Hope In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Imagine that playing the piano at a professional level is your only aim in life. Suddenly, you break your finger and you feel hopeless. If a person works hard for something and doesn’t achieve it, that can be heartbreaking. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, he demonstrates that hoping and striving for something is not dangerous, but being consumed by it is. Set against the backdrop of the 1920s, the characters of Nick and Gatsby symbolize how hope can destroy one person and invigorate another.

Jay Gatsby is an illustration of a tale of rags-to-riches, ultimately ending in tragedy. He was born into a family of farmers in the Midwest, and he moved to New York when he was a young man in order to pursue success. The yearning he

Nick, who comments on Daisy’s voice frequently, suddenly realizes that her voice is what is so enchanting to Gatsby. By being the object of her affection, he could have all that he desired. He could have wealth, class, and status. The author further emphasizes how Gatsby is not only fixated on winning Daisy over, but also achieving what he failed to in the past. Gatsby says, “‘Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!”’ (Fitzgerald 110). Part of the reason why Gatsby struggled was because his quest for Daisy and all she represented consumed him. Even though Daisy has moved on, Gatsby is fixated with repeating the time where he had Daisy. He wants to use his wealth to woo Daisy and achieve his dreams. His inability to accept the reality of the situation, namely that Daisy is married and chose materialism over him, is his weakness. Gatsby’s unceasing hope clashed with reality. Furthermore, his comment shows that he believes in things that are impossible and refuses to accept the truth. The Roaring Twenties was a decade of transformation and hope. One example of this is the “buy now, pay later” mentality. According to Lawrence Clickman, “...the 1920s did represent a takeoff period for consumer society…

Both characters' strengths and weaknesses complement each other. Nick’s tendency to “reserve all judgements” makes him a reliable narrator (Fitzgerald 1). Through the introduction, Fitzgerald establishes that Nick will tell the story in an honest, authentic way. Gatsby, on the other hand, is dishonest. One example of this is his connection to bootlegging. Fitzgerald makes it clear that he’s involved with distributing alcohol illegally and hints at him being involved in organized crime. Prohibition spanned more than a decade, and it contributed to the rise in organized crime. “New money” was looked down upon by “old money” because it was often built through illegal means. Gatsby is no exception. Some officials refused to follow the “laws [that] were being defied by well-organized bootleggers operating through established channels” (Burnham 58, 59). One of Nick and Gatsby’s greatest weaknesses is that they are blindsided by their admiration for Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby watches over her house on the evening of the accident, but it turns out that he was “watching over nothing” (Fitzgerald 145). Daisy and Tom were on the inside and Gatsby was looking in. He was watching over the dying embers of a dream; a dream that had long been extinguished. Conversely, their approach to success is one of the points on which they diverge the most. Although both come from humble roots, their paths end in tragedy and happiness. Gatsby’s quest