Gatsby’s “Greatness”
Greatness is showed by the choices we make in life. From how we see the circumstances and how we react to them. Gatsby is not as great of a man as Nick claims that he is. Gatsby makes foolish, childish and delusional decisions and not at all great.
In the book, Gatsby is very foolish, his actions are unreasonable and unrealistic. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."” (125) Gatsby had expected Daisy to be the same girl she was five years ago, but the truth is that she isn't. Many things had happened to the both of them and he had set up a foolish expectation that Daisy was willing to leave Tom for him. Gatsby’s foolishness originated with Daisy. His infatuation
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“ “This is a terrible mistake,” he said, shaking his head from side to side, “a terrible, terrible mistake.” “You’re just embarrassed, that’s all,””(87) Gatsby is a self made man, he makes a big deal in getting Daisy to meet him “accidentally”. But when she gets there, he backs out like a child. His whole life (after meeting Daisy) was based around getting Daisy to be his, so I understand that he was nervous to see if his hard work in becoming a great person worked on her, but Gatsby should had passed his nervousness aside to talk to her, without Nick. Gatsby couldn't even talk to her without Nick’s presence. He needed Nick to be there and when Gatsby wanted to back out he needed the support of Nick to keep him there. For what he worked so hard for I don't understand why he keeps trying to run away like child. Nick had no “idea what “this matter” was, but [Nick] was more annoyed than interested. [Nick] hadn’t asked Jordan to tea in order to discuss [Gatsby]... and for a moment [Nick] was sorry [he’d] ever set foot upon [Gatsby’s] overpopulated lawn.”(67) Even Nick was fed up with Gatsby during this passage because Gatsby was being a child and had to have his message go through Jordan than to just own it and ask Nick himself in person. Even when Nick confronted Gatsby about it he said that he would just …show more content…
“James Gatz — that was really, or at least legally, his name… The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God.... So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.”( 99) Gatsby was just a ideal, a dream that was conceived from James Gatz , a poor boy. He changed everything, lied about his past and truly believed that he was Jay Gatsby. He didn't even accept his own parents or any part of his past as his own. Gatsby’s past is full of lies, a life created from imagination that is not even real. “I wouldn’t ask too much of her,” [Nick] ventured. “You can’t repeat the past.” “Can’t repeat the past?” [Gatsby] cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”(110) As Gatsby truly believed that he was no longer James Gatz, he believed that Daisy still loved him and was the same from five years ago. But the truth of the matter is that Daisy had once truly loved him and she isn't the same as she was the years before, and there is nothing Gatsby can do to repeat the past and end up with the happy ending he dreamed of where “after she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house—just as if it were five years ago.”
Throughout the entire novel Nick remains loyal to Gatsby, and that is very obvious. At the very beginning of chapter one it says, “ ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Nick’s dad had taught him the valuable life skill of ensuring the fact that he would not judge people. Seeing that there is lots of drama going on in this novel and in Gatsby’s life, Nick still remains loyal and is always there for him.
People are shallow and prone to frivolity as well as gaiety. This is just one of the many messages sent by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald conveys this message through his characters, Tom, Daisy and Jay, their actions and their lifestyles. He also uses a cheery lighthearted tone to show that the characters have no worries or cares. These tones are demonstrated with the use of vibrant imagery, realistic experiences and optimistic thoughts.
Although Gatsby has already gotten what he had longed for all those years he is still not satisfied, this is when he begins to manipulate Daisy. As Nick says himself "he wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you’.” (Fitzgerald.105) After the heated argument
Gatsby also has to come to the realization that even if some how he and Daisy 's relationship together would work out, Daisy still has a child to mend for. Their relationship together would be quite difficult to figure out with all of these things in the way. They would have to discuss with Tom about the kids and get lawyers involved, Gatsby certainly has the money for it but it, would take away valuable that time he could use to be spending alone with his love: Daisy. Although Gatsby has a everlasting love that does not seem to be able to be broken, there is so much he would have to put into this just for him and Daisy to live a normal life again.
