In what sense is Gatsby `great`
In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main protagonist
Jay Gatsby is presented as being great in several senses, such as being a
romantic, the way he is perceived, his potential, this greatness is only limited
to an extent. This limitation of greatness is due to his pursuit of a distorted
American Dream, and this is the central idea of the novel. For Gatsby, the
American Dream is the love of Daisy Buchanan, a woman whom Gatsby has
perceived with an idealistic image of the perfect trophy wife, an image
which Daisy neither possesses nor deserves. In the novel, the greatness (and
limitations of that greatness) of Gatsby is developed through how Fitzgerald
comments on the American Dream, using the character of Gatsby to develop
his core themes.
Arguably, the quality which makes Gatsby great is that he dedicates his life
to making his dreams a reality, which is part of the central idea of the novel.
The central idea of the novel is the decline of the American Dream in 1920's
New York, as Fitzgerald portrays this time as an era of decayed social and
moral values, evidently by the overarching cynicism, greed and empty
pursuit of pleasure. Originally, the American Dream was about discovery,
individualism, and pursuit of happiness, but the society of 1920's New York,
as depicted in the novel, is about easy money and relaxed social values
leading to the corruption of this dream. For example, the party in Tom's
apartment, where he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, expresses the
deterioration of morality and culture due corruption and self-indulgence in
luxury. However, Gatsby is different, which is expressed by the grand
parties where people came "with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket
of admission. Gatsby's conspicuous generosity shows his romantic character
(especially as all these parties are only attempts to attract one woman, Daisy)
as opposed Tom's tawdry party. Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy, to win her love, is
the dream he lives for, and hope sustains him. Daisy is Gatsby's version of
the American Dream, the love of his life, the perfect housewife, the ultimate
status, "the king's daughter, the golden girl" (however all of these qualities
are just Gatsby's idealization of her after dreaming about her for five years)
and he is willing to sacrificing everything to obtain her. Eventually, Gatsby
wins Daisy's love but this is short lived due the confrontation with Tom,
where Gatsby is defeated, as Tom establishes that Daisy will stop having an
affair because she is part of the Establishment, and Gatsby is a law-breaker.
This is the point of the novel, where the limitations of Gatsby's greatness are
revealed, as all he lives for are dreams, idealizations of reality which will
ultimately leave him unsatisfied as he will never reach that perfect world.
Gatsby is also great due to his qualities of love and loyalty, especially during
a time of corrupt social values. Another central idea of the novel is the silent
antagonism between 'New Money', the newly minted millionaires, and 'Old
Money', the old aristocracy of the country's richest families. In the novel,
Gatsby is symbolic of New Money society and the Buchanans (and Jordan)
are symbolic of Old Money. The Buchanans are portrayed as possessing
taste, elegance, grace, subtlety epitomized by their tasteful home and the
flowing white dress of Daisy and Jordan. However, the Buchanans also
display a relaxed lazy pose of ennui, the boredom of a sophisticated and rich
person which has everything they want. Gatsby is arguably great because,
although he is rich, he has a different, more hopeful attitude towards life.
Gatsby, as a stereotype of the newly rich, is portrayed as being vulgar,
gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste. For example,
Gatsby lives in a monstrously ornate mansion, drives a Rolls-Royce, wears a
pink suit and does not pick up on subtle social signals. However, what
Gatsby lacks in taste, he makes up for in heart. Although, his money is made
from criminal means, he is sincere, loyal, and has genuine love for Daisy.
For example, when Daisy runs over Myrtle in Gatsby's car, Gatsby takes the
blame for Daisy, a chivalrous act of love and loyalty towards Daisy, which
ultimately results in his death. Daisy, however, does not respond to Gatsby's
death, her silence displaying disloyalty, cowardice and self-serving nature,
despite Gatsby's noble sacrifice. However, the greatness of Gatsby's sacrifice
is only limited as the cause (Daisy) is arguably not worth the trouble. Gatsby
is great because despite his wealth, he is sincere, loyal, and holds genuine
love for Daisy, and these qualities lead to his death as he takes the blame for
Daisy's murder. However, his greatness is limited to an extent because his
noble qualities are spent on an unworthy cause as Daisy is not the perfect
person Gatsby sees her as.
Fitzgerald uses the character of Gatsby, to explore the flaws of 1920's New
York lifestyle and the distorted American Dream of that era. Gatsby is great
because in a shallow world of empty pursuit of pleasure, wealth and luxury,
he still has hope and sincere qualities of love and loyalty. However, Gatsby's
greatness is only limited due to the goals he strives for; shallow wealth and
luxury, and the idealized love of Daisy.