Jay Gatsby is portrayed by Fitzgerald as being many things, and none at all at the same time. He is shown as grand, enigmatic and intense, making him a most alluring character to the reader. Gatsby is often commented on as being one of the most interesting and memorable males in literature, it is because we know nothing of him that makes him such a fixating character. Some critics argue that he is not a dynamic and changing character during the novel, as a child and teenager he was known as James Gatz, a young boy with ambitions and dreams of something more, and in a sense this part of Gatsby has not changed throughout the novel he is shown as this incurable and idealistic romantic who fills his life with dreams.

Through the title of Fitzgerald’s novel Gatsby is already presented as a show-man or magician, who is introducing to the audience the sensational show, which is his life. From, this title the audience can presume that the quote from Nick at the beginning of the novel “No Gatsby turned out all right in the end” must be correct, as Gatsby is described as being “great” which implies that he is successful and powerful. Through Nick the audience sees the many faces of Gatsby and all the emotions a human being can have. He is shown as a man in love, a good friend, a successful businessman and the helpless romantic that simply wants everyone to be happy.

In chapter one of the novel, Nick Carraway again refers to Gatsby as an important and grand character, the line “the man who gives his name to this book,” suggests that Nick has been deeply affected by Gatsby and views him as an important man and friend and that he must have “turned out all right” for a novel to be dedicated to him.

However, Carraway goes on to describe Gatsby as being “everything for which I have an unaffected scorn,” this contradicts his earlier statement and shows the ambivalent