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The Great Gatsby Tragic Hero

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“He had come a long way…and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him. Gatsby believed in … the orgastic future that year by year recede[d] before [him]” (180). In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby truly believed he could fall in love, rise to social grandeur, and achieve all his dreams. Yet his tragic end was the same fate as of the American Gangster. By chronicling the rise and fall of the criminal aspect of Jay Gatsby’s life, Fitzgerald characterized the American gangster of the 1920’s as a tragic hero, in order to show that man naturally succumbs to false optimism. [define the tragic hero so then I can just prove it and then return to it in my …show more content…

Leaders of the certain criminal organizations believed their power should not be contained and murdered others to expand their power. On February 14, 1929, fake police officers assassinated seven of Bugs Moran’s Gang in an abandoned warehouse. Not only did Al Capone secure ultimate power over Chicago, he also brought the attention of everyone straight towards all his actions. Although Al Capone was never indicted on charges of the massacre, the St. Valentines Massacre led to his downfall and arrest. The St. Valentine’s Massacre does not explicitly occur in The Great Gatsby, but an event similar to the massacre destroys Gatsby. Returning from New York, Daisy murders Myrtle Wilson by running over her with a car. When Gatsby is asked who committed the crime, he knows Daisy was driving “but of course [he will] say [he] was” (143). Gatsby decides even though he was not the one behind the wheel, he will take the fall for Daisy. Thus, he was not the perpetrator of the incident and accepting the fault is to further his hope that he will achieve capturing Daisy. In the end, Gatsby is left with nothing because he destroyed all of it. After Myrtle’s murder, Gatsby watches the trust that he specifically built break down in front of his eyes. [introduce quote]. “I can’t do it—I can’t get mixed up in it… when a man gets killed I never like to get mixed up in it anyway. I keep out” (171)

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701 Words | 3 Pages

(102). But Daisy is never honest about being the one who was driving the car that hit and killed Myrtle. She let Gatsby take the fault for it and Gatsby ended up being killed because Wilson thought it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle. Daisy did what was best for her not what was right. John stayed and dealt with his consequence which ended in his death but he never ran from his mistakes he dealt with them head on.

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373 Words | 2 Pages

I definitely did not expect Gatsby to be blamed for Myrtle's murder, let alone for the murder itself to occur. What I expected for Gatsby was for him to run off into the sunset with Daisy. But in the end maybe it was for the best that Gatsby was taken out of the situation he was in. If the murder would have gone to trial, Gatsby still would have taken the fall for Daisy. She was an obsession for him, he probably would have never moved on with his life without her.

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He does this because he has lived his entire life and accomplished many things for Daisy, and Daisy only. He loves her so much that he is willing to go down for a murder he didn’t even commit, just so she is free and happy. Due to this lie, Myrtle’s husband, George Wilson, is led to believe that Gatsby did in fact kill her. Wilson then goes on to shoot and kill Jay Gatsby. This is Gatsby’s one last lie that ultimately resulted in his

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826 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby is an American novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. On the surface, the book revolves around the concept of romance, the love between two individuals. However, the novel incorporates less of a romantic scope and rather focuses on the theme of the American Dream in the 1920s. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920’s as an era of decline in moral values. The strong desire for luxurious pleasure and money ultimately corrupts the American dream which was originally about individualism.

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1138 Words | 5 Pages

Jared Caplan English 11a3 Mr. Dunton 5/11/15 The Great Gatsby: unit essay In the novel, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, portrays the American Dream. Jay Gatsby believed that achieving the American Dream is not complete unless you have the one you love to share it with. It was this part of his American Dream that led to Gatsby’s ultimate tragic failure.

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365 Words | 2 Pages

Gatsby uses the last five years of his life trying to achieve his one goal of obtaining Daisy as his wife and spending the rest of his life with her, but what happens to him instead is unexpected and undeserved. Jay Gatsby got shot and killed by George Wilson. Gatsby did not sleep with Myrtle, he is an honorable man and would not sleep with another man’s wife. Gatsby also did not kill Myrtle, if he did he would have stopped the car and not just kept driving. Daisy did not talk to Gatsby ever again after the accident.

