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Who Is Jay Gatsby A Tragic Hero

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Aristotle once said “ A man doesn’t become a hero unless he can see the root of his downfall.” In order to label a character as tragic hero would mean that he/she must come across a fatal flaw which will eventually leads to demise. In a literary term, a tragic hero is a character who makes a judgement error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. Gatsby was always doomed from the start; his fate was determined by his own actions. It seemed that Gatsby knew exactly how he would approach his plan considering his behavior after leaving his family or was it still part of his fate? Gatsby qualified the role of a tragic hero due to how he achieved his position, obsessively retrieving the past, and his delusional love for Daisy. …show more content…

Gatsby’s weakness was Daisy. His love for her may be genuine but tragically misguided. The light at the end of Daisy's pier is the secret place where Gatsby hopes to climb. “ He could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and on ce there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder," (Fitzgerald Pg.110). This was his ultimate goal. The center of his world where green light is just sitting there, waiting for him to grab it. According to weebly.com, “The ladder symbolizes success as well as the climb to reaching the American Dream; that the American Dream is possible as long as people are willing to climb the ladder of success.” This quote states that Gatsby can only climb the ladder alone if he wants to have all the wonderful things that he could ever dreamed of. He must choose between love and success. However, he decides to try to achieve both and ends in destruction. One thing is certain: while Gatsby pitifully fails to grasp the light at the end of his peer, his confession of love is not a falsehood. When Nick asked him if Daisy was driving during the accident of Mrs.Wilson, he said ‘Yes, but of course I will say I was” (Fitzgerald Pg 143). Money, success, fame were important but once he learned that it will affect Daisy in a negative ways, he shuts down his parties and fires his staff to protect her from gossip, insists on the confrontation with Tom, and after the car accident is prepared to go to jail for her. At the end, he was close, close enough to grab it and dream on, but one fine morning, taking his last breath while still dreaming for green light, he

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Gatsby has himself wedged between a rock and a hard place, and what I mean by that is he either gives up on his dream before actively pursuing it or he faces defeat after false hope leads him

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Dyana Fonseca Lazarus English 02 March 2023 The Great Gatsby In F.Scoot Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby '' the main character Jay Gatsby was responsible for his own death at the conclusion of the book “ The Great Gatsby ''. There are different characters with different actions and little fault but none compare to the fault Jay Gatsby has for his own death. Although Gerogre Willson might be considered the most responsible Jay Gatsby is the most responsible because he told people he would take the blame and is super delusional.

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Altho there are some parts to the tragic hero Gastby doesn’t fit there are some aspects he dose of the tragic hero like having a noble stature. This is seen when Gastby is talking to Nick about the Myrtle incident Gastby says “ but of course I'll say I was the one who did”(Fitzgerald 70). Gastby doing this is him fueling his role as a tragic hero by taking blame for someone else’s mistake.

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Even though the series of wrong decisions made by Gatsby throughout the novel were made from a place of love, they were made to ensure the safety of a woman who would never love him the way he loves. The narcissistic traits that Gatsby exhibits throughout the entirety of the book end up in his death. While having pride in oneself isn't inherently a negative trait, the arrogance and pride that Gatsby conveys is what could be considered a fatal

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636 Words | 3 Pages

In the story of The Great Gatsby, people might have different opinions on who is to blame for the downfall of Gatsby. My belief is that Gatsby himself is to blame for his own fall. The first thing that Gatsby did to jeopardize his fall was moving across the bay, where he always had an eyes view of Daisy. Then the next thing that he did was not respecting the fact the Daisy and Tom were married and had a child together. The final thing that he did was trying to cover for Daisy and not telling the truth about what actually happened after the accident with Myrtle.

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To begin with, Jay Gatsby is considered a romantic hero, because he put in a lot of effort to remake a better version of himself. Gatsby’s “...life had

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Ultimately, this presents a character with both qualities. Despite Gatsby’s wealth and charisma, his tragic flaws play into his downfall and the unraveling of his carefully constructed facade, thus Gatsby represents a tragic figure rather than heroic figure. Gatsby’s isolation, despite his wealth and high social status, and his inability to connect with others on a genuine level contribute to his tragic downfall. In chapter three page 48, we meet Gatsby for the first time, and he admits that he is not a good host, “I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very good host.”

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1266 Words | 6 Pages

Although this figure, Gatsby, experiences an intensely intimate relationship with Daisy, his emotions reside on the side of extreme obsession rather than genuine affection. Desire plays a pivotal role in the development of the characters in the novel, showing Fitzgerald’s seminal message

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Throughout the novel "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the title character Jay Gatsby is portrayed as a man yearning to be reunited with his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby's is in a relentless pursuit of Daisy which drives the plot of the novel and ultimately leads to his demise. Gatsby is to blame for his own demise because, he often blames himself for other’s actions, like Myrtle’s murder. Gatsby also suffers from a tragic flaw, this being his inability to wake up from his dreams of the past and accept his reality. In the Novel “The Great Gatsby” Gatsby if often blaming himself for other’s actions.

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Gatsby is no hero, perhaps his goals are pure, but he is the perfect example of why the ends do not justify the means. All actions cannot be excused in the name of love, neither can Gatsby. Gatsby is not the hero of this story. While Gatsby, the novels namesake and main focus, is clearly not the hero of the tale, many would choose to look instead toward the character whose perception guides the book, Nick Carroway. Nick from the beginning is relatable to the reader, being the lens by which all else in the narrative is experienced, and he seems to be an altogether good character, even being the self proclaimed most honest man throughout the

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In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is chiefly responsible for his own downfall because he is foolish, lives in the past, and never gives up on Daisy. To begin, in the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is chiefly

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I believe that Mr. Gatsby brought this fate upon himself because his actions were very shady and secretive,

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A hero and a villain. His true nature and intentions are touched upon, but never truly stated. We get the idea that Gatsby just wants to have Daisy again and that he’s done some terrible things to get her attention or try and get her onto his side. However Gatsby cannot be considered just a straight horrible or selfish guy. He does have his positive traits to him.

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913 Words | 4 Pages

Gatsby has this flawed view of his life where he has to keep getting more power to be content with himself: “My life, old sport, my life... my life has got to be like this. It's got to keep going up” (125). He wants to acquire more wealth and more power to achieve a higher social status, almost as if he wants to prove a point to himself and everyone else. However, he fell in love along the way and this stumped his plan. When Gatsby fell in love with Daisy, he changed his whole perspective in life and guided it to work around Daisy: “ I knew it was a great mistake for a man like me to fall in love” (141).

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121 Words | 1 Pages

Gatsby is a big symbol in American popular culture. Gatsby represents a kind of white-handed person who has a dark past, a mysterious lover; People in life have reached the peak of glory and then lost everything. One sees in Gatsby a sacrifice for the glittering glimmer of the so-called "American Dream. " But at the same time, in Gatsby, there exists a strange hopeful power of never-giving, a heartfelt and noble love; An innocent romance is not muddy. It is these qualities that make up a complex Gatsby - one who is both a victim, a jester, and a hero.

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