The term ‘Great’ can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Fitzgerald doesn’t mention the word great in his book, ‘The Great Gatsby’ apart from in the title; this incredibly short title shows a lot of meaning behind the character of Gatsby. It could be ironic, mysterious or an ode to Gatsby himself. However the title could be alluding to Gatsby’s great heart or love with Daisy
The name ‘Great Gatsby’ immediately invokes the thought of a showman or a magician, especially with ‘the’ in the title. The simple and humble beginnings of Jimmy Gatz were almost miraculously transformed into the lavish lifestyle that Gatsby thought was his destiny. In this respect Jimmy Gatz is the ‘Great Gatsby’ his whole life is an illusion that he conjured up to change his life completely. However there are holes in the lifestyle he created compared to the way he acted, especially during his extravagant parties, he never fully mastered the role of host, he didn’t talk to all the guests instead he tended to skulk and hope that Daisy would appear from across the lake.
There are major problems with Gatsby’s decision to obliterate his past life, namely he no longer feels completely comfortable in himself. This means that he can’t be considered a great man within society. In the 1920s a Great man was considered to know everyone, throw lavish parties and be successful. This was Gatsby to an extent, he was able to manipulate the law through his connections to keep him out of trouble, he threw spectacular parties and he can be considered successful. However he could no longer connect with people, even with Daisy he often lost his nerve and ability to speak to her. Nick has to make him talk to Daisy the first time they meet again ‘you’re acting like a little boy….not only that but you’re being rude’. This is again a sign that Gatsby isn’t naturally a socialite; he wasn’t brought up with money and didn’t attend parties so he doesn’t know how to host or to make small talk. He’s therefore not a Great socialite man.
He manages to reinvent himself, through his sudden increase in money, his friendship with Mr Dan Cody and his need to be with Daisy; this is what makes him great in Nick Carraway’s eyes. Nick admires Gatsby to the extent that he’s amazed at the life Gatsby has managed to attain purely for the love of a girl, Daisy. However Nick believes that Gatsby’s love was misplaced, he believed that the Daisy that Gatsby had desired and dreamed about, had been romanticised so heavily by Gatsby, that the real Daisy could no longer fulfil Gatsby’s dream of her. In Gatsby’s mind Daisy is a dream that he is striving to achieve, he tries desperately to get close to her. When he finally buys the house across the lake from her, he sees the green light. This light is his hope for the future and the thing that makes him want to fight harder to become the Great man that Daisy deserves. When Daisy finally gets to his house the green light is no longer visible and the dream is shattered. This is where Gatsby’s greatness fails; in Gatsby’s mind Daisy was supposed to leave her husband and run away with him, live in the house he built for her and starts their lives again but Daisy couldn’t satisfy this dream. His misplaced faith in this dream life with Daisy was Gatsby’s ultimate downfall.
Gatsby was in some respects the noble denotation of ‘Great’ he was successful and self-sacrificing purely for Daisy, he showed some aspects of heroic behaviour to save Daisy from a loveless marriage and give her everything she’s ever wanted. However the majority of the heroic actions were done out of selfish intent, and Gatsby’s failure to accept that the girl he loved had moved on. Yet he carried on trying to make everything the way he wanted, he ended up getting so caught up in his own warped version of their life together instead of saving Daisy he ended up making her run away. He may have done everything out of love but the outcome was a warped tragedy.
The connotations associated with a ‘Great man’ are incredibly varied; Gatsby certainly was not a good man so it’s questionable if he can be considered great. His amorality is a very important part of the book because it is set in the 1920’s hypocritical society. Gatsby was the source of gossip and scandal. People would go to his parties, drink his illegal alcohol and judge his illegality and suspect him of having connections with the Kaiser. The rumours circulating may not have all been true but a fair few were accurate, Gatsby made his money through bootlegging, this doesn’t make him a good person. Throughout the book there is the omniscient poster of TJ Eckleberg, therefore it’s very possible that although Gatsby suffered retribution for a crime he didn’t commit, he perhaps suffered it for one of his many other crimes.
In Conclusion, Jay Gatsby was a Great Illusionist and liar but not a Great man. He created a life that changed his morals and judgements so he could please an idealised girl who he hadn’t seen for 5 years. Although he may have had the best intentions to start with they were only centred on his own happiness and then refused to accept that Daisy could have moved on. The Great Gatsby ended up almost breaking up a marriage, causing severe heartbreak to the people he loved, and implemented the events that led to his own unnecessary downfall.
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