Examples Of Self-Made Man In The Great Gatsby

A self-made-man is someone who managed to make their own way in the world and become successful through hard work and dedication. They have the aspiration and drive to do something with their lives. Self-made men want to become something they weren’t born as, usually higher up on the social ladder. In F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the tragic hero is an incredible example of a self-made man. Throughout his life Jay Gatsby changed his name, constantly worked hard, collected exquisite rarities, and became a self-made man. Jay Gatsby was a determined, strong-willed man who strived to climb the social ladder his whole life. He changed everything about himself - including his name. “James Gatz - that was really, or at least legally, his name” (98). Gatsby always knew what he wanted, to the point that “he had changed it at the age of seventeen,” which was the “specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career’’ (98). He changed himself so as to give himself a fresh start and brand himself as the man he so dearly wanted to be. Changing his name was a way for him to stray from his past and become the new and improved version of himself.

From a young age he started learning every new thing he could. He wanted to better himself, because he knew it was the only way he’d make it in society. “For over a year he had been beating his way «along the South Shore of Lake Superior” (98). He was so dedicated to improving himself and working his way up in life that nothing could get in his way. This determination is what made him the self-made man he was. The drive that Jay Gatsby showed served him well in establishing is new persona, which included throwing lavish parties and trying to impress Daisy, the love of his