Character Essay: Gatsby

Character Essay: Gatsby In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, many characters appear to be one thing, but are truly a completely different thing. A prime example of a character who is not what he appears to be is James Gatsby. He appears to be a confident, powerful, wealthy man, but really he is insecure, and hides behind his new wealth. In the novel, Gatsby is built up to be a big good looking man and is thought to be extremely wealthy, confident, and popular. From a reader's point of view, Gatsby is a man who has very little confidence, tries to fit in with the crowd, and covers his issues up with his vast amount of money. Gatsby drives a yellow Rolls Royce, which symbolizes new money. "New money" means that he recently earned his money himself, not by inheritance. People with new money buy fancy cars and things to show off their money, but people with old money already are recognized for having money so they do not feel the need to show it off. Gatsby rides into town with his magnificent car to impress Nick and everyone else in town. This shows how
Gatsby uses his money to draw attention to his wealth and to hide that he is unconfident with his status in society solely by his personality. Gatsby also throws elaborate, unreal parties with waiters, entertainers, fancy decorations, and an incredible variety of food. Nobody needs an invite and almost everybody in town shows up. Gatsby throws the parties partly to become popular in the town and to have a good image. Gatsby had a dream of becoming wealthy and successful even back when he was still
James Gatz and lived on a farm. After Gatsby met Daisy, his strive to become wealthy became prominent. Daisy could would not be with anybody who wasn't rich, so Gatsby decided after the war he needed to become rich. He got honors at the war, demonstrating greatness as a superb soldier. Upon his return to America, Gatsby concentrated mainly on winning