Is Jay Gatsby Tragic?

666 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gatsby as a tragic Hero

The Tragic Jay Gatsby

Many characters in novels may be considered to be tragic. These characters are considered tragic because of one character trait they possess that leads to their eventual demise. Jay Gatsby is a tragic character in a unique way. That is, he has many negative traits, but only one of these traits leads to his eventual downfall. Of all the character traits that Jay Gatsby possessed, his excessiveness in everything he did was what led him to his ultimate downfall.
Jay Gatsby was excessive in every spectrum of his life. One example of his excessive lifestyle is his view of the “good life”. Gatsby’s parties were frequent, humongous, and extravagant. “ Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiter in New York… every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulp less halves… By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived. No thin five piece affair, but a whole pit full of oboes and trombones and saxophones and violas and…” These examples are only a little slice of the essentials for a “Gatsby” party. All of this excessiveness is way beyond rational, and reason. Another example of his excessive parties is the fact that people would be so trashed that in one event, a couple guests are in a car accident and do not even realize it. After it happens, they just walk away looking for another drink. The simple fact is that if any serious injuries or accidents occurred during his parties, Gatsby would not have to worry about liability. His extreme wealth permitted him the option of purchasing a “get out of jail free” card. Gatsby’s biggest concerns were about his guests having a good time. Gatsby is so rich that the penalties or fines that could be imposed for this behavior would not affect him in any way. This kind of wealth allows for the imagination to run wild and excessively spend time, and money in unimportant ways.
Gatsby did not only excessively spend his money on parties. He also spent a myriad of money on clothing, cars, and a plethora of other toys. “…He opened for us two hulking patent cabinets which held his massed suits and dressing gowns and ties, and shirts piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high. ‘I’ve got a man in England who buys me clothes.

Show More
Related

  • Jay Gatsby is a Sympathetic Character in Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Initially, Gatsby stirs up sympathetic feelings because of his obsession with wealth. Ever since meeting Dan Cody, his fascination for wealth has increased dramatically. He even uses illegal unmoral methods to obtain hefty amounts of wealth to spend on buying a house with “ Marie Antoinette music-rooms, Restoration Salons, dressing rooms and poolrooms, and bath rooms with sunken baths.” (88) His wardrobe is just as sensational with “ shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine fennel.” (89) Gatsby buys such posh items to impress Daisy but to him, Daisy herself is a symbol of wealth. Jay remarks, “[Daisy’s] voice is full of money.” (115). For him, Daisy is the one who is “ High in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden gir...

    Read More

  • Sacrifice In Sophocles Oedipus The King

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the play, Oedipus could see perfectly with his natural eyes. However, he was blinded to the person he actually was, an incestuous murderer and a complete fulfillment of the prophecy made years ago. After deep contemplation of Jocasta’s story of her husband’s murder, Oedipus begins to realize that he is the one responsible for taking the life of Laius. As this realization sinks in, Oedipus makes known to the reader that he is willing to accept the fate of the curse he has brought on himself as the person accused of doing the evil act. Oedipus will be the one “no citizen welcomes to his house” (206, 903). Unfortunately

    Read More

  • The Traits of Jay Gatsby

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    When looking at Jay Gatsby, one sees many different personalities and ideals. There is the gracious host, the ruthless bootlegger, the hopeless romantic, and beneath it all, there is James Gatz of North Dakota. The many faces of Gatsby make a reader question whether they truly know Gatsby as a person. Many people question what exactly made Jay Gatsby so “great.” These different personas, when viewed separately, are quite unremarkable in their own ways. When you take them together, however, you discover the complicated and unique individual that is Jay Gatsby.

    Read More

  • Nursing Corps Scholarship Program: Why I Want To Become A Nursing Community

    1174 Words  | 3 Pages

    My courses and experience has empowered, and has reinforced my determination to pursue a career as a nurse. I am eager and excited about starting nursing school, and having my dream which started as a young girl to come full circle. I am convinced I am a good candidate because I have the innate drive to complete the program. I am willing to learn and use those skills and knowledge acquired to provide something meaningful to the society and humanity. I have the personal determination to face the challenges and rigors of nursing school. With hard work, perseverance, and determination I believe I have the essential character to be successful as a nursing student and an excellent quality nurse in the near future. A degree in nursing paves ways for other degrees to emerge especially for those interested in furthering their education in health care. I am committed to continue to pursed advanced degree in nursing ultimately becoming a nurse practitioner. . In the next five to ten years from now, I want to write articles and books about nursing and healthcare related. Therefore, I believe that if I improve myself further positively, I will grow from strength to strength and one day my paper will be read in one of the prestigious newsletters, journals, and textbooks. I know the sky is my starting

    Read More

  • Themes In The Great Gatsby

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick Carraway says Gatsby’s estate is “a colossal affair by any standard” (pg. 3). He described it as “a factual imitation of some Hôtel De Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool” (4). At the beginning of the novel, it is unknown how Gatsby has made his fortune but various rumors are going around that he “killed a man” or that he was “a German spy during the war” (29). As we progress more and more though the novel, we find out that Gatsby is not the man we first thought he was. Tom accuses Gatsby of being a part of illegal activities such as buying many drugstores in New York and Chicago so he could sell “grain alcohol over the counter” (89). F. Scott Fitzgerald never explicitly confirms this, but it is the most logical explanation of how Gatsby gained so much wealth in so little time. Was Gatsby so obsessed with making money that he was willing to do criminal deeds in exchange for it? Even though he was insanely affluent, it does not seem like he will ever be truly satisfied with is

