Who Is Jay Gatsby A Hero

The Great Gatsby takes place in a time during which the vast majority of people were moving away from Romanticism, an appreciation of the natural world in which the common man could become a hero and rise above his social status to secure a better life, and moving towards Modernism, which consists of a more skeptical outlook on life. People no longer idealized the world and the opportunities that they had. They were less hopeful for the future and were often held back by what happened in the past. Many people accepted their lifestyles and did nothing to attempt to improve their situation in life. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows that people aren't motivated to follow their dreams unless they have something that they truly desire.

As "unsuccessful farm people," Gatsby's parents did not fulfill what he needed them to in his imagination(Fitzgerald 105). In order to create a new life, apart from that of his parents, Gatsby "invented" a new self, to which "he was faithful to the end"(Fitzgerald, 105). By giving himself a new name, Gatsby was moving on from his old life and following his desire to become wealthy and high in social status. While Gatsby was able to achieve the immense wealth that he was hoping for through bootlegging, among other disreputable means, he was not able to join the class of "old money" that he desperately wanted to join. Although Gatsby could create any past life for himself that he desired, people were not convinced that his money was inherited. Jay Gatsby does all these things to win back Daisy, a girl he met years ago who couldn't marry him because he was too poor. In an elaborate plan, centered around Gatsby's desire to be with Daisy, he becomes wealthy and moves to a mansion in West Egg that is directly across from Daisy's East Egg mansion, only divided by Long Island Sound. Gatsby has the ability to buy an enormous house and throw garish parties, but "repeat[ing] the past" proves to be a lot more difficult(Fitzgerald,

Unlike these people, Gatsby desires more out of life. Almost all of the characters shown in the novel, regardless of wealth and social status, seem to have accepted that they're going to settle for what they have. While Gatsby is putting all of his efforts into something that is essentially a fruitless quest, at least he has hope. Hope gives him something to live for, which other people at this time don't seem to have. Just like everyone else, Gatsby is upset with the situation he's in, but the difference is that he does something to change it. Gatsby has committed to his impossible quest of "fix[ing] everything just the way it was before"(Fitzgerald, 118). Gatsby is not held back by "brakes on [his] desires," such as self-doubt and realism like other characters are(Fitzgerald, 64). Of course, nothing will ever be exactly the same as it was before, but returning to a better time in his life would fulfill Gatsby's ambitions. Gatsby's optimistic hope to reunite with Daisy that went against the odds is represented by the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. While everyone in the world was staying put and giving up on their dreams, "Gatsby believed in the green light," and that's what makes him the most heroic character in the book(Fitzgerald,