ipl-logo

The Great Gatsby Death Essay

888 Words4 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, presents an illusive titular character, Jay Gatsby, who is a man shrouded in mystery and speculation. Rumors about his past swirled around him. Ideas such as him being a German spy in the war to killing a man have drifted in-and-out of listeners' ears. Unknowingly to listeners, the heart of Gatsby’s story lies the transformation from James Gatz, a poor farm boy from North Dakota who dreams of leaving his impoverished life, to an enigmatic and wealthy figure who seems to rule Long Island, New York. This transformation is not simply a matter of acquiring wealth, but of shedding his past self and the shame that comes with it. Gatsby is haunted by the memory of who he used to be, and goes to great lengths to conceal that part of his identity from those around him. Contrary to people's beliefs, Jay Gatsby has not admitted to physically killing a man, but he has killed someone. Although, it's not in the way that is believed. …show more content…

Gatsby is not a violent man by nature, but he is consumed by a deep hatred for the person he used to be. He sees James Gatz as a symbol of everything he despises about himself: his poverty, his lack of education, his humble beginnings. In order to become Jay Gatsby, he must destroy that version of himself completely. In this sense, Gatsby “kills” James Gatz in order to become the man he is now. He creates a new identity for himself, complete with a new name, a new accent, and a new history. He even goes as far to fabricate a false backstory for his wealth and status. Gatsby’s transformation is not just a matter of changing circumstances; it is a total reinvention of

Show More
Related

Summary Of Chapter 6 Of The Great Gatsby

655 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby’s desperate longing for something more than what he had at such a young age urged him to create the persona of “Jay Gatsby” from the ordinary James Gatz. Comparably, the young Gatz spent much

Read More

Similarities Between Holden And The Great Gatsby

644 Words | 3 Pages

He tried to cover up his past life by giving them a false name. “ Jay Gatz - that was really, or at least legally his name” (75). This shows that Gatsby lied about his name and told them something totally different to make other people think otherwise about his name. “ The idea was that they were lying to someone that they could potentially deceive” ( The lying game). It also shows that Gatsby can somewhat not be trusted because if he will lie about his name he would lie about anything else.

Read More

Who Was Responsible For The Great Gatsby's Death Essay

703 Words | 3 Pages

Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald nis a novel about tragedy. Gatsby and other characters make decisions that ultimately lead to his death. Many events that happen are due to the actions of a specific character. There are many events leading up to Gatsby's death, and many characters are involved. They all got mixed up in situations that they weren’t expecting and weren’t prepared for.

Read More

Examples Of Doubleity In The Great Gatsby

964 Words | 4 Pages

He changed his name and made it his goal to literally become someone else. Before he was Jay Gatsby, he was James Gatz, son of two unsuccessful farmers (Fitzgerald, 76). James Gatz, however, was not someone that he wanted to be. Gatsby dreamed of being wealthy. In fact, he valued wealth so much that he changed from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby and build an entirely new persona so that he would leave no traces of his old, poor life behind .

Read More

Why Is Jay Gatz Important In The Great Gatsby

614 Words | 3 Pages

Gatsby stirs up drama and acts like he is the innocent one. Jay Gatz is not the man he appears to be, he is a compulsive liar, dishonest, and egotistical Jay Gatz's educational background was an impact in the novel “The Great Gatsby”. He had lied about his education to every making himself seen cool or smart. When he was talking with everyone at the hotel when he said “ it was in nineteen-nineteen.

Read More

Examples Of Daisy's Death In The Great Gatsby

789 Words | 4 Pages

“Revenge is barren if itself: it is the dreadful food it feeds on; its delight is murder, and its end is despair” (Friedrich Schiller). When a woman wrongs a man, the man does not go after the woman, he goes after the man she wronged him with. This is exactly what lead Jay Gatsby to the grave. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, three men are responsible for the inevitable death of Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, the man who whispered his name, George Wilson, the man behind the gun, and Jay Gatsby himself, the man lost in his own dream. Driven by his own thought of superiority, Tom whispered the name to the man behind the gun.

Read More

Examples Of Odysseus Letter To The Great Gatsby

727 Words | 3 Pages

Jay Gatsby was living the American dream high on life and loaded with money that is until he was killed. Jay Gatsby was Originally an incredibly secretive man was shrouded in mystery. For example, during Jay Gatsby’s summer party within his mansion in West Egg, an immeasurable amount of rumors about him were floating around such as “he killed a man once” (Fitzgerald 48). This is one rumor of many but this anonymity allowed Jay Gatsby to operate in secret and allow him to rapidly grow financially. Gatsby had originally set himself up good and had nothing to worry about to the fact that “he doesn’t want trouble with anybody” (Fitzgerald 48).

