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To What Extent Is The Great Gatsby Really Great

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In “The Great Gatsby,” Fitzgerald designates Jay Gatsby as “great” to highlight his complex background, his goals in life, and the themes of this book. Gatsby’s greatness is not determined by his wealth and big parties, but his perseverance and his pursuit of the American Dream. In this novel, Fitzgerald is being when referring to Gatsby as “great” because although he has many accomplishments under his belt, it’s about how he got to them and Gatsby sacrificed some important things and will sacrifice more important things to get to this point in life. First, Gatsby being described as “great” relates to his ability to dream and make those dreams turn into reality, it’s not referring to his impressive wealth and his big parties. Besides his past of going to Oxford and then the military, Gatsby dreams of a life and a relationship with Daisy. Gatsby dedicates everything he does to living this dream, even if he needs to go to the extremes. In the text, Gatsby says “Nobody’s coming to tea”. It’s too late. I can’t wait all day” and then Nick says “don’t be silly; it’s just two minutes to four.”(85) This refers to all of the work and time that …show more content…

In the text, people at the party define Gatsby as a mysterious man, saying “somebody told me they thought he killed a man once” or “it’s more that he was a German spy during the war”. (44) With this being said in the book, it is easy to say that people don’t really know who Gatsby is and that he is very mysterious. Gatsby understands and believes in the idea of the American Dream, where success and opportunity are important factors that can shape and determine somebody’s life. Gatsby’s impressive ability to transform himself from James Gatz, a poor farm boy to Jay Gatsby, who is very wealthy and an idol to many people, shows the perseverance and limitless possibilities that not only him but many other Americans are capable

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The Great Gatsby is an great piece of American literature by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In The Great Gatsby author Fitzgerald focuses on issues of the American dream, love and wealth are discussed. Which tend to draw the attention of the readers. Especially interesting is the question of whether Gatsby is even deserving of being called great or if the title ironical. It is argued that Jay Gatsby is a person of false love.

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For a person to be “great” they would have to be honorable, truthful and caring all year round. A great person would be brave and loyal to the end: their trust never wavering. Many traits of a person could be described as “great”, and in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is known to the world as a great person: in reality he is nothing close. Although his hospitality is seemly boundless, Gatsby’s naive nature and his striving for perfection prohibit him from deserving the title “Great.”

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Jay Gatsby is the character around which The Great Gatsby is written. He represents a whole hoard of people who recognize the opportunity to move from the rural life to high society. At a early age, he had a high opinion of himself which led him to depart from his impoverished family and starts the journey to a new life. Fitzgerald effetely proves that its possible to detach from the hopelessly poor, “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” Gatsby sought out something that his parents could never

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Some would consider the title of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, "The Great Gatsby", to be inappropriate, considering the crime and lies Gatsby’s character involved himself in to get to where he is. However, people who believe this synonymize "great" with "good." In reality, "great" is defined as "eminence considerably above the normal or average," which Gatsby has from throwing elaborate parties and openly displaying his wealth. Someone can easily argue Gatsby’s lying and criminal past is reason to label him amoral and take away his status of being seen as so magnificent, but in terms of accomplishment and commitment to his life aspiration, Jay Gatsby is indeed great. The word “great” may not always be a means of praise, but only an adjective

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“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.

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Gatsby is a mysterious person shown through rumors and lie, tea with Nick and Daisy, and how Gatsby became rich. Fitzgerald shows how mysterious Gatsby is through the rumors and lies that are told about Gatsby. These rumors are spread through

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Gatsby doesn’t really show what he really is to the public, and that makes him a different person from what the others think of

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Brian Ramirez D Block Mrs. Cooney 5/28 Dear school committee, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an American classic that has been taught to generations, it would be very inconsiderate to just stop teaching it because it is a timeless novel that teaches you about the true meaning and the depravity of the American dream and what it does to someone's mindset and how it can destroy lives The Great Gatsby takes place in the roaring twenties which is known for its extravagance and societal change. After WW1 the economy was booming and people had a lot of money flowing so they liked splurging their money and doing whatever. In the novel they focus on one particular man named Jay Gatsby. He is described as a wealthy and mysterious man who

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Gatsby wanted to make his dream a reality and didn’t stop until he had achieved it. Jay showed his greatness in many ways especially through his determination, grit, and willingness to put anything on the line in order to achieve his goal. Many people see Gatsby and his life and get led to the assumption that he wasn’t great due to the fact that he attained his money through illegal means. Although this is true I disagree. Money is one of the most important and crucial things in life and you should put everything on the line in order to obtain it.

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Everyone has great aspirations for what they want their lives to be like in the future. Jay Gatsby is no different in this regard. Gatsby’s ability to turn his dreams into reality is what makes him “great.” He begins his life as an impoverished farmer who fantasizes about achieving great amounts of wealth. However, when he meets Daisy, his vision transforms into the desire to spend the rest of his life with Daisy.

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Any average person would desire to be a “Gatsby” who is extremely wealthy, widely idolized, and seemingly impeccable. Indeed, what makes Gatsby great is his lavish lifestyle and self-earned wealth. However, the more one observes Gatsby, the more one realizes that his epithet is incongruous with his actual character. Not only is the major factor that makes him remarkable, wealth, a result of illegal bootlegging, but he seems to contradict his ‘greatness’ in various instances in the novel. This leaves the readers to speculate that the title of the book is ironic as Gatsby is not great because he is too naïve, pursues after a married Daisy and does not achieve the American Dream.

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Psychoactive drugs are chemical substances that alters the function of the brain. It predominantly controls the central nervous systems and temporarily changes the organism’s consciousness, perception, mood and behaviour. Majority of psychoactive drugs are by law prohibited from use with the exceptions of the use in medical field. This is due to the consequences and harmful results that arises from the use of the drugs. However, there are very few psychoactive drugs that are permissible and are seen socially acceptable to use within our society.

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In a sense, the word “great” can be attributed to large and grand things such as Gatsby’s, house, his lavish parties, his wealth, and even his personality. All of these can be viewed as trophies of success or in a particular person’s eyes, greatness. Throughout the novel Nick is enamored by Gatsby's outstanding personality and ability to hold onto hope. He describes Gatsby as having, “..an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again. ”(2).

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"The Great Gatsby" is an outstanding piece of classic American literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald discusses the issues on-post-war society, the American dream, love, and wealth. This draws attention to the readers that question if Jay Gatsby is "Great". Despite the uselessness of his beginnings, Gatsby is great due to the intensity of his will. Although, Gatsby is a person whose false love, materialism, and egotism led him to the tragic end.

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