Parental Figures In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Connor Trapp

Ms. Marcuccio

Gatsby Essay

4/26/23

One of the most well known sayings is “We are the sum total of our experiences”, and nothing embodies that more than Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, in which the plot follows Gatsby’s past and present and ends with his untimely death. Within Gatsby’s past decisions and life has been affected by the jobs and lifestyle of these three parental figures. The death of Gatsby was directly caused by the three parental figures he has had and the decisions Gatsby has made along his path. The lack of effort and presence of Gatsby’s biological father, Henry Gatz, caused

Gatsby's death. Henry Gatz had an effect on Gatsby’s life due to the lack of effort Henry gave to noticing Gatsby in his earlier life. At Gatsby’s funeral Henry shows Nick a book that Gatsby had written in and says “I came across this book by accident”(Fitzgerald 162). The book contains detailed plans showing the daily plan Gatsby had as a child. This shows that even as a boy Gatsby had great drive and know-how, and Henry never gave the effort to cultivate that. Throughout the book Gatsby interacts with many people in many settings, but only ever mentions his old home once, showing a lack of presence from Henry Gatz. “His imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at

The cause of Gatsby’s death is a mix of the actions of three characters and himself: the lack of effort and presence of his biological father, Henry Gatz, Dan Cody’s method of teaching Gatsby about wealth and his impact of Gatsby’s perception of it, Meyer Wolfsheim’s involvement in in crime, and Gatsby’s decisions he has made throughout his past and present. These people created the story The Great Gatsby and without them who knows just how Jay Gatsby’s life could have turned