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How Is Gatsby Selfish

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Gatsby was a man that truly built himself up from the pit of nothing. Growing up in a family of unsuccessful farmers, he always picture in a more optimum and opulent lifestyle than the one he lived. His goal is to reinvent himself into this lifestyle, so he does. Soon enough Gatsby meets Dan Cody -a man of great wealth- who took him under his wing and taught him how to act like the premier gentleman. But after Cody’s death, young Gatsby was left with nothing; he had to build off all that he had learned from being around and interacting with Cody. So he moves to New York, where after some years of earning money, he becomes one of the richest people in the area. He strengthened a reputation there with his expensive and extravagant large scale …show more content…

Due to this, he failed to see the consequences of his decisions, which ended up being his ruin. His imperceptive state of mind comes through when he confronts Tom about himself and Daisy, the passage states, “She looked at him blindly. ‘Why— how could I love him— possibly?’ ‘You never loved him.’ She hesitated” (131-132). Gatsby is very persistent with the idea that Daisy never loved Tom, he tries to get this into her head -blindly- without even considering her feelings on the matter. After this argument, Daisy realize that she does love Tom and wishes to stay with him. She drives Gatsby car back home along side with Gatsby, on the way there they were stumped- Daisy had hit Myrtle with the car. And of course Gatsby took the blame. Gatsby says to Nick that same night, “ ‘You must remember, old sport, she was very excited this afternoon. He told her those things in a way that frightened her—that made it look as if I was some kind of cheap sharper. And the result was she hardly knew what she was saying’ ” (152). Gatsby takes the blame because he still believed that Daisy was going to leave Tom for him- he had visioned himself with this outcome for so long that it was hard to detach himself from this concept. In taking the blame in hopes for a future with Daisy and his accomplished dreams, he infuriates the wrong people who will then make sure that Gatsby never gets to see this dream even possibly come

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They were living easily. He had not lied about how he grew up. Although, ever since he was a young caddie, he had dreamed of becoming wealthy, and being high on the social ladder. After college, he worked hard, and began a chain of laundromats. “I suppose he'd had the name ready for a long time, even then.

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Carraway further explains Gatsby’s feelings. “Daisy tumbled short of his dreams—not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (95). Once again, Gatsby’s expectations have fallen short of

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He expresses love for Daisy, and hope for their future together. He displays confusion at the fact that Daisy could love him and Tom at once. Gatsby emotions can be somewhat blinded by his affection for Daisy. He is hardly impacted by the fact that Daisy killed a woman, and he “spoke as if Daisy’s reaction was the only thing that mattered” (Fitzgerald 142). Gatsby is fully ready to accept responsibility for Daisy’s actions.

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There is a limitless decadance to the lives of the characters in The Great Gatsby. The parties never stop, and neither does the greed. The need for more, more jewels, more mansions, more money, more green. It is never about who you are, it’s about what you have in Gatsby’s world. Gatsby’s

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Furthermore, Gatsby does all the things for Daisy in order to compete against Tom and his “old world” wealth. When Gatsby revealed to Tom,” She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart, she never loved anyone except me” (Fitzgerald 130). The truth to Tom about Gatsby and Daisy's intentions revealed what she thought in her heart.

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book “The Great Gatsby,” the subtle Dan Cody provides Gatsby with a chance to become the Great Gatsby. Cody’s ability to see within Gatsby guided him to help Gatsby to achieve a higher success than he otherwise would have. This contribution drastically alters the action, the theme, and the development of the other characters along with Gatsby than what would have otherwise occurred. The occurring actions in “The Great Gatsby” started with one gentle nudge by Cody when he offered Gatsby a chance to work for him.

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In the book, Gatsby is very foolish, his actions are unreasonable and unrealistic. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."” (125) Gatsby had expected Daisy to be the same girl she was five years ago, but the truth is that she isn't. Many things had happened to the both of them and he had set up a foolish expectation that Daisy was willing to leave Tom for him. Gatsby’s foolishness originated with Daisy.

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Firstly, being selfless and accommodating to others needs and wants is not something that the society in this time period can be proud of. Daisy, Tom and Gatsby develop the trait of selfishness in many ways throughout the novel. Daisy Buchanan is a wealthy woman who lives in the East egg and is married to Tom Buchanan. Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Jordan and Nick all go to town when Tom and Gatsby break into an argument because Tom finds out that Gatsby and Daisy are having an affair. Gatsby tells Tom the truth about Daisy and himself because Tom bombards him with questions when he says, “’She never loves you, do you hear?’

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Unfortunately, he had to leave Daisy to go to war. After the war, he was determined to find Daisy but five years later, his feelings are not reciprocated; Daisy toys with him, uses Gatsby to make her husband jealous, and allows Gatsby to take the blame for the murder of her husband’s mistress. The most tragic of the three protagonists studied is Jay Gatsby because he demoralizes himself in a futile attempt at expired love, he has few genuine companions, and he cannot let go of the past. Throughout the novel, the contrast between Gatsby's pure past and corrupt future illustrates the degree to which he changes to impress his love, Daisy.

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Enemies are portrayed as being opposites of each other and work to repel the other like magnets. When one thinks of enemies, they may think of Batman and the Joker. One works to preserve the well being in Gotham and tries to prove that it has good people living in it. The Joker on the other hand works to upset the established power and expose their corruption to the public through heinous crimes. Such is not the case in The Great Gatsby.

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Gatsby does not reach out to Daisy in love and solidarity but rather hopes to attract her into his life through his wealth, further solidifying the sinister nature of his

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Several people may assume that selfishness is both unhealthy and wrong. A selfish person usually puts his own needs before the needs of other people. Selfish people need to be able to draw the line between when they need to worry about themselves, or when they should be concerned about other people. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in the view of Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby, it is evident that the nature of man is showing selfishness through cruelty, greed, and manipulation. Cruelty is just one way that the nature of man shows selfishness.

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1317 Words | 6 Pages

(p.100) When Gatsby boards Dan Cody’s yacht, he travels with Cody for years. Gatsby learns from Cody how rich men act and how to conduct himself. Rather than using his travels to further develop his character, Gatsby invents a new identity. Likewise, once Gatsby becomes successful and wealthy, he demonstrates his obsession with traveling and his discontent with local resources by sending people across the world to build his wardrobe.

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908 Words | 4 Pages

Self-Reinvention in the Great Gatsby Self-Reinvention: The act of reinventing or changing oneself, this means, changing ones’ personality, social status, and past. One person who reinvented himself was none other than the Great Gatsby. Gatsby is an obvious example of self-reinvention, especially when he tells Nick about his real story. Another person who reinvented himself is the narrator Nick. Nick is the less obvious example of self-reinvention; however, he still undergoes a self-reinvention process.

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(99) In this moment, Gatsby makes it clear to Daisy that he could easily provide her with the same lifestyle she shares with Tom. Once Gatsby captures Daisy’s affection, he becomes full of greed and doesn’t want to believe she ever gave any of her love to Tom. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: ‘I never loved you.’” (118) When Daisy states “‘Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom,’ (142), Gatsby begins to feel a “touch of panic” (142). All of his parties, stories, and entire persona were all fabricated to win Daisy back.

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