Significance Of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the book The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is shown to climb up the ladder of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs goes as follows, from lowest to highest: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization (Maslow II). Gatsby is shown to meet four of the five needs. He climbs the steps of physiological and safety, then jumps to esteem and self-actualization. The only catch is it is impossible to achieve the top two steps without leaving a footprint on the third step. Although Gatsby has a lot of esteem and self-actualization, he cannot go above the third rung of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs because he doesn’t meet his social needs.

Jay Gatsby meets his physiological needs in many

Safety needs include personal security, employment, resources, health – including the health of family – and property (Maslow II). Firstly, Gatsby owns a mansion, as shown on page 5 of The Great Gatsby. Thus, he has property. His property also guarantees his safety (Kongsri 26). Secondly, Gatsby has employment. Gatsby said he was, “‘...in the drug business and…in the oil business’” (Fitzgerald 90). Although Gatsby follows that statement by saying he isn’t in either business anymore, he is currently living off of the money he gained from the work. Furthermore, Gatsby is shown to still have some form of employment when Slagle, someone affiliated with Gatsby, says, “‘They picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter’” (Fitzgerald 166). Since this phrase is directly spoken to who Slagle assumes to be Gatsby, it reveals that Gatsby is still in the money-making business. Even though what he was doing is clearly illegal, as shown by the secretive nature of Slagle, Gatsby still had some form of employment. Thus, Gatsby met his part of his safety needs. Thirdly, Gatsby has his resource aspect met. As previously stated, Gatsby received regular shipments of lemons and oranges (Fitzgerald 39). Gatsby is able to continuously receive any supplies he wants, thus meeting his resource needs. Furthermore, Jordan says that Gatsby, “...gives large parties…” (Fitzgerald 49). It can be concluded that

Self-actualization, the final rung of the pyramid, is the desire and action of becoming the most that one can be (Maslow II). Throughout the course of the novel, Gatsby has repeatedly shown he feels he is almost the best he can ever be. He states he has an overabundance of money, is almost content with life, and is almost complete. Yet, he is not satisfied with life. Therefore, he does not meet this final rung, as it is impossible for him to do so. The only way Gatsby will ever be complete is when he has Daisy. For five years, he dreamt of obtaining Daisy, his one true love. Nick analyzes, “Almost five years…when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams…but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). Since Gatsby met Daisy five years before the books start, he yearned for her. His one and only goal was Daisy, and it was the only thing he wanted in life. Regardless, Gatsby was never able to be with Daisy. It was impossible, for Daisy said, “‘Oh, you want too much!’” (Fitzgerald 132). She admits that Gatsby’s dream was too big to handle. She wasn’t able to fulfill his dream. Therefore, Gatsby would never be able to achieve