Preview

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Out of the Ordinary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1228 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Out of the Ordinary
In this novel the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character who becomes great. He begins life as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen. But Gatsby has a dream of becoming wealthy. After meeting Daisy, he has a reason to strive to become prominent. Throughout his life, Gatsby gains the title of truly being great. Even before Gatsby is introduced, he is hinted at being out of the ordinary. The first evidence of this is when Nick says, "Gatsby turned out all right at the end." (2) Nothing was known about Gatsby at the time and Nick is already saying Gatsby was okay. There's a air of mysteriousness surrounding Gatsby. Everyone knows of him, but no one knows who he really is or where he comes from. Even at our first glance of Gatsby, he's reaching out for something only he can see. There were many stories flying about Gatsby but no one knew what to really believe. In on instance Jordan made the comment, "I think he killed a man." (49) Even when Gatsby confessed about his past he didn't always tell the truth. He told Nick he inherited great wealth, but in reality, Gatsby gained his wealth on his own. Even though Gatsby lied, the fact that he made himself what he was makes him even that much greater. When Gatsby was still James Gatz, he had a dream of leaving his life on the farm behind and become part of the upper-class. Even Gatsby's father knew when he said, "If he'd lived, he'd of been a great man." (169) Little did his father know that Gatsby was already great. Gatsby didn't always do the right thing to gain his wealth but he was always good at heart. His first real break in the outside world was when he met his best friend Dan Cody. Gatsby was seventeen at the time and had just left his life on the farm. Cody was a wealthy man of fifty and he showed Gatsby the ways of the world. It was said that Cody found Gatsby to be " ... quick and extravagantly ambitious." (101) He took Gatsby in and treated him almost as

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, who is perhaps one of the most recognized authors associated with the literary flowering of the 1920’s in America. The concern of most authors during this time was of the materialism that had suddenly swept the country. Credit was easy, interest rates were low, and corruption abounded. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald portrays how the American dream of success was extinguished until it was nothing more than greedy desire. The sanguine American dream that had turned no one away and had given all an equal opportunity for happiness and success was no longer. Through use of his main character, Jay Gatsby,…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is also very mysterious and nobody really knows him very well, therefore nick begins to discover the true man and the life of the mysterious Jay Gatsby throughout the novel. “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of west egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself” (Fitzgerald 98). All that Jay Gatsby ever wanted was to live a luxurious life with the person he loved. He had built a brand new life for himself that was completely different than the life he used to live when he was younger. He built wealth and success hoping to the fact that would be enough to impress Daisy.…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Jay Gatsby Great

    • 2700 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Cody became Gatz’s mentor and invited him on his ten year yacht trek. James spent that time learning the ways of the rich, and at 17 years old he changed his name to Jay Gatsby, thinking that Gatz was too foreign sounding and wouldn’t…

    • 2700 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nick describes Gatsby’s gaze as: “It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey”(52). This quote explains that Jay Gatsby was very fond of interacting with other people. He was a man that liked to be what society expected of him and seemed to almost change with the different people he spoke with. He was always very elegant and regal and he inspired hope and confidence in others. Nick was no exception. Just from this brief meeting, Nick felt much more confident and superior than he had ever been before in his life. Nick judged Gatsby harsher than most people he met because Gatsby was many things that Nick was not, but when Nick finally sees himself as the wealthy and confident man that Jay Gatsby sees him as, his mind opens up. Mr. Fitzgerald seemed to write this line in the novel because it was what everybody wanted to be during that era: wealthy, confident, and looked up…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick, was uncertain about how he felt about Gatsby. Initially, Gatsby feigned into being someone that he was not. Throughout the novel Nick got to know who Gatsby really was and saw a side of Gatsby that not many people got to see. This is proven when the author writes, “No, Gatsby turned out alright in the end. It was what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.” Nick’s perception of Gatsby is much different from that of the other characters in the novel, and saw how scrupulous Gatsby was. However, while Gatsby was pursuing his ultimate goal of getting Daisy back, he got involved in illegal activity, the pursuit of wealth, and came across many horrible people throughout his journey in life. These events are “what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams” and was the ultimate cause of his death. Nick’s perception of Gatsby is valid because he was among the few characters that got to know who Gatsby really was, instead of the fake stories that Gatsby told majority of people on Long Island.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is first revealed to us at his first attempt to help Nick out by giving him an opportunity to make a little extra cash on the side. “I carry on a little business on the side, a sort of sideline, you understand”(Fitzgerald 82). Shortly after his initial proposal we are given a little bit more information about his mystery activities. “Well, this would interest you. It wouldn’t take up much of your time and you might pick up a nice bit of money. It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing”(Fitzgerald 83). This shows us a side of Gatsby that we have not seen up until this point. Before this it seems as if he is a really respectable guy, but it is revealed that he has a shady life that not many people know…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, the character of Mr. Gatsby however untouched, as he is a dwelling beneath a sea of lies. The idea that such intense rumors about himself spread through the country regarding Mr. Gatsby, but in reality few have ever met the man. Moreover, Gatsby, “was aware of the bizarre accusations that flavored conversation in his halls” (65). Gatsby does not bother with terminating these false accusations against his character, as it is easier to hide in the shadows than reveal himself. The subtle introduction of the character within Jay Gatsby is a clever tactic, as the reader has to consistently decipher the truth from the “truth”. F. Scott Fitzgerald created the character of Jay Gatsby to have one goal, and in order to achieve it, he would have to gain the trust of Nick. After all, Gatsby does not want Nick to see him how most others would since he is related to Daisy and essential to the success of his plan. Gatsby exclaimed that he would tell Nick, “God’s truth” about his past (65). However, this too, was a lie. The character of Jay Gatsby is focused on Daisy and only Daisy, and will mend together any information about his “true self” if it means he will be able to be with…

