Comparing Gatsby And My Grandpa's Life

Most people who change their name are in search of a new identity. My grandpa changed his name from the unique name of Yervant, to a strong yet common name of Edward. He strived to fit in with the upper class of America and fit in less with his Armenian past. Similarly, James Gatz changed his name to Jay Gatsby in order to separate himself from his past. When I looked back at my grandpa 's story and compared it to Gatsby I realized that they were very similar. However, the outcomes of the two stories are very different. My Grandpa is happily retired with ten grandchildren and is living a happy life. He completed the rags to riches goal without losing sight of his core values. Throughout the novel Gatsby rejects his core values in order to belong

He spent the beginning of his life as the son of farmers that were slightly unsuccessful. There is nothing bold or interesting about the life he was living. If he stayed on the same path he was on he most likely would have ended up just like his parents. However, unlike my Grandpa, Gatz was pursuing money in order to prove that he was superior to the rest of the world. When he first started out in the world, the riches that other people possessed was all that Gatz could see. Therefore, “To the young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, the yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world.”() The young Gatz was in search of riches to flaunt to the world, especially Daisy. He believed that money was needed in order to live a fulfilled life. This ideology is the reason why Gatsby 's rags to riches story came to its unfortunate

He made his fortune without requiring much work or effort. There is no real education or backstory required to be a bootlegger or a drug dealer. A person just has to have a desire for money above all else. Gatsby 's easy rise to the upper class allows him to feel as if he is above everyone else and encouraged his reckless behavior. His reckless behavior is often seen with his mentality towards Daisy. Throughout the novel, Gatsby tried to turn back the time on their romance. This is shown when Gatsby and Nick have this conversation. " ‘I wouldn 't ask too much of her,’ I ventured. ‘You can 't repeat the past.’ ‘Can 't repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’ He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking here in the shadow of his house, just out of reach of his hand. ‘I 'm going to fix everything just the way it was before,’ he said, nodding determinedly. “ As displayed here Gatsby is extremely delusional due to the many factors that have contributed to his success. If he had stayed grounded in his beliefs he would have realized that there was no way that he could turn back time. However, he could still fix the relationship between him and Daisy. This is the type of rational thinking that Gatsby