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, The Great Gatsby focuses on one of the focal characters, James Gatz, also known as Jay Gatsby. He grew up in North Dakota to a family of poor farm people and as he matured, eventually worked for a wealthy man named Dan Cody. As Gatsby is taken under Cody’s wing, he gains more than even he bargained for. He comes across a large sum of money, however ends up getting tricked out of ‘inheriting’ it. After these obstacles, he finds a new way to earn his money, even though it means bending the law to obtain it. Some people will go to a lot of trouble in order to achieve things at all costs. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, conveys the numerous traits of Jay Gatsby through the incidents he faces, how he voices himself and the alterations he undergoes through the progression of the novel. Gatsby possesses many traits that help him develop as a key character in the novel: ambitious, kind-hearted and deceitful all of which is proven through various incidents that arise in the novel.

    Read More

  • The Tragedies of Thebes

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    Oedipus lacks the Greek guiding principle of knowing thyself. He is ignorant to the fact that he is the son of Laius and Jocasta. Oedipus shows this when he finds out that Laius, who is the king of Thebes and his father has turned up dead. When Oedipus learns this he says, “A thief, so daring, so wild, he’d kill a king? Impossible unless conspirators paid him off in Thebes” (Oedipus The King 140). Unknown to Oedipus, the killer of Laius is himself. Even though Oedipus has done this unknowingly, he has still committed a terrible crime. Oedipus again shows his ignorance when he tells Jocasta about the fate a drunken man had given him. When he tells the story he says, “you are fated to couple with you mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see-you will kill your father, the one who gave you life!”(Oedipus The King 873). Oedipus later talks about how he chose to run away from Polybus and Merope in order to prevent the prophecy from becoming reality. Since Oedipus is ignorant to whom his real parents are he unknowingly runs away to Thebes where he meets his fate. In Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays Oedipus isn’t the...

    Read More

  • An Analysis of William Blake's Poem "London"

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.

    Read More

  • Nursing School Admission Essay

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    I chose nursing as a career because I found the work challenging, exciting and rewarding. I feel my skills and attributes are well suited for nursing. My ability to sta...

    Read More

  • The Theme of the Suffering Innocent in Blake's London

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    The theme of the suffering innocent person, dying and being diseased, throws a dark light onto the London seen through the eyes of William Blake. He shows us his experiences, fears and hopes with passionate images and metaphors creating a sensibility against oppression hypocrisy. His words come alive and ask for changes in society, government and church. But they remind us also that the continued renewal of society begins with new ideas, imagination and new works in every area of human experience.

    Read More

  • My Philosophy of Nursing

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    I chose nursing as my profession because nursing is my ideal profession. In nursing, I can provide others with the care and the knowledge they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I can also give others the love and attention they need to be proud of the life they live. I think that society is very vulnerable and I want to make great contributions to the world of nursing. I don’t just want to be a nurse. I want to be a great nurse who is looked up to because of my experience, knowledge, and competence as a healthcare professional.

    Read More

  • Analysis of London by William Blake

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ions of his speaker creates and underlying tension in the poem as it appears that he can not decide whether he is chastising the rich member of society for allowing the lives of the lower class to remain in such desolate or if he is sympathizing with the lower class against the elite of London. The two moods of sympathizing and chastising are created through Blake’s use of structure and figurative language; he constructs his speakers words in such a way that there is a clear division made between the elite and the suffering lower class. Blake’s poem is unique on the grounds that it contrasts the typical idea of retelling history. With any historical situation there is always two sides to the story and it is up to the person reproducing it which side will be told; Blake’s London address both point of views and lets the audience decide which side they will agree with.

    Read More

  • William Blake's "London"

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    ?London? is a poem of serious social satire directed against social institutions. According to Blake author Michael Phillips ?it is a poem whose moral realism is so severe that it is raised to the intensity of apocalyptic vision.? Blake becomes more specific in his descriptions of the prevalent evil and moral decay of society as the poem progresses. Blake?s informative nature is clearly evident in ?London? as he ?points the finger? and exposes powerful institutions.

    Read More

  • Personal Statement For Bachelor Of Nursing

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, is because I have two aunts who were graduates of the said university. They suggested that I should apply here since they had great time learning, trained by remarkable professors and skilled professional plus those university student supports are outstanding. Secondly, it is in the top three percent of the universities worldwide, one of the top 50 nursing schools, and is acknowledged by other institutions both locally and internationally; so I rest assured that the quality of education that I will be receiving is one-of-a-kind and will be special. Lastly, as I read and watch testimonies of not just the nursing graduates but other courses’ alumni, they are currently working their dream jobs and presently living their dream life thanks to this school, due to those reasons I can vision myself living the same way as them when I get accepted and graduate here in the

    Read More

  • New Criticism In William Blake's London

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Blake uses repetition, rhyming and imagery in his poem to help promote the idea that London, England is not the city that people dream that it is, the city itself can be a

    Read More

More about Is Jay Gatsby Tragic?

Open Document