THE GREAT GATSBY by F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Choose a novel in which your sympathy for a particular character grows as the plot unfolds.
Explain briefly why your sympathy increases, and in more detail, discuss how the writer
achieves this.
“The Great Gatsby” is a tragic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is set in New York during
the 1920s. The story focuses on a wealthy young man named Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of the
novel. Gatsby is in love with Daisy Buchanan, an attractive, careless and rich young woman.
There are many themes which are skilfully conveyed throughout the novel, such as love, the
pursuit of dreams, the decadence of the 1920s, death and deception. As the novel progresses, the
reader’s sympathy for Gatsby increases as his dream of Daisy slowly falls apart. F. Scott
Fitzgerald evokes the reader’s sympathy through Gatsby's isolation in society, his extreme
nervousness at meeting Daisy, the loss of Daisy and Gatsby’s death. Furthermore, our sympathies
are increased by Gatsby’s father who reveals a book from his son’s childhood, and the narrator
Nick Carraway who was Gatsby’s only true friend.
From the beginning of the novel, the reader begins to feel sympathetic towards Gatsby when he is
described as being isolated in society:
“…with complete isolation the figure of the host, who stood on the porch,
his hand up in a formal gesture of farewell.”
Fitzgerald states that Gatsby was in “complete isolation”, even when surrounded by the large
numbers of people who attend his extravagant parties. The word “isolation” shows that Gatsby is
secluded and detached from others due to his inability to socialise. Therefore, the reader begins to
feel sympathetic towards Gatsby because he is lonely and alienated. The reader’s sympathy for
Gatsby increases further when it is stated that he is unattached, unlike everyone else at the party
(“…no one swooned backward on Gatsby, and no French bob touched Gatsby’s shoulder …”).
The use of the two negatives emphasises the fact that Gatsby is unaccompanied, with no partner at
his side. Hence, sympathy for Gatsby increases because he appears to have no romantic
involvement with anyone. However, this is due to his unfaltering love for Daisy Buchanan.
Overall, the reader’s sympathy for the main character is created through Fitzgerald’s subtle
indications of Gatsby’s isolation in society.
In addition to Gatsby’s isolation in society, Fitzgerald evokes the reader’s sympathies by
describing Gatsby’s extreme nervousness during his meeting with Daisy:
“Gatsby, pale as death…”
The simile “pale as death” has connotations of illness, shock and nervousness. This helps the
reader to understand that Gatsby looks physically ill because he is so overwhelmed at meeting
Daisy. It is as though he is suffering due to his extreme love for her. Therefore, the reader feels
sympathetic towards Gatsby because he is experiencing such a strong reaction to meeting the
woman he loves. This idea is further strengthened by the description of Gatsby’s eyes. The author
describes them to be “vacant”, almost as if they were empty and Gatsby could not see. Gatsby is so
overcome with emotion he appears to be incapable of paying attention to anything. Hence, this
further highlights his distress and nervousness at meeting Daisy. Fitzgerald demonstrates how the
reality of Daisy is too much to take in for Gatsby. The author states that “Now, in the reaction, he
was running down like an overwound clock.” This simile has connotations of someone being like a
coiled spring. By comparing Gatsby to an “overwound clock”, this shows that he has become so
tense during his meeting with Daisy that he simply cannot act properly. Gatsby is beginning to
discover that the reality is very different from his dream, and this revelation comes as a shock to
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THE GREAT GATSBY by F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
him. To conclude, the reader’s sympathies are increased because of the effective way the author
portrays Gatsby’s feelings at meeting Daisy.
During his final meeting with Daisy, Gatsby reveals how he has loved her for five long years.
However, as Daisy is unable to commit to Gatsby, his dream of her goes to pieces:
“…only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away,
trying to touch what was no longer tangible…”
The alliteration “dead dream” unequivocally shows that Gatsby’s dream of Daisy is gone because
it will never happen in reality. By stating that the dream “fought on”, this provokes the reader’s
sympathies further. The reader feels pity towards Gatsby because he is still trying to hold onto his
hopes of being with Daisy. The word “slipped” highlights how Gatsby’s struggle is all in vain. The
afternoon is almost over, so there is no chance for another attempt to win Daisy. Just as the
afternoon is disappearing, Gatsby’s dream of Daisy has also slipped out of his grasp. Hence,
Fitzgerald’s use of language makes us feel sympathetic towards Gatsby as he tries unsuccessfully
to hold his dream.
Ultimately, the reader feels most sympathy towards Gatsby in his death:
“..the laden mattress moved irregularly down the pool … tracing …
a thin red circle in the water.”
