Why Is Jerome Hill Important In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, has been one of the most widely read books for decades. Having inspired the production of two movies and merchandise, the novel features a young man by the name of Gatsby wielding his way through life, becoming rich through odd means for one main goal, a woman named Daisy. Gatsby was born to a farmer in North Dakota and ever since he was a child, he had always envisioned a better life for himself than farming. Along the path to his better life, he stumbled across Daisy, however, he was shipped to war and was unable to obtain her when he returned. Throughout time, there have been famous people who resemble Gatsby in all means of ways whether it be illegal activity, wealth, manipulation, or just one main goal and a man by the name of James Jerome Hill may just take the prize winner for leading a life most similar to Gatsby’s. In 1838, James J. Hill was born in Ontario, Canada to a poor farmer. He led his life always striving for a better future that he had envisioned in his mind, he dabbled in illegal activities in his later years, and he went from rags to riches in a matter of years. He

Unfortunately, James and his company were not able to defeat E.H. Harriman 's Union Pacific Railway so he allied with J.P Morgan, a financier from Hartford, Connecticut, which added the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroads to his empire. Hill grew his empire into a booming, capitalistic dream and with all of his company’s power and rivalry caused a stock market scare in 1901. Gatsby had a dream much like Hill’s, he shot for one main goal and that was to obtain the most precious thing in his lifetime through any means necessary and that meant that he too, had to build his own version of an empire in which he did, very successfully. James J. Hill might not have built his empire to win over the heart of a long-lost lover but he did strive for a main goal, success. In doing this, he resembles