The Psyche of James Gatz

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What is a “great” man doing that makes him “great”? It could be his hair. Or maybe his smile. Maybe it is the way he smells or speaks. It might be the way handles the stresses of life, poverty or wealth, comfort or hardship. Or could it be his ideals; the way he lives his life and what morals he lives by. Greatness can be measured by what a man does. Or can it be measured by what a man does not do. The question arises. who is more great: a man who lives five years of his life to become what he feels as worthy of being loved by the love of his life; or a man who thinks himself to be a “Son of God”, who is capable of turning back the wheel of time to relive and rewrite, not only his, but the history of others around him? A man who does both may not be truly great. Does Jay Gatsby deserve the moniker given to him in the title of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby? Maybe his life is not as extravagant as he hopes to portray. Maybe even this romantic, reaching for his “green light”, falls short of his “self-made” title.

As Gatsby sees his hand slipping from Daisy's, he reluctantly lets go; with the hope that the pair will be together again someday. In his mind, Gatsby is hoping that when he gets enough money, his return to Daisy will be welcomed lovingly. The truth is, when he does feel the time is right, Daisy has moved on. Nevertheless, when faced with Daisy's husband and daughter, Gatsby keeps his dream alive by continuing to pursue Daisy. Gatsby ultimately “commits himself to the following of a grail” (Fitzgerald 149). An allusion to the Holy Grail, the valiant quest of King Arthur, to show how both Nick and Gatsby believe that his intentions and choices are utterly justified. He does all he can to make her love him again. G...

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...self. Sooner or later, even Gatz would be unable to live up to his dream, and this would have destroyed him. The emotional turmoil and frustration would build and erode away Gatz character.

Thus, the question stands. Does a man who breaks laws and, in the end, disregards the lives of others in the search of his phantasmagorical dream deserve to be referred to as “great”? Even the most valiant and glorious people have their cons. More than most, Gatz refuses to attempt to have the decency to be ashamed. James Gatz is the poster-child for narcissism. He is the epitome of self-destructive behavior. He is more like the Buchanans than he might wish to be. He became a wining child, kicking and screaming. He stomped around his play pen with pure disregard for others and the value of their life. And in the end, he is nothing more than a poor farmer's son from North Dakota.

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