Why Is The Great Gatsby Great
The “Great” Jay Gatsby
The word great has many meanings – outstanding, eminent, grand, important, extraordinary, noble, etc. - and varies along with the intent of the speaker and on the interpretation of the hearer. Someone may perceive something as great, and yet someone else may see that same thing as horrendous. The greatness of a being is not determined by themselves, but by those around them who experience, and perceive, their greatness through actions and words. In the book, “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is the narrator, Nick, who judges Gatsby as a great person with a “gorgeous” personality. It is his way of perceiving Gatsby that leads us to also find him “great”. Gatsby, through his actions, his dreams and …show more content…
He is great in the terms of the social height he attained and his material gains. He climbed his way up to greatness by working hard, achieving his dreams and – fundamentally – by being “innocent”.
Gatsby’s real name is “James Gatz” but he “had changed it at the age of seventeen” “when he saw Dan Cody’s yacht drop anchor”. Dan Cody is his first step towards the wealth that he desires. Dan Cody leaves him an inheritance that he is cheated out of, yet one can consider that as a first step towards his wealth.
Gatsby’s parents “were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” thus meaning that Gatsby had no status and no wealth. Over the years, he managed to gain status by making a lot of money and managed to create the image he wanted to have based on his dream; this is the first part of his dream that he managed to realize.
One may say that Gatsby is not great at all, for the means by which he made his money are not legal – he was a bootlegger. This, however, could be almost considered as somewhat acceptable, for men needed to get their alcohol somehow and many people became bootleggers, thus not taking anything away from Gatsby’s
The word great has many meanings – outstanding, eminent, grand, important, extraordinary, noble, etc. - and varies along with the intent of the speaker and on the interpretation of the hearer. Someone may perceive something as great, and yet someone else may see that same thing as horrendous. The greatness of a being is not determined by themselves, but by those around them who experience, and perceive, their greatness through actions and words. In the book, “The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it is the narrator, Nick, who judges Gatsby as a great person with a “gorgeous” personality. It is his way of perceiving Gatsby that leads us to also find him “great”. Gatsby, through his actions, his dreams and …show more content…
He is great in the terms of the social height he attained and his material gains. He climbed his way up to greatness by working hard, achieving his dreams and – fundamentally – by being “innocent”.
Gatsby’s real name is “James Gatz” but he “had changed it at the age of seventeen” “when he saw Dan Cody’s yacht drop anchor”. Dan Cody is his first step towards the wealth that he desires. Dan Cody leaves him an inheritance that he is cheated out of, yet one can consider that as a first step towards his wealth.
Gatsby’s parents “were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” thus meaning that Gatsby had no status and no wealth. Over the years, he managed to gain status by making a lot of money and managed to create the image he wanted to have based on his dream; this is the first part of his dream that he managed to realize.
One may say that Gatsby is not great at all, for the means by which he made his money are not legal – he was a bootlegger. This, however, could be almost considered as somewhat acceptable, for men needed to get their alcohol somehow and many people became bootleggers, thus not taking anything away from Gatsby’s