[Gatsby's smile] understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey” (38). Unlike the majority of wealthy people can be, Gatsby does not try to intimidate people to make himself seem...
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...josh hernadez Mrs. Pontes English 11 24, February 2014 Gatsby’s Greatness “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (97). This quote from Nick says a lot about how much Gatsby really cares about Daisy. Everything Gatsby had ever done was to impress Daisy and give her a reason to be with him. When he saw that Daisy was really impressed with his things, he knew he deserved her now. The only thing he needed to do after that was convince Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him. With the look in Daisy’s eyes, he knew she still loved him and he finally won her. This makes Gatsby really great because Nick knew that everything was for Daisy and this made him respect Gatsby. He had a goal and didn’t stop until he had gotten his dream. His determination alone made Gatsby “great” to Nick. “He did it without smashing up things and creatures and retreating back to the money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (9). Nick thinks Gatsby is so great because everything he has, has been earned without hurting anyone. Tom and Daisy both don’t take responsibility for the things they do. To Nick, if you don’t earn what you have, you will never be a great person, no matter how much money you have. Gatsby was able to take the blame for Daisy’s murder, and she would not...
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...identify Jay Gatsby as a tragic hero. Some of the characteristics of that a tragic hero must have; include greatness, a weakness or a flaw, an undeserved fate and a fates’ that are not deserved and the punishment exceeding they get exceeds the crime. they committed. Jay Gatsby encompasses has all of these the characteristics of a tragic hero. Although, the author tries to portray Gatsby as a perfect person, there are still some flaws that are still noticeable. Gatsby's great life unwinds with the death of the Furthermore, even Gatsby’s ending shows that he was tragic hero. We know that Jay Gatsby was esteemed has greatness by the way others spoke of him. Nick describes him as a . He was very well mannered person and everyone who knew knows him looked up to him (pg. 53-54). He wasn’t one of the rubbish people who got recklessly get drunk, and he also didn’t doesn’t act careless like the rich (pg. 54, 188). Meyer Wolfshiem said of him, “fine fellow isn’t he”,” which shows that even Wolfshiem liked Jay Gatsby (pg. 76). In addition, even the title of the book is called, “The “Great Gatsby”,” which shows that the author Nick thought that Gatsby was a great person. Also, when Nick was leaving for his train, he told Gatsby that he's “worth he worth’s the whole bunch”, which includes Daisy, Tom and Jordan, and that shows, that Nick thought that he is exceptionally extremely great as a person and is better than most ((pg. 162). Even though Gatsby was rich, that...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story, The Great Gatsby, is a rags to riches story of a man named Jay Gatsby, born in 1892. Raised in North Dakota as a squandering farmer’s son, Gatsby later became a millionaire living in West Egg, where all the new money lived. Jay Gatsby was an iconic figure of a tragic hero because he came from great mental stature, endured great physical and emotional suffering, and had a tragic flaw that inevitably resulted in his downfall. Jay Gatsby had many attributes of a tragic hero including being born into a family of high stature. He felt as if he was born a son of God. When he was a young child, his parents were poor farm workers in North Dakota, but Gatsby knew he was destined for greatness. As he grew, he received his...
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...The Greatness of Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel the Great Gatsby is a well-known classic and an extraordinary piece of literature but the title leaves little to the imagination with the exception of one question “why is Gatsby so great?” Jay Gatsby has everything at his disposal, money, success, good looks all of which are seen as his greatness to some but Gatsby is great for bigger reasons such as his hopefulness, relentlessness and the fact that he is flawed. Gatsby has many things going for him but it was not always like that. Gatsby was born James Gatz, a farm boy with little to no income or social stamina. His parents were unsuccessful and “his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (Gatsby, pg. 98). James...
