The Truly Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

863 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Jay gatsbys hopes and dreams

The Truly Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

Hopes and dreams are needed to give man's efforts a meaning, or a purpose. Pushing towards some ideal is how man can feel a sense of his own identity. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man with tremendous and "infinite hope" (Fitzgerald, 6). To be able to accomplish a life long dream, one must have strong determination that can in no way be weakened by any obstacles one might face. It is the hope of achieving your dream that keeps you from wandering away from it and guides you to the right path. In order to achieve his dream, Gatsby was motivated, optimistic and brave. Whether or not he eventually was able to accomplish this dream, having these qualities in a person certainly indicate that this person, or Gatsby, is a hopeful person who has "some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life" (Fitzgerald, 6).

Gatsby was a motivated person because he had a purpose and goal for his life. The Buchanans are a great contrast to Gatsby's character. Their sheltered lives, filled with material possessions and luxuries, yet empty of purpose, proved how people with all the material needs tend to lose sight of their ultimate purpose in life. Daisy's complaining was very significant, "What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?" (Fitzgerald, 125.) In contrast, Gatsby was different from the Buchanans. Gatsby, with his "extraordinary gift of hope" (Fitzgerald, 6) placed in comparison to the aimlessness of Tom and Daisy, reaches heroic nobility. Although Gatsby's quest to bring back the love of his life, Daisy, was marked by obsession, it played an important role in motivating him by establishing a purpose for his life. When he was in...

... middle of paper ...

..., 151). Even though Gatsby knew what would be the consequences of this statement, his devoted love to Daisy, alongside with his bravery, was enough to make him state this dangerous statement.

In the end, one can clearly see the true man behind Gatsby, the man with the promising hope and inspiring dream. Gatsby was, indeed, a great man who did not live only for himself, but for another being whom he truly and faithfully loved. He devoted his entire life in order to satisfy this being, and gave it up while trying to protect it. He was not ashamed of his past, nor was he ashamed to say the truth. He was an optimistic and motivated man who did not believe in the impossibility of anything. Finally, he was a man who was born, lived, and died for an ultimate purpose: Daisy.

Works Cited:

Fitzgerald, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster, New York. 1925.

Show More
Related

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    377 Words  | 1 Pages

    Gatsby is unrealistic. He believes he can relive the past and rekindle the flame he and Daisy once had. He is lost in his dream and accepts that anything can be repeated, "Can't repeat the past…Why of course you can!" (116, Fitzgerald). For Gatsby, failure to realize this resurrection of love is utterly appalling. His whole career, his conception of himself and his life is totally shattered. Gatsby's death when it comes is almost insignificant, for with the collapse of his dream, he is spiritually dead.

    Read More

  • Scrooge in A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    small its as if it only has one coal. Being so cheap and not wanting

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gatsby is a man of extreme capabilities but he fails to see the inevitability of his vision's failure, and in his inability to see this, he keeps trying to attain it. He does everything in his power to accomplish this vision, until his death. Daisy indirectly causes Gatsby's death, making her more than ever, unworthy of Gatsby's affections. Ironically, Gatsby lived for Daisy and up to his death, believed and had faith in her and his vision.

    Read More

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. James Gatz, better known as Jay Gatsby, is the main character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This novel is a story about Gatsby, and his relentless pursuit of his one and only dream and goal: Daisy Buchannon. Gatsby and Daisy met in 1917, five years prior to the setting of the novel. They fell in love immediately and spent countless hours together.

    Read More

  • How The Great Gatsby Relates to the American Dream

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gatsby spent his whole life striving for one thing. The American Dream, which for him is mainly dominated by Daisy. In chapter nine of the book you can see that Gatsby started striving to meet the American Dream at young age. The reader learns of a book of Gatsby's. He has his everyday routine planned out in this book. Things like "Read one improving book or magazine per week." Show That Gatsby wants to improve himself to a point where he can succeed. That isn't all Gatsby did to improve his chances of success though. He even went to the extent of changing his name from James Gatz, to Jay Gatsby in an attempt to create a new, successful man that people could admire.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘He paid a high price for living too long with a single dream’.

