Gavin Harrison Mr. Tambellini English III Honors 10 March 2023 The Not so Great Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gastby is not a great man because he lied to himself and all his friends and because he is desperate for what he once could have had. Gatsby lied to himself. He did not accept that Daisy had a kid until he saw her, as it is shown when Nick notes that “He kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever actually believed its existence before” (Fitzgerald 117). Gatsby has been lying to himself, and could not accept that the woman that he was after had a husband and a child. He also believed that Daisy never loved Tom. At the hotel showdown, Gatsby keeps on insisting to Daisy that she “Just tell him the truth--that you never loved him--and it’s all wiped away forever” (Fitzgerald 132). Gatsby was desperate for his allusion to be confirmed by Daisy herself, which did not end up happening. Gatsby also lied to Nick about his backstory and how he got his money. He told Nick his life story, but never got to how he got his money. He said he was supposed to get it from Dan Cody, a mentor of sorts to Gatsby, but that never …show more content…
At the time, prohibition was in place. This banned alcohol from being sold. Gatsby became a bootlegger, and Tom exposes him when he says that Gatsby’s “Got something on now that Walter’s afraid to tell me about” (Fitzgerald 134). Tom tells the whole group that Gatsby is a bootlegger without specifically stating it, however, everyone now knows that that is how he got his money. Gatsby is stuck in the past. He admits it during a conversation with Nick, where Gatsby says “Cant repeat the past? Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby thinks that he can redo his past. This mindset of Gatsby’s makes him desperate for Daisy. Gatsby is on a hopeful, and seemingly impossible quest to get Daisy back, and he spends his entire summer trying to get her