Gatsby meets his death in his own swimming pool, having been shot by the misled and griefstricken George Wilson, who wrongly blames Gatsby for the death of Myrtle Wilson. It is ironic
that Gatsby dies on the water because he has not used the swimming pool all summer. It could also
be considered fitting that he died on the water, having been ‘born’ on the water when he took up
employment on Dan Cody’s yacht. Gatsby’s death stirs up strong feelings of sympathy because it
was accidental. George Wilson was misinformed about his wife’s killer, thus Gatsby’s death was
not meant to happen. The reader’s sympathies are increased further because of the subtle way
which Fitzgerald describes Gatsby’s death. By stating the mattress moved “irregularly”, this
reveals to the reader that something terrible has happened, without actually stating the facts. The
description “a thin red circle in the water” poignantly conveys to the reader that Gatsby is dead.
Overall, the reader’s sympathies towards Gatsby increase due to the accidental nature of his death
and the subtle yet moving way it is described.
The appearance of Gatsby’s father near the end of the novel helps to further increase our
sympathies when it is revealed that Gatsby had huge aspirations:
“Rise from bed 6.00AM …
Study electricity, etc. 7.15-8.15 AM …
Practice elocution, pose and how to attain it 5.00 – 6.00PM”
Gatsby’s father James Gatz helps to increase our sympathies for Gatsby when he reveals a book he
has kept from Gatsby’s childhood. This book is a type of talisman for Gatz, who treasures it
because of the connections it has with his son. In the back of the book, the young Gatsby had made
a schedule. The items in the schedule help to increase our sympathies because they reveal that
even as a young child, Gatsby had big aspirations to improve himself and become successful
(“Practice elocution, pose and how to attain it…”). Gatsby was ultimately preparing himself to
leave home for something more exciting. Our sympathies are increased further when it is revealed
that Gatsby came from humble beginnings. His father is described as wearing “a cheap ulster”
which highlights Gatsby’s poor upbringing. Hence, we admire Gatsby for becoming so wealthy
when he came from a poor background. James Gatz helps us to realise how far Gatsby has come in
his life. However, although Gatsby became rich and successful in later life, it was through criminal
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means. Therefore, we feel sympathetic towards Gatsby because he was unable to achieve success
in an honest fashion. Furthermore, the young Gatsby’s aspirations remind us of his hopes of
attracting someone like Daisy in later life. Hence, we feel sympathetic towards Gatsby as we are
reminded how Gatsby was unable to achieve his dream of Daisy. To conclude, the reader’s
sympathies are increased through the appearance of James Gatz, who reveals Gatsby’s poor
background and big aspirations.
Finally, our sympathies for Gatsby are increased through the narrator Nick Carraway when he
reveals that no-one will come to Gatsby’s funeral:
“…no-one else was interested.”
After Gatsby’s death, Nick was left the job of arranging the funeral. However, he states that
nobody wanted to come. This is very sad because it shows that Gatsby’s friends were only
interested in his money and his decadent parties, rather than the man himself. This increases the
reader’s sympathies because we feel sorry for Gatsby as he had so little friends to rely on. In
addition, our sympathies are increased further when Nick has a phone conversation with
Klipspringer. Understandably, Nick gets annoyed when he realises that Klipspringer has no
intension of attending Gatsby’s funeral; he is only interested in getting back a pair of tennis shoes
he left at Gatsby’s house. This further highlights the fact that some of Gatsby’s friends were only
interested in personal gain, rather than Gatsby himself. Nick states that “I found myself on
Gatsby’s side, and alone.” Nick was Gatsby’s only close friend, so he feels inclined to protect him
and organise his affairs. Our sympathies are increased further when Nick reveals that “Daisy
hadn’t sent a message or a flower.” We sympathise with Gatsby because Daisy has not even made
the effort to contact Nick about Gatsby’s death. Overall, our sympathies for Gatsby are increased
due to the lack of support from his so-called friends after his death.
To conclude, our sympathy for Gatsby increases throughout the novel. We feel inclined to
sympathise with Gatsby because he does not socialise and seems unable to fit properly into
society. In addition, his extreme nervousness at meeting Daisy provokes our sympathies as he is so
anxious around the woman he loves. Furthermore, we sympathise with Gatsby as he tries to
salvage his dream of Daisy as it rapidly collapses before him. We pity him because his dreams
were on too big a scale. Our sympathies towards Gatsby reach a climax as a result of his accidental
death. Gatsby’s death is the ultimate sympathy. Finally, our sympathies increase further as we
learn that Gatsby came from humble beginnings, and we are saddened that so few people attended
his funeral. Overall, the reader’s sympathy is achieved in a variety of ways throughout the novel,
for example through literary techniques, description and use of characters.
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