Aristotle And The Great Gatsby

“An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear (what we call) the catharsis of such emotions” (Aristotle). This is what the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle, believes a drama must have to be great, which he explains in his essay Poetics. Aristotle believed that it was possible to categorize works of art, namely dramas, as being better than another by the use of his “rubric.” Basically, Aristotle says that to be a great drama, the drama must: have a clear protagonist that the audience identifies with, the protagonist must have a downfall and while watching
In The Great Gatsby film, the protagonist is Jay Gatsby, whom is easy for the audience to identify with. Jay Gatsby was born into poverty, but he always believed he had greatness in him. When he was a teen, Gatsby went to Lake Superior, where he met a man named Dan Cody. Dan became Gatsby’s mentor and taught him how to act and speak like a gentleman. Later during his training for the infantry in World War I, Gatsby met and fell in love with the a rich young woman named Daisy. While he was away, Gatsby found out that Daisy had been married to a very wealthy man Tom Buchanan. From that moment on, Gatsby decided to commit his life to becoming a very wealthy man and to win back Daisy's love. The fact that Gatsby was born into a life of poverty and he strove to become something more for his love, is a fact that makes him identifiable with the audience, who understands wanting to overcome odds and become a greater person. “We will identify with characters who are ‘just as we are’”
When an audience watches The Great Gatsby, they can’t help but sympathize with Jay, even though he is a fictitious character. It is sad to see Gatsby do everything he possibly can for the love of his life, but only to have Daisy not return his same love. He even lets Daisy drive his car and inevitably takes the blame for killing someone, just to protect Daisy. When Jay is murdered, Daisy doesn’t even show up to his funeral. It is a very emotional thing to watch when a lovers efforts are wasted away to nothing because of another’s lack of love. While the audiences watches Jay Gatsby’s downfall, they also can’t help feeling fear. Despite the pity, there is the unspoken feeling that most of the audience is glad it was Jay Gatsby’s life and not theirs. The Great Gatsby invokes the fear of the possibility that this type of downfall could happen in the audience’s own