F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby Truly Great?

Some would consider the title of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, "The Great Gatsby", to be inappropriate, considering the crime and lies Gatsby’s character involved himself in to get to where he is. However, people who believe this synonymize "great" with "good." In reality, "great" is defined as "eminence considerably above the normal or average," which Gatsby has from throwing elaborate parties and openly displaying his wealth. Someone can easily argue Gatsby’s lying and criminal past is reason to label him amoral and take away his status of being seen as so magnificent, but in terms of accomplishment and commitment to his life aspiration, Jay Gatsby is indeed great.

The word “great” may not always be a means of praise, but only an adjective

The Great Depression is “the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world” (history.com) and also resulted in widespread stress and demise. Even Adolf Hitler has been referred to as great because of the huge amount of power he amassed during his reign. They were not labeled as great so as to have the appearance of being good, but to accentuate the huge numbers of casualties and deaths caused by them. Although Nick meant the word as a compliment, someone can see how referring to Gatsby as being “great” is similar to the aforementioned examples and being used as just an adjective. In the novel, Nick’s character claims, “life is much more successfully looked at from a single window” (Fitzgerald, 4), and this statement is true and can be applied even outside of the book. In general, If you look at something only one way and disregard whatever doesn’t fit into the image you hold, it will lose its complexity and become what you want to see. This concept can be applied to Gatsby’s

He starts in the lower-class, but develops a drive after working as a personal assistant to Dan Cody, a very rich man. Along with wanting more for himself he also had reason to work for Daisy Buchanan, “the first ‘nice’ girl he had ever known” (Fitzgerald, 148) and fell in love with and who eventually marries after Gatsby leaves to fight in the war. Gatsby works with Meyer Wolfsheim, a big name in organized crime, and sells alcohol illegally in a time when it is prohibited. When considering what he is working for, to get out of the difficult life he lives and to win back the love of his life, his work can be seen as a sacrifice. He is willing to break the law and jeopardize himself to regain his true love and to be able to just live without financial worry - he is willing to risk everything to gain everything. It is similar to if a parent stole to support their children; their act would not be seen as criminal, even though it is, because they are doing it to live and save what they love. This will to sacrifice so much that he would take part in illegal activities along with his drive to get what he wants, his need to be self-made, is commendable and deserving of being labeled as