F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his novel The Great Gatsby, used the 1920s to create a setting for the book. This novel is characterized as a tragic love story including Jay Gatsby. Although Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as great in some respects, Fitzgerald shows that Gatsby is not great in a very subtle way.
Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as a hopeful and admiring man. For example, on page 2, Nick explains that Gatsby has a gorgeous element about him. Nick then explains how Gatsby is sensitive to the promises of life. Nick admired Gatsby and was obsessed with him, for this. Nick believed that Gatsby was sensitive to the promises of life, because Gatsby was a very hopeful man, and he hoped he could have the future he once dreamed of having. Another point
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For example, Gatsby tries to control time by trying to go back in the past. Nick explains to Gatsby that he cannot repeat the past or start over. Gatsby wants Daisy to erase time and get back together with him, and start life over. Also, Gatsby expresses the fact that he wants Daisy to tell Tom she doesn’t love him anymore. At the end of the novel, Gatsby realizes that Daisy will not tell Tom that she doesn’t love him, and that she actually chooses Tom over Gatsby. She does this because when Myrtle dies, Tom’s affair ended, and Daisy wanted the same. Another reason why Gatsby is not considered great is because he obtains his millions illegally. Gatsby was involved in a secretive business which sold fake bonds. Gatsby met a man, named Dan Cody, in his early years of age. This man was the reason why Gatsby got involved in selling fake bonds, and they ended up working together for this business. When Gatsby dies later on in the book, Nick answers a phone call for Gatsby. The person who called was named Slagle, and he was calling to inform Gatsby that Young Parke had been arrested for selling the same fake bonds as Gatsby had