Examples Of Ambition In The Great Gatsby

Ambitions are not always a good thing. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Jody Starks is a former laborer who through ambition and hard work was able to move to Eatonville and become the mayor. However once Jody became the mayor and achieved his ambitions he began to neglect his wife Janie and her needs. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby grew up poor in the Midwest but through his ambition and a little bit of illegal alcohol sales was able to become wealthy and live in New York across from Daisy the love of his life. Gatsby throws extravagant parties in an attempt to get Daisy’s attention so they can fall in love again. Gatsby eventually gets killed because Daisy ran someone over with his car. When Nick goes to Gatsby’s funeral none of the people who attended his parties attended his funeral because Gatsby didn't actually spend anytime with them becoming friends because he was so focused getting Daisy back. Focusing solely on one's ambitions can distract from their personal

Jody Starks “had always wanted to be a big voice but de white folks had all de sayso where he come from and everywhere else exceptin’ dis place dat colored folks was buildin’ theirselves” (Hurston 45). This quote shows how Jody aspires to become part of a colored town so he can have a say in the government and his life in general. This shows how Jody had ambitions to improve upon his situation in life. After Janie cooked poorly for one dinner “She wasn’t petal-open anymore with him. She was twenty-four and seven years married when she knew. She found that out one day when he slapped her face in the kitchen” (Hurston 91). As Jody reaches his ambitions he begins to beat and neglect his wife. Beating his wife is clearly not a good thing for him to do in his personal life. Clearly, Jody neglected his personal life and his wife by focusing singularly on his ambitions and