Finally, a bit later into the book, we get more on Gatsby’s weird way of thought. Through the quote, “After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide-”, we see Gatsby not really having a grip on reality. He thinks he hasn’t aged (or changed with age) and nothing has happened between those four years that would be significant enough to change Daisy. One month can change someone, so thinking Daisy would be the same person and in love with him is just something a child would think. He goes on to further confirm his childish thought process by saying, almost like a kid who hasn’t gotten their way, “‘Can’t repeat the past?’
In a sense, the word “great” can be attributed to large and grand things such as Gatsby’s, house, his lavish parties, his wealth, and even his personality. All of these can be viewed as trophies of success or in a particular person’s eyes, greatness. Throughout the novel Nick is enamored by Gatsby's outstanding personality and ability to hold onto hope. He describes Gatsby as having, “..an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. ”(2).
Although Nick knows that Gatsby is being delusional and expecting high hopes for his past relationship, he finds Gatsby’s memory to be quite emotional and moving. Gatsby's memory is so moving that Nick cannot help but to look back on an apparently similar memory of his own. Nick refrains from explaining the truth to his friend because he is so caught up in his fantasy and there is no way to break him free and revive him to his senses. Also, during Gatsby’s love story, Nick feels some type of correlation with it. Nick tries to retrieve a memory presumably some time from his adolescence, maybe some tale about his first love or the innocence that he had such a long time ago.
Gatsby lost the women he loved, Nick got so caught up with drama with everyone he knew, he ended up as unhappy as the rest. Everyone used Nick at least once, or gave him something to doubt. People used everyone and no one noticed. “If you want anything just ask for it old sport,” (Fitzgerald 48) Gatsby was trying to create a friendship with Nick, only to later on use him as bait to get closer to Daisy, who Gatsby believed loved him. But in the end nothing really comes the way he wanted, proven when Daisy admits she loved Gatsby but not the way when they were young.
Within the selected passage from The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick, seems to be talking about Gatsby with a longing, almost nostalgic tone. He portrays this tone through his use of long sentences full of adjectives, his imagery focused on nature, and his frequent talk of modes of transportation. He speaks with precise detail, making sure every word helps create his overall message. This message simply seems to be that his misses Gatsby and everything that Gatsby stood for and taught him.
Nick oftentimes evaluates the happenings of the story, helping the readers understand to a greater detail of what happened. He also acts as someone to keep Gatsby in check, yet also support his ambitions. As many people confided in Nick, he had a larger perspective of what exactly was happening. Using this, he was able to offer an overarching view and opinion, and using this he conveyed a sort of “insider 's view” at everything that was taking place during the story.
Near the beginning of The Great Gatsby Nick assumes these ideas that he has heard about Gatsby, he puts his initial trust into the ideas of others. As the novel goes on though and Nick meets Gatsby he learns much about the true character of Gatsby and his trust in Gatsby evolves. This is exemplified in the New Great Gatsby Movie during the scene where Nick is at Gatsby’s funeral and no one shows up except him. Nick was the only one who was brave enough to actually interact with Gatsby even with all of his preconceived notions of the man. This bravery and trust allowed for these notions to be tested and that gave Nick an even more trusting relationship with Gatsby.
What does Gatsby realize about Daisy ’s feelings towards the
Nick was clearly in love with Gatsby. He had had true feelings for Jordan for a while, but once he met Gatsby, those feelings slowly disappeared. He was secretly holding out hope to be with
Jaco’Bee Campbell Ms.Thornton English 3H-0 18 September 2015 The Madness of Loving in the Past Finding love is hard but, once an individual finds love and then loses that special person the conflict is inevitable because the moments and memories were unforgettable. Although a person may convince himself that he is over his feelings, it is easy to drive himself crazy over something that should've been left behind. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the main character Jay Gatsby as a person that is obsessed with his past which leads him to madness.