How Is Jay Gatsby Selfish

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In the story The Great Gatsby the fate of Jay Gatsby was unjust and heartbreaking. Throughout the story we got to know Jay Gatsby as a kind hearted man and a romantic. Because he was such a kind person and devoted lover, his fate was greatly undeserved and he was an innocent victim of others’ selfishness.
Jay Gatsby, above all, was a man blinded by love. Throughout the book, he tries to win back the love of his life, Daisy. He buys his house just to be near her, which is shown when Jordan says, “it wasn’t a coincidence at all… Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). He does everything just to be with Daisy and win her back. The fact that he bought the house just across the bay from Daisy, shows that Gatsby was a devoted lover and just wanted Daisy to notice him again. …show more content…

Though Gatsby was fixed on Daisy, all she could see was his possessions. This is shown when Daisy sees his shirts, buries her head in them and says, “they’re such beautiful shirts, it makes me sad because I’ve never seen such-such beautiful shirts before” (Fitzgerald 92). Gatsby wanted Daisy to love him and be impressed by him so much that, “he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 91). This shows that Gatsby was an innocent victim because as he was focused on gaining her love, she was just transfixed on his