Gatsby Essay
Gatsby does not deserve the title of ‘great’. He only seems so when compared with Tom and Daisy. Discuss.
“You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”, the narrator Nick Carraway, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, says this. He is alluding to the certainty that Jay Gatsby does deserve the title of ‘great’. Gatsby may be a deeply flawed man, who is dishonest and vulgar, but he still possesses extraordinary optimism and the power to transform his dreams into reality makes him ‘great’ nonetheless. When compared to Tom and Daisy Buchanan he is of a higher quality because they are supercilious and are very discriminatory of Gatsby’s money.
Toward the end of the novel Nick tells Gatsby he is ‘worth the whole damn bunch put together’, Nick is referring to Tom and Daisy. This confession happens after the car crash in which Myrtle dies. Gatsby has taken the blame even though Daisy was driving. ‘They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things… and let other people clean up the mess they made’, this is not the only time the Buchanan’s let Gatsby take the fall for them. Tom also lets George Wilson believe that his wife Myrtle was having an affair with Gatsby, when in truth she was having an affair with Tom. Because of Tom not telling Gatsby the truth this lead to his death. When Gatsby is compared to the Buchanan’s he does deserve the title of great.
Throughout the novel there is only one instance when Gatsby does not deserve the title of great. This is when we find out about Gatsby’s past. To make so much money in such a little time Gatsby had to turn to illegal means. When Daisy and Tom learn about this past they greatly disapprove, as they both inherited their money in an honest way. This shows that Tom and Daisy do have morals, despite there lack of anything else. We also learn about Gatsby’s shallowness. When talking to Nick about Daisy, Gatsby tells him ‘her voice is full of money’. This makes us question whether Gatsby is
“You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”, the narrator Nick Carraway, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, says this. He is alluding to the certainty that Jay Gatsby does deserve the title of ‘great’. Gatsby may be a deeply flawed man, who is dishonest and vulgar, but he still possesses extraordinary optimism and the power to transform his dreams into reality makes him ‘great’ nonetheless. When compared to Tom and Daisy Buchanan he is of a higher quality because they are supercilious and are very discriminatory of Gatsby’s money.
Toward the end of the novel Nick tells Gatsby he is ‘worth the whole damn bunch put together’, Nick is referring to Tom and Daisy. This confession happens after the car crash in which Myrtle dies. Gatsby has taken the blame even though Daisy was driving. ‘They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things… and let other people clean up the mess they made’, this is not the only time the Buchanan’s let Gatsby take the fall for them. Tom also lets George Wilson believe that his wife Myrtle was having an affair with Gatsby, when in truth she was having an affair with Tom. Because of Tom not telling Gatsby the truth this lead to his death. When Gatsby is compared to the Buchanan’s he does deserve the title of great.
Throughout the novel there is only one instance when Gatsby does not deserve the title of great. This is when we find out about Gatsby’s past. To make so much money in such a little time Gatsby had to turn to illegal means. When Daisy and Tom learn about this past they greatly disapprove, as they both inherited their money in an honest way. This shows that Tom and Daisy do have morals, despite there lack of anything else. We also learn about Gatsby’s shallowness. When talking to Nick about Daisy, Gatsby tells him ‘her voice is full of money’. This makes us question whether Gatsby is