    Read More

  • Why Is Daisy Buchanan Important In The Great Gatsby

    1364 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gatsby desired to be rich and successful, and he thought that if he was with Daisy, she could give him that life. He developed an image of her in his mind that no human could ever live up to, associating her with wealth, fame, and success. Before Gatsby's death readers learn that his longing for Daisy was actually a parallel of his longing for the American Dream.

    Read More

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby functions under the illusion that Daisy is perfect and is living in such distress because she was forced to marry Tom due to Gatsby being away at war and being poor. This illusion leads Gatsby to spend his entire adult life pining after Daisy and cheating his way up the social and economic ladder in order to win her over. Gatsby believes that Daisy will someday come back to him because she loves him so much and they will live happily ever after together.

    Read More

  • Money Can't Buy Happiness in F.Scott Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...illingly for a murder Daisy committed and not him. Gatsby had a period of happiness when he was with Daisy and thought it was the best time of his life, and Daisy seemed to think the same. Gatsby was still not good enough for Daisy though because he was part of West Egg, the lesser wealthy. But everything seemed to be an illusion; the story took place in the time of the Gilded Age. Nothing was how it seemed to be, while everything seems to be good on the outside, deep down there are always problems and abandoned memories, which eventually come up again and often causes problems. We all make mistakes in our life, love can influence our decisions greatly, but what’s important in life is setting your priorities straight, becoming a better person from our mistakes, and lastly, loving a person for whom they are on the inside rather than any material possessions or looks.

    Read More

  • Daisy Is The Most Admirable Character In The Great Gatsby

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    While Gatsby’s unrelenting pursuit of Daisy is admirable in a sense, it's also Gatsby's rags to riches story that gives the reader a sense of admiration for Jay Gatsby. Coming from so little, and having no regard for the obstacles that he faced in acquiring Daisy’s love, Gatsby built a life for himself that people could only dream of. Gatsby’s drive and commitment to the dream of being with Daisy is what makes him so

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Native Son

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jay Gatsby was a dreamer. His character personified the American Dream of rising from rags to riches.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Obstacles

    516 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby an obstacle of a conflict that Gatsby faces is that he could not marry Daisy because he was not wealthy enough and he had to go to war. Once he was back from being at war him and Daisy did not communicate much so she chose to marry Tom. After that moment Gatsby did everything he could to try and get wealthy and get Daisy back for himself. Once he got wealthy he started throwing parties every weekend hoping one day Daisy would show up so he can try and get her back. Even though Gatsby Showed great perseverance in the end none of it worked out for him and he ended up dying because he tried too hard to get Daisy.

    Read More

  • Patience in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...s drive him to be patient, determined, secretive, and careless with his wealth. He truly was a “great” man, as title suggest, stating from nothing but through hope and inspiration from his one true love he creates a “promising future” for himself (Myer). While at first the traits Gatsby posses may seem in some ways beneficial, they prove themselves to be just the opposite as this story progressed. One reason proving that these qualities were detrimental was the fact that Jay Gatsby possessed and used the qualities for all the wrong reasons. The main reason being that Gatsby did everything for Daisy was one of his greatest assets and sweetest downfalls. Furthermore, Gatsby allowed these traits to consume him and cause him to make poor mistakes, thus leading to his tragic death. And although that is true, his unbending love for her ruined him even before his death.

    Read More

  • In The Great Gatsby, Is Gatsby Truly Great?

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nick describes Gatsby as “one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life(Ch.3).” Such description unifies the appearance of Gatsby with people’s expectation of a man who accomplished the American dream. The obsession with wealth often blinds people from the potential crisis. The crisis of having everything they worked and struggled for redefined if the reality fails them. Just like strivers who chase the American dream, Gatsby also spent his whole life in pursuit of his American dream, which Daisy was a major component of.

    Read More

  • Self-Identity in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jay Gatsby believes that wealth and power can lead to love and happiness. He spends his entire life trying to create himself and change his past so that he can rekindle his love affair with the love of his life Daisy Buchanan. The two were young lovers, unable to be together because of very different social statuses. After Gatsby learns that he cannot be with Daisy because of this, he spends the rest of his life attempting to acquire wealth and power.

    Read More

More about The Truly Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald

Open Document