Your Conclusion
Restate thesis in a
creative way
• Thesis: Daisy is worthy of
Gatsby’s time and energy
because she is unusually
beautiful, perceptive, and
romantic.
• Conclusion: In terms of worth,
Daisy is indeed a character who
has enough redeeming qualities
to completely captivate a man
as great as Jay Gatsby.
• Gatsby has wasted his life in
pursuit of Daisy, an unworthy
character who does not know
what she wants and lacks the
willpower to make decisions for
herself.
• Despite the many efforts that
Gatsby has expended in
pursuing Daisy, she is not worth
his time or energy because she
lacks the conviction and passion
that he has.
• Gatsby is in no way a tragic
hero because he is not noble or
“great” in any way.
• Gatsby does not qualify as a
tragic hero because he lacks the
characteristics necessary to
properly be called one.
Creatively restate thesis
• Gatsby is indeed a tragic hero
because he lived a courageous
and virtuous life and died
because of a single
characteristic-his unfading love
for Daisy.
Elaborate/Explain
thesis
• Jay Gatsby lived his life with the
single-minded and noble purpose of
reuniting with the love of his life, a
glamorous and noble cause. He was
able to successfully create an
environment that allowed him to
achieve his goal to some extent, but that
which had once fueled him and
motivated him also ended up being the
cause of his demise. Because of the
very intensity and passion that had gone
into winning Daisy, he inadvertently
put his life at risk to defend her
conscience and reputation.
Expand Thesis
• Provide further details and/or
counterargument
• Connect thesis to a larger
worldview
• If/when appropriate, offer a
solution
Further
details/Counterargument
• Though some may argue that
Gatsby does not qualify as a
“hero” because he used corrupt
ways to win back Daisy, readers
must remember that Gatsby had to
work against a society that did not
easily allow poor men to ever
become rich. If anything, Gatsby
was simply smart enough to work
the system, adding to his “heroic”
status. His qualities and the way
in which he lived and died truly
make him a tragic hero.
Connect thesis to a
larger worldview
• Gatsby lived the majority of his adult
life in pursuit of a single and noble
dream. He ended up dying for that
dream, much in the same way that
heroes such as JFK and Martin Luther
King Jr. died for their causes. Perhaps
for a person to truly become a hero,
he/she must become a martyr for
his/her cause. Most people will be
willing to live for a certain ideal, but
very few would be willing to die for
one. True greatness and heroicness can
only be achieved through martyrdom.
If/when appropriate,
offer a solution
• Gatsby cannot be considered a hero
because the object of his pursuit was
not a worthy one to begin with. One
must be careful in choosing causes to
live and die for. Had Gatsby died in the
pursuit of justice or freedom, in the way
that JFK and Martin Luther King Jr.
had, his death could be considered a
tragedy. However, he chose to die for
an infatuation that was not mutual. His
life and death should serve as a
reminder to be careful in choosing what
to live and die for. Only if a pursuit
improves the lives of others is it worth
dying for. Otherwise, when that life
ends, it is more pathetic than it is tragic.