Who Is Responsible For Gatsby's Downfall

Gatsby’s downfall is a very significant part of the novel The Great Gatsby. Written by

F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, it grew very popular. The novel is narrated by thirty year old,

Nick Carraway, who was once neighbors with Gatsby after moving to East Egg from the

Midwest. He explains all of the events that have taken place as a story in the way he

remembers them to be, which forces the readers to rely on his word and his word only. The

theme of the book is mainly the American Dream and how it is impossible to achieve. 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

He makes enemies, tells lies, and believes that his social

standing will change because he now has money. Gatsby’s main enemy in the novel is Tom.

This happens almost right away; Tom and Gatsby meet for the first time at Gatsby’s house

and automatically do not like each other, yet they pretend to as an act for Daisy. Although

Tom has not realized Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy at this point, he still thinks little of

Gatsby because he is newly rich/new money, while Tom is old money. To Tom, the East Egg

is superior. Gatsby ultimately becomes enemies with Tom because he is a bootlegger and makes his relationship with Daisy all too clear to see. He accepts an insincere dinner

invitation which angers Tom even more because he begins to realize there is something going

on between Gatsby and his wife. This aggressive and unfriendly relationship between Gatsby

and Tom proves that Gatsby is foolish because he does not think of the consequences for his

actions in the long run if Tom finds out. He made little to no effort to hide it and Daisy does

not help. Gatsby also tells many lies (mostly to Nick) throughout the course of the novel.

He makes up these lies or alters the truth primarily because he does not want people