    • 948 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby as memoir recalling a story of a life he once pertained. Within writing this narrative containing several symbols and metaphor it reveals the dark truth of life. As Hamlet said to Ophelia, “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” The battle between who Gatsby is and who he perceived himself to be, creates a futile battle. As the narratives reaches the peak of the climax, Gatsby believes by wedding Daisy he’d reach ultimate success. However, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs believes that ultimate success is self-actualization, a missing component that neither versions of Gatsby’s ever sees.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gatsby’s real name is “James Gatz” but he “had changed it at the age of seventeen” “when he saw Dan Cody’s yacht drop anchor”. Dan Cody is his first step towards the wealth that he desires. Dan Cody leaves him an inheritance that he is cheated out of, yet one can consider that as a first step towards his wealth.…

    • 1124 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lies In The Great Gatsby

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively” (Marley). In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is said to be a great man, but he is not as great as the title says. The novel is about Gatsby, a conniving business man, who lies in order to fit in with the wealthy. Gatsby starts out as a poor young man from the mid-west. Everyone knew him by James Gatz before he met Dan Cody. When he leaves home, he meets Dan Cody who he ends up working for as an apprentice. When he meets him he introduces himself as a new man, Jay Gatsby. This is when Gatsby’s train of lies begins. Dan Cody teaches him manners and helps him get an idea…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He had never accepted his parents as his parent because they were poor, unsuccessful farmers. So he left when he was 17 and ended up saving a man named Dan Cody from crashing into the coast. He ended up traveling his world with him for about five years, until Cody had died. Once Cody had died, Gatsby was supposed to receive a part of the inheritance that was left for him, but ended up being cheated out of it by Cody’s family (Fitzgerald). Therefore, Gatsby ended up in the drug business and sold alcohol during the prohibition act.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his novel the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates Gatsby as a character who becomes great. His life being as just an ordinary, lower-class, citizen, yet Gatsby still has a dream of becoming wealthy man. After meeting Daisy, he has a reason to strive to become prominent. Throughout his life, Gatsby gains the title of truly being great.…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a romantic tragedy about a man named Nick Carraway who gets involved with the life of Jay Gatsby and his not-so secretive love for Daisy Buchanan. A critic named Lionel Trilling once said, “Jay Gatsby is to be thought of as standing for America itself.” This is proven to be true because Gatsby moves up in life and pursues his dream. He is an example for the American way because he fails at certain things and succeeds at others.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby Monologue

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The title character of The Great Gatsby is a young man who arose from an indigent neighborhood in rural North Dakota to become immensely wealthy. Fitzgerald initially presents Gatsby as the casual, ambiguous host of the extravagant parties thrown continuously at his mansion. He appears surrounded by luxury, admired by powerful men and pursued by beautiful women. He is the subject of gossip throughout New York and is already set on a high pedestal before he is ever introduced to the reader. From his early youth, Gatsby despised poverty and longed for wealth and sophistication. Fitzgerald propels through the novel obscuring Gatsby’s background and source of wealth in mystery. As a result, the reader’s first, distant impressions of Gatsby strike…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby isn’t like any other New Yorker, he is from the West, and gives respect to everyone that comes upon his presence because he has one goal he focused on as he went to the war and one common goal that every American wants to achieve. He was friendly to many people, not by talking or knowing them, but by the use of his money. He threw enormous parties every weekend for one reason, they were all for his one dream, to fall in love with Daisy Buchanan. He also could afford all of these parties because he was the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby portrays all of the qualities of a tragic hero in Jay Gatsby.…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays