Why Is The Great Gatsby Great

Mention of 1920's America, alternatively known as the Jazz Age, brings to mind images of wealth, celebrity, glitz, and glamour. It was a decade of partying, rebellion against tradition, economic prosperity, and social reform. The youth of that decade went down in history for their materialistic world views and lifestyles. Those youth valued great wealth, independence, and social connections: the American Dream. Many literary works of the Jazz Age critiqued this traditional view of the American Dream and the idea that such a materialistic lifestyle would fulfill a person. The Great Gatsby is one such critiquing novel. Indeed, the title lends itself to the assumption that the title character, Gatsby, is great. Nonetheless, the greatness of Gatsby is subjective. The Gatsby

One could argue that the man was neither great nor truly successful. However, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby's friend Nick purports and proves that Gatsby was great by showing the reader Gatsby's enduring character and self-romanticized intentions. James Gatz, the boy who turned himself into Jay Gatsby through deception, storytelling, luck, and sheer willpower. He was just a poor boy from North Dakota bent on achieving wealth. He could not settle for poverty or being merely middle-class. It was naturally innate for him to desire wealth. This desire was fueled all the more by his infatuation with Daisy. He was eager to get rich so as to be able to provide for his love. The desire was there before he met Daisy but flamed into passion all the more after he fell in love with Daisy. He wanted to give her the world and have her to be his. However, she was of a higher social class. She was old money while he was not even new money, not that she knew that. He knew that she would not consent to love a man with no money