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...The Truly Great Gatsby Is his novel the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character who becomes great. He begins life as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen. But Gatsby has a dream of becoming wealthy. After meeting Daisy, he has a reason to strive to become prominent. Throughout his life, Gatsby gains the title of truly being great. Even before Gatsby is introduced, he is hinted at being out of the ordinary. The first evidence of this is when Nick says, "Gatsby turned out all right at the end." (2) Nothing was known about Gatsby at the time and Nick is already saying Gatsby was okay. There's a air of mysteriousness surrounding Gatsby. Everyone knows of him, but no one knows who he really is or where he comes from. Even at our first glance of Gatsby, he's reaching out for something only he can see. There were many stories flying about Gatsby but no one knew what to really believe. In on instance Jordan made the comment, "I think he killed a man." (49) Even when Gatsby confessed about his past he didn't always tell the truth. He told Nick he inherited great wealth, but in reality, Gatsby gained his wealth on his own. Even though Gatsby lied, the fact that he made himself what he was makes him even that much greater. When Gatsby was still James Gatz, he had a dream of leaving his life on the farm behind and become part of the upper-class. Even Gatsby's father knew when he said, "If he'd lived, he'd of been a great man." (169) Little did...
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...novel the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character who becomes great. He begins life as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen. But Gatsby has a dream of becoming wealthy. After meeting Daisy, he has a reason to strive to become prominent. Throughout his life, Gatsby gains the title of truly being great. Even before Gatsby is introduced, he is hinted at being out of the ordinary. The first evidence of this is when Nick says, "Gatsby turned out all right at the end." (2) Nothing was known about Gatsby at the time and Nick is already saying Gatsby was okay. There's a air of mysteriousness surrounding Gatsby. Everyone knows of him, but no one knows who he really is or where he comes from. Even at our first glance of Gatsby, he's reaching out for something only he can see. There were many stories flying about Gatsby but no one knew what to really believe. In on instance Jordan made the comment, "I think he killed a man." (49) Even when Gatsby confessed about his past he didn't always tell the truth. He told Nick he inherited great wealth, but in reality, Gatsby gained his wealth on his own. Even though Gatsby lied, the fact that he made himself what he was makes him even that much greater. When Gatsby was still James Gatz, he had a dream of leaving his life on the farm behind and become part of the upper-class. Even Gatsby's father knew when he said, "If he'd lived, he'd of been a great man." (169) Little did his father know that Gatsby was already great...
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...When Nick Carraway came back from the east after the summer of 1922, he was disgusted with what he’d seen. Only one man was exempt from his disgust, that man being Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald creates an America society that contradicts everything America prides itself on which is lack of aristocracy and equal opportunity. The United states is a country that was so great due to the idea of the American dream, which the founding fathers of the nation built the country on. Fitzgerald utilizes deep characterization and symbolism to elaborate themes of the American dream to display what the American dream truly stood for and what it has become. Throughout the plot we come to recognize themes of American dream, through deep insight into characters and what they represent in the American society. After Nick...
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...prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” So, the question remains, is it still alive today, and is this really how people are living their lives? As sad as this answer may be, the truth is, probably not, like all good things they must end. The American Dream is a great thing to wish for however, it has been lost in time with the unwillingness to pursue it. The saddest thing is that some people believe the American dream is something that exists today; whereas some people in society have no idea that this dream exists. What ever happened to the zeal that drove America to the top? What happened to the aspiration of striving for greatness and becoming that greatness? That may be a question no one knows the answer too or it is an answer that people are unwilling to give. George Carlin once said, “The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Realistically the American Dream is the idea of working your average 9-5 blue or white-collar jobs just to provide for your family. However, society has become so corrupt that the dream has lost its true meaning; the American Dream is the idea of living a good life with someone who loves you no matter what economic status, no matter the...
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...October 10th, 2012 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Reading Response The novel The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald is a book that deals with the American Dream: an ideal presented in American literature where the dreamer rises to wealth, very present in the twenties. In this bestseller, Gatsby – the protagonist – embodies the evolution of one to greatness. Beginning his life as a simple, poor farmer’s boy. James Gatz, upon meeting the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan who is wealthy, decides to rise to success and fortune – and carries the name of Jay Gatsby, who “sprang from his Platonic conception of himself”(95). Through this process really achieves the American dream. In addition, Gatsby becomes great to the narrator and his close friend, Nick Carraway – however, the novel ends as a tragedy, and by having the great Gatsby shot dead. Through the use of the symbol of Daisy Buchanan as well as the significance of the title, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the idea of the American Dream and that it rarely equaled to absolute happiness. Daisy Buchanan symbolizes the failed attempt at finding ultimate happiness through money: ”For Daisy was young and her artificial world was redolent of orchids and pleasant, cheerful snobbery and orchestras which set the rhythm of the year, summing up the sadness and suggestiveness of life in new tunes” (143). Daisy is the cousin of Nick Carraway, but most importantly Gatsby’s love. Daisy and Gatsby had been romantically involved...
