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The Debatability Of Jay Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great

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The character of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is both mysterious and intriguing. Nick Carraway titles the book after him, which suggests that he holds Gatsby and thinks of Gatsby as “Great”. However, whether Gatsby deserves to be called "Great" is debatable because there are both positive and negative qualities that make up his character. In this essay, I will argue that Gatsby is both great and flawed, and that in the end, the mediocrity of his life wins out. To begin, Gatsby is great in the sense that he embodies the American Dream. He is a self-made man who has risen from humble beginnings to achieve wealth and status through hard work and determination. He is also great in the sense that he has an incredible capacity for hope, which is evident in his pursuit of Daisy. Despite the many obstacles in his path, he never gives up on his dream of winning her back. This is exemplified in his famous quote, "Can't repeat the past? Why, of course, you can!" (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby's optimism and determination are admirable qualities that make him a great character. …show more content…

His pursuit of wealth and status has led him to become involved in illegal activities, and he is not above lying and deceiving others to achieve his goals. He is also painfully naive, particularly when it comes to his relationship with Daisy. He believes that if he can just win her back, everything will be perfect, but he fails to see that their relationship is built on a foundation of illusion and nostalgia. This is evident in his conversation with Nick, where he says, "I thought of her as a sort of golden girl" (Fitzgerald 120). Gatsby's naivete and willingness to deceive himself are major flaws that detract from his

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The American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote the novel The Great Gatsby in 1925, has a character named Jay Gatsby, who makes many appearances throughout the novel. While Jay Gatsby who was first introduced in the third chapter is a character who takes part in the summer activities, Jay Gatsby, with his “tanned skin” that was “drawn attractively tight on his face and his short hair looked as though it was trimmed every day,” makes a wondering impression on the readers (50). After the scene of the party at his house and a day in the city with Tom, Daisy, Nick, and Jordan, Jay Gatsby represents what a character should not be. This man is a dynamic character who changes for the worse: Jay Gatsby begins the novel by being an impressive man, however, as the novel progresses, he becomes a more destructive man.

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Whether or not Jay Gatsby is truly great is subjective and open to interpretation, I believe he should not be interpreted as ¨great¨ because he is a renowned bootlegger and is lacking basic morals like going after someone's marriage. C) Nick's praise of Gatsby as being "worth the whole damn bunch put together" is influenced by his negative perception of Tom, Daisy, and Jordan, which serves to highlight Gatsby's perceived virtues. D) Our awareness of Gatsby's motivations and decisions affects our assessment of him by revealing the extent of his

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“The Great Gatsby” is a novel that focuses on a character by the name of Jay Gatsby in the eyes of a third party character named Nick Carraway. Gatsby is a lover as he appeals to his audience through his volatile and poetic dialogue such as on page 117 as he states “Cant repeat the past” , “Why of course you can”. He transcends his time by formulating scenario relevant to modern times such as being the clumsy and anxious lover he is. This being said, he isnt perfect as one of the purposes that the author of the novel had made was to portray a character that is capable of being called great even though he’s flawed. The introduction to Gatsby is shown in the first two chapters as he was an enigma of a man who is steadily being uncovered into

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He is fooling himself and creating this romantic and out of touch with reality version of who Daisy is and what their love could be. His deceptions about himself aren’t meant to hurt anyone, he is creating this life and persona for himself which he didn’t have when he was growing up. However Gatsby is not the only one deceiving themselves. Daisy is not truthful to herself when it comes to her feelings and who she loves. Gatsby and Daisy knew each other before he went to war and Daisy fell in love with him.

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