How Is Jay Gatsby Selfish

Justin Speert Mr.Arthurs Honors English 10 9 April 2024 The Great Gatsby Counterclaim Essay The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a 1920’s novel that highlights and criticizes the “roaring twenties” and its large amounts of crime, alcohol abuse, consumerism, and wealth inequality. Main characters like Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and the Buchanans help highlight the dark side of the “roaring twenties” by exemplifying the foul characteristics that went on during this time. Gatsby, a bootlegger, was a stereotypical wealthy man from West Egg who curated his wealth from illegal activities. Gatsby met a very early death after he was shot in the chest. While George Wilson was the one to shoot and kill Jay Gatsby, Gatsby was ultimately responsible

Gatsby had the idea in his head that without Daisy he was not able to be happy and that the key to his happiness was success and her. Nick Carraway, the narrator, says, “He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God”(Fitzgerald 85). When Gatsby kisses Daisy, he feels like his dreams and aspirations are tied to her and the reality of their relationship. As much as he believes she is what makes him happy, he also has the urge to be as successful and high class as possible, so when he learns that Daisy is a well known wealthy woman of high social class, it makes him want her even more. In chapter 7, Gatsby states, “Her voice is full of money”(Fitzgerald 92). Gatsby indicates that Daisy is of high social class and speaks in a very wealthy manner. Gatsby wants her even more as he learns who she is, making him do things that result in a not so great ending to his life. The relentless pursuit of the American dream leads Jay Gatsby down a dangerous path, being one of the reasons he

When Gatsby says, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made”(Fitzgerald 137) he should have known getting intertwined with their relationship was a bad idea. As much as Gatsby loved Daisy, he only knew the old her; he did not know who she was now and what getting into a relationship with her would cause. As well as wanting a relationship, Gatsby wanted as much money and to experience as many things as possible. When describing his desire and fascination with life, Gatsby says, “I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life”(Fitzgerald 9). Gatsby is captivated in a way by wealth and success.Gatsby’s pursuit of love, wealth, and high social status (also known as the American dream) ultimately leads him down a dark and rigorous path resulting in death. While George Wilson did shoot Gatsby, if it were not for Gatsby’s own actions he would not have met death at such an early age. George thought that Gatsby was the one driving the car when Myrtle got