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...How Great Was Our Man Gatsby? As on author said: "F. Scott Fitzgerald created Gatsby, the eponymous character of his novel, The Great Gatsby, as a character who built himself into something great. He begins life as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen. But Gatsby has a dream of becoming wealthy. After meeting Daisy, he has a reason to strive to become prominent. Throughout his life, Gatsby gains the title of truly being great. Even before Gatsby is introduced, he is hinted at being out of the ordinary. The first evidence of this is when Nick says, "Gatsby turned out all right at the end." (2) Nothing was known about Gatsby at the time and Nick is already saying Gatsby was okay. There's a air of mysteriousness surrounding Gatsby. Everyone knows of him, but no one knows who he really is or where he comes from. Even at our first glance of Gatsby, he's reaching out for something only he can see. There were many stories flying about Gatsby but no one knew what to really believe. In on instance Jordan made the comment, "I think he killed a man." (49) Even when Gatsby confessed about his past he didn't always tell the truth. He told Nick he inherited great wealth, but in reality, Gatsby gained his wealth on his own. Even though Gatsby lied, the fact that he made himself what he was makes him even that much greater. When Gatsby was still James Gatz, he had a dream of leaving his life on the farm behind and become part of the upper-class. Even Gatsby's father knew...
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...F. Scott Fitzgerald manages to incorporate his own moral principles in his novel the Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald wrote his character Jay Gatsby to embody the characteristics of the modern person of the 1920s: naïve, life risking, and consumed by the prospect of money. Fitzgerald feared that if a person consumed by the dated interpretation of the “American dream”, they too will follow in the direction of Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s fear is expressed through Gatsby’s ultimate death and his inability to let go of the “greenlight”. Fitzgerald makes the narrator Nick Carraway, contemplate the reason why Gatsby was attracted to west egg, to express his own antagonism toward Gatsby and his hatred of money consuming all. Jay Gatsby is a character who is very...
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...Serri 11/3/11 English 11-1 The Great Gatsby Character Questions It is almost impossible to grasp anything fully from one side. To truly understand a 3-dementional item you need at least two different angles. This is precisely what makes Nick Carraway the perfect narrator for The Great Gatsby. He is a stranger in a strange land, who sees the most eccentric part of the east coast. Therefore, the reader not only gets his own perspective on the situation but sees through Nick’s fresh pair of eyes. Also Nick has two very key personality traits, unique to the mid-west, which make him the ideal narrator for The Great Gatsby. He restrains his judgment and he is a good listener. His listening skills give him a sense of trust and people respond by telling him certain secrets. We definitely see this with his relationship with Gatsby. Nick’s opinion of Gatsby changes drastically, along with the reader’s. Ultimately, Nick believes Gatsby. Gatsby, on their ride together, tells Nick about his life. Our unbiased narrator seems to pass a little judgment on his neighbor’s story. “And with this doubt his whole statement fell to pieces and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him after all” (p. 66). This is mentioned after Gatsby talks about his Oxford education. It is clear that Nick, at first, does not believe most of what Gatsby is saying. It is funny how his perception changes as the conversation continues. Once Gatsby mentions his wartime achievements, Nick...
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...The title of a novel creates the first ideas and pictures of Gatsby before any word is read; great describes Gatsby in simple language and places him on a pedestal before the events of the novel unfold for the reader. Fitzgerald gives the first example of Gatsby’s greatness when describing his mansion as “a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden,” (Fitzgerald 5) but the diction chosen also creates an oxymoron between a great house that is simply a new imitation. For the reader, this brings up the possibility of Gatsby’s facade while also setting the stage for further exploration of outward...
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...In the 20’s, social status is equated with the greatness of a person. Many with wealth, who have profited from the idea of the American dream, tend to fall short of greatness when it comes to being a genuine person. Unlike others from this time period, Jay Gatsby manages to achieve the American dream and be a genuine person. Through a short passage in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald employs diction and syntax to convey the message of the shallowness of the upper class. Fitzgerald carefully selected words that have a strong negative connotation to describe the wealthy. The day before Gatsby’s death, Nick visits him. At this time, Nick is unaware of what would become of Gatsby. During his visit, he says, “They’re a rotten crowd” (154)....
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