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717 Words | 3 Pages

In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald showed that love leads to lies and hardship which results in Gatsby lying about who ran over Myrtle. Gatsby is planning to lie to everyone and say that he killed Myrtle even though Daisy was the one driving the car. “Yes,” he said after a moment, “But of course I’ll say I was”(Gatsby 110). This shows that he loves Daisy so much that he would take the blame for this so she wouldn 't get in trouble. He is trying to protect Daisy so they can run away together and be together for the rest of their lives.

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Jay Gatsby and James Gatz: Who was the Great Romantic Hero? A romantic hero is one who repudiates the standards and customs put upon them by society,they are spurned by society and positions themselves as an important character in their own lives There are three versions of a romantic hero, the Byronic hero, an antihero, and romantic hero. The type of romantic hero that resides in the novel The Great Gatsby, is a Byronic hero.

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In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby was murdered by George Wilson Husband of Myrtle. In the court of law there’s only one person who was responsible and guilty for the murder of Jay Gatsby. Although in the eyes of god there was more than one person responsible for the murder or had the ability to stop the outcome of the murder. Weather it was Tom being honest about his affair, Daisy doing the right thing and stopping during the accident or Jay Gatsby himself by taking control of the situation and doing what was good for both Daisy and himself instead of just what 's best for Daisy. Tom, Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby were selfish and self centered leading them to become Morally responsible for the death of Jay Gatsby.

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The third chapter from the novel the Great Gatsby, in my opinion deserves the title “The Man behind the Myths” due to the many rumors and stories circling him and his ghost like appearances at his parties. Due to the narrator's, Nick, description of Gatsby and his actions during this chapter should be given this name. Throughout this chapter Nick speaks with and overhears many rumors about the party host, Gatsby. Not many people really know he is because he remains hidden within the abundant crowd which consumes his property.

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378 Words | 2 Pages

Although Gatsby is not the narrator and we do not get his perspective as much as Nick. Gatsby is the protagonist in The Great Gatsby. Not only is the book named after him but the whole point of the book is about Gatsby trying to get Daisy. Gatsby goes through so much hard work and suffering for her. He decides to change his identity, throw amazing parties, buy an amazing house, etc.

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1215 Words | 5 Pages

Since Gatsby was given the blame for the murder or Myrtle, he had to accept the consequences. George was extremely distraught after his wife was killed, and was motivated to seek revenge on whoever killed her. When George went to Tom’s house to ask who the murderer was, Tom told him it was Gatsby. With revolver in hand, George went straight to Gatsby’s house. Nick described the setting by saying, “The chauffeur- he was one of Wolfsheim’s protégés- heard the shots- afterward he could only say that he hadn 't thought anything much about them” (161).

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219 Words | 1 Pages

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel that took place during the indulgent roaring 20’s. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s key novelty was to present a first person narrator and protagonist whose awareness filters the story’s events. It is not the focal protagonist, Gatsby, who narrates his own story; but a secondary character, Nick Carraway, who is successively skeptical, cautious and ultimately captivated by Gatsby. This novel begins with a quote from Nick’s father, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all of the people in the world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” () What this quote accentuates on and what Fitzgerald was attempting to display is that as a reader, we should interpret

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444 Words | 2 Pages

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I believe that Daisy is to blame for Gatsby’s death. This claim can be proven through Daisy’s continuous affair with Gatsby despite Tom’s suspicions, Daisy selfish nature, and the fact that she killed Myrtle herself and let Gatsby take blame. For example, Daisy’s continuous affair with Gatsby despite Tom’s suspicion was one of the factors in Gatsby’s death. One example of this is when Nick witnesses “Daisy’s face was smeared with tears, and when I came in she jumped up and began wiping at it with her handkerchief” (89).

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792 Words | 4 Pages

In the summer of 2022, I participated in a high school cancer research program by BC Cancer, and it is the most significant contribution to myself and my extended communities due to its impacts on the scientific field, the world and my personal growth. My desire to play my part in society and create a positive change in the world was the reason I volunteered for the summer internship. With cancer as the second leading cause of death, I am motivated to commit myself to cancer research, hoping to prevent cancer patients from suffering and discover the panacea for it. I wanted to give my best shot to help others and give back to society with my knowledge and skills. I went through multiple selection rounds, including the review of documents,

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