Read More

How Does Jay Gatsby Lie

442 Words | 2 Pages

In order to impress Daisy and gain her attention, Gatsby created an entirely different image of himself through an exceedingly large amount of lies. The personality of Jay Gatsby was taught to him by a well known, rich man by the name of James Gatz. Who showed him the ways of taking on the roll as a well- educated and respectful gentleman, in order for him to look acceptable for the love of his life Daisy. When the truth is that in reality, Jay Gatsby was born into a family of poor, low-life farmers in North Dakota. Jay Gatsby took on the persona of James Gatz because he felt as if he deserved a lot more out of life than what his poor family could provide for him.

Read More

The Great Gatsby Foolishness Analysis

1014 Words | 5 Pages

“James Gatz — that was really, or at least legally, his name… The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God.... So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.” ( 99) Gatsby was just a ideal, a dream that was conceived from James Gatz , a poor boy. He changed everything, lied about his past and truly believed that he was Jay Gatsby.

Read More

Is Jay Gatsby A Hero

1318 Words | 6 Pages

Fitzgerald created Gatsby’s character as a tragic hero because the character cointains the charactersitcs of the hero. He is a decently known person who secretly built on his past. Gatsby’s character traits were picked out very carefully by Fitzgerald and he made Jay a unique character because his actions plays an important role in the novel’s progression. As Gatsby plays his role, many events begin to lay in place, meaning that her will soon be under the impression of being a tragic hero. Throughout all the events, Fitzgerald managed to accomplish his goal of making Gatsby meet all the criterias for a tragic

Read More

Differences Between Great Gatsby Book And Movie

580 Words | 3 Pages

The book The Great Gatsby gives Jay Gatsby a fiendish appearance. Jay’s involvement in illegal activities such as bootlegging is over emphasized in the book. It was very repetitive in the novel that Jay was involved in illegal activities and the amount that it was focused on made it a very prevalent part of the book. The actions Jay make once he finds out Daisy has a daughter make him seem like a scoundrel. Jay acted like Daisy’s daughter didn’t even exist and continued on trying to get Daisy all to himself, taking her away from her daughter.

Read More

Reality And Reality In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

939 Words | 4 Pages

Jay Gatsby is never a concrete character within the novel; his background story and his statements are ever-changing, and are usually proven to be untrue. However, just as quickly as some statements are proven untrue, other arise to substitute them, which keeps the reader in a constant state of skepticism. In fact, the vagueness with which Jay Gatsby asserts himself might be due to his own uncertainty of his life, as he has always thought himself deserving of more, which could have led to a dissociation in

Read More

Did Gatsby Deserve His Fate

644 Words | 3 Pages

In F.Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is killed for an act he did not commit. Gatsby’s acts of generosity and hospitality prove that he does not deserve to be killed. Also, Jay’s romantic side shows that he is a great guy and cares about others. Lastly, Gatsby is innocent of the Myrtle Wilson murder. Readers may now easily identity that Jay Gatsby did not deserve to receive such a vulgar fate of

Read More

Death In The Great Gatsby

865 Words | 4 Pages

Literary deaths always have a meaning, and the abrupt demise of various characters in The Great Gatsby is no exception. As tensions build and secret loves are proclaimed, characters begin to meet untimely deaths. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Gatsby and Wilson's deaths, along with Gatsby's funeral, to symbolize the death of the American dream. Both men simply want to be successful and happy, and neither of them achieve their ultimate dreams.

Read More

Identity In The Great Gatsby

953 Words | 4 Pages

I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years,” (Fitzgerald). Although Gatsby says he comes from wealthy parents and creates a false backstory about his life, he does this to win Nick Carroways trust. He began to reveal his true identity to Nick, however he still feels the need to lie about his story by claiming that he and Nick have similar backgrounds because they come from a similarity of a wealthy background. Gatsby not only lies about his background he sticks with it till the end.¨So he invented just the sort of the Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end,¨(Fitzgerald). This reveals that Gatsby's lies about his identity began as a little kid, when he first reinvented himself as a wealthy rich person in life.

Read More

More about The Great Gatsby Death Essay

Related Topics

Open Document