Analysis Of The Personality Of Jay Gatsby
“If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him.” - Nick Carroway. This quote is essential and plays an important role said by one of the main characters. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about a man named Jay Gatsby who is a very rich and wealthy man that lives in East Egg; a very luxurious neighborhood. He was well known for the big extravagant parties that he threw for the public that usually happened on Saturday nights. Before Gatsby was wealthy, he was originally known as James Gatsz and worked at a farm in North Dakota. His quest in this story leads him from poverty to wealth, into the arms of the people that he loved and then, to his death. In this book we learn that Gatsby also made his fortune through his criminal activity as he was willing to do anything to gain wealth and try to win the love of his life, Daisy, back.
In this story, the author's use of implicit and explicit characterization helps the reader determine the themes of the story. The first themes that match with this are money and materialism. Every character in this story is obsessed with money whether they made lots of it once or daily, or if they are itching to make more by doing anything to achieve it. The second theme that is noticeable are society and class. Society and class is a real big theme that matches with this story because every character in this story grew up differently. The story draws clear distinctions between the kind of money you have or make. There are two types of money in this story which is old money and new money. Old money is a sign of having it received, which means that it has been in the family for years and it would get handed down to you from a family member or someone that you knew personally. New money in this story would be earned which is saying that people would have to do something in order to get the money. There are also two different types of lifestyles of wealthy people and the working class people that are stuck in between.
In my opinion, I feel that Gatsby is satisfied with his life but at the same time he is not. While Gatsby was growing up he was going through tough times like being in poverty. Part of me feels like he is not satisfied because of the things he did illegally, and the things he also lied to people about. He is also unsatisfied because of the problems and barriers he had to deal with while he was trying to do whatever he could in order to be wealthy. Another reason why I feel he was not satisfied with his past life is because he also had changed his name. Jay Gatsby was 17 when he changed his name. He did this because he wanted a better, richer life for himself. He also changed his name because because it made it sound like he was more wealthy. Now that he was wealthy, I feel that his is satisfied by how he is living because he owns he was able to achieve his goal. But at the same time he says that he gets lonely in his house which causes him to throw his big parties every Saturday night.
As the novel gets deeper the author tends to deconstruct Gatsby’s look. Gatsby reveals that he is an innocent, hopeful man who tries his best to stay happy and stakes his dreams and he is really not realizing that they are unworthy of him. Gatsby is contrasted most consistently with Nick. Critics point out that the former, passionate and active, and then latter, sober and reflective, seem to represent two sides of the Gatsby’s personality. In one part of the book there was a quote that involved a green light. That green light is a symbol of money and Gatsby is a person who was able to become the rags to riches. By throwing the green light on every Saturday night when he hosted the parties, it was to symbolize to Daisy that he has the money that he didn’t have before to win her hand and it was also a calling to invite her into his new life.
The Great Gatsby is a memorable story; from the rich symbolism that underpins its story to the colossal significance of the green light until its disappearance. Through his staining history on how he grew up, dealing with the illegal criminal activity, Gatsby was finally able to evolve into a wealthy young man. Gatsby was willing to do anything to win the heart of Daisy, without knowing that she was known for only having an affair with people who are rich. Due to his obsession with Daisy, Gatbsy unfortunately met a watery grave and was no longer able to fulfill his destiny.
