The Great Gatsby

There are many characteristics that identify Jay Gatsby as a tragic hero. Some of the characteristics of a tragic hero include greatness, a weakness or a flaw, an undeserved fate and a punishment exceeding the crime. Jay Gatsby encompasses all of these characteristics of a tragic hero. Although, the author tries to portray Gatsby as a perfect person, there are still some flaws that are noticeable. Gatsby's great life unwinds with the death of the tragic hero. We know that Jay Gatsby was esteemed by the way others spoke of him. Nick describes him as a very well mannered person and everyone who knew him looked up to him (53-54). He wasn’t one of the rubbish people who got recklessly drunk, and he also didn’t act careless like the rich (54, 188). Meyer Wolfshiem said of him, “fine fellow isn’t he”, which shows that even Wolfshiem liked Jay Gatsby (76). In addition, the title of the book is called, “The Great Gatsby”, which shows that the author thought that Gatsby was a great person. Also, when Nick was leaving for his train, he told Gatsby that he's “worth the whole bunch”, which included Daisy, Tom and Jordan, and that shows, that Nick thought that he is exceptionally great as a person and is better than most (162). Even though Gatsby was rich, that did not degrade him in any way. Actually, his greatness even increased from his wealth, because he threw many parties for the community, which invested time and money, and he let the homeless sleep at his house, which shows that he is not selfish but has a great character and cares for others (43-47). He is also great by dedicating his life to true love and not going after many girls. Gatsby instead stayed true to his love till death, which in this case was Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby’s dad, Henry Gatz, was very proud of his son, and of how great his son became (182). Gatsby’s flaws and fate’s are related, and form a cause and effect in, so it is combined in one paragraph. From Gatsby’s flaws, he received a fate that was not deserved, and punishments that exceeded his flaws and crimes. Gatsby’s major flaw was his love for Daisy. Daisy was his dream and hope (189), although in the eyes of the reader this is a noble cause. He started pursuing his dream, which caused his downfall (189). The undeserving fate he received for his search for true love was death. He didn’t deserve to die like that. Gatsby is portrayed as a perfect person, but the only thing that wasn’t perfect in his life was his love for Daisy. Daisy on her own wasn’t perfect (101, 104, 187). Gatsby viewed Daisy, as a much better person than what she really was (pg.116). Gatsby thought that Daisy was perfect, but instead she was a shallow, cruel and careless person (140, 189). Daisy was just not on his level. He became desperate for Daisy, but when a chance came for Daisy to leave Tom and go with Gatsby she didn’t go (140).
Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero, because he fits all of Aristotle’s guidelines. Gatsby was a great person, but he had a weakness or a flaw, he received fates that he didn’t deserve, and the punishment that he received exceeded his crime. In most ways, Gatsby was almost a perfect man, but his dreams and ideas did not fit him. Gatsby knew that it was a mistake, and that mistake caused Gatsby his life (92). Gatsby ran for his dreams, but instead he caught his own death because of his flaws. He had a high potential but his dreams ruined it (182).