Great Gatsby Byronic Hero Analysis

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Many writings use Lord Byron’s term, the “Byronic Hero”. An example of a Byronic Hero is shown in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Byronic Hero in this novel is Jay Gatsby. He is separated from society, lonely and possesses rebel features, as his job deals with illegal activities and he does not have any friends besides Nick Carraway. Jay Gatsby is a Byronic Hero in terms of him being an attractive male with an admirable personality, being intelligent but also self-centered, being emotionally sensitive, and having an intense drive and determination to live out his philosophy. Throughout the novel, it explains what kind of person Jay Gatsby is. It is evident that he is an attractive male with magnetism and charisma. …show more content…

There are many explanations to defining someone as “intelligent”. Gatsby is intelligent in the sense that he is knowledgeable in what he does for a living and knows how to achieve the things he wants. Although he is working in the underground market, it takes skill and intelligence for a person to become extremely wealthy from bootlegging without being caught. Furthermore, he knows what he wants and does his best to achieve it. Gatsby wanted to become wealthy so that he is able to provide for Daisy and not to be looked down on. When stated, “She [Daisy] vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby – nothing” (Fitzgerald, 149), it shows his determination on achieving the life that Daisy always had. Gatsby also speaks in a sophisticated manor to everyone, regardless of their class. This could be because he is an “Oxford man”. Throughout the novel, there are numerous times where it mentions Gatsby being very well educated because he is an “Oxford man”. Tom challenges this fact when he is in the car with Jordan and Nick driving to New York. He later questions Gatsby about this fact and Gatsby admits that he was in Oxford: “‘It was nineteen-nineteen. I only stayed five months. That’s why I can’t really call myself an Oxford man’” (Fitzgerald, 129). Five months may be a short amount of time, but he is still somewhat educated. Even though Gatsby is …show more content…

Gatsby was someone who did achieve this dream. His intense drive and determination to achieve this dream is the love he has for Daisy. Through the process of achieving this dream, he never forgot about Daisy as everything he was doing is for her. After he achieved this dream, he was using his wealth to throw parties in hopes that one day, Daisy would walk in and they would meet again. Regardless of what others say, Gatsby has to marry Daisy and spend the rest of his life with her. When Daisy, Tom, Nick, Jordan and Gatsby were all in New York, Gatsby forces Daisy to say that she has never loved Tom, but she could not because it was not true and Gatsby was unable to accept this fact. This also shows that he has no respect for Tom, regardless of his rank. Gatsby is also very rebellious as he is involved with illegal business and bootlegging. In addition to this, he is socially isolated as he does not have any friends besides Nick Carraway. This demonstrates the trait of him having an intense drive and determination to live out his

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