Discussing the Greatness of Jay Gatsby Essay - 1211 Words

The first thing you see when you pick up the novel is the title. Fitzgerald chose the title ‘The Great Gatsby’ for his novel. This could lead us to believe that he personally believed his character to be great. However, this was not his only title for the book. The original title of the novel was: ‘Trimalchio in West Egg.’ Perhaps Fitzgerald changed the title as his story developed as he came to realise Gatsby’s greatness. However, this could be used to argue the other way, perhaps this original title relates more to the party throwing Gatsby and the hedonistic Jazz Age, suggesting that Gatsby isn’t great. Gatsby, as a rich man, has many beautiful possessions. This can be noticed in his ‘gorgeous’ car which had ‘a labyrinth of†¦show more content†¦Poetic language permeates this chapter, again giving Gatsby this fantastical status. Nick describes the food which is served at the party, the turkey was ‘bewitched to a dark gold’. This magical terminology presents an enchanting world to the reader. This could lead people to believe that Gatsby is truly great as we have Nick’s point of view, and his opinion of the enthralling party makes Gatsby seem great. However, these materialistic pleasures do not add to Gatsby’s greatness as much as his dream does. The ‘colossal vitality’ of his dream sets Gatsby apart from everybody else. The fact that he has total belief in his dream truly shows his greatness. His idealism is utterly admirable, ‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before – She’ll see.’ Gatsby, unlike all of the other characters in the novel is not materialistic. He has no concern for all of his belongings, because his wealth is all for love of Daisy, who clearly states that ‘rich girls don’t love poor boys.’ Gatsby cannot be blamed for the failure of his dream, his dream was only destined to crash because it was invested in a shallow person – Daisy. Gatsby’s dream is often described by Nick. He tells us that Gatsby had ‘thrown himself into it with a creative passion.’ His dream is immense to ‘romp like the min d of God’. These vivid descriptions from Nick provoke the feeling from the reader that Gatsby is great. Gatsby’s willingnessShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1092 Words   |  5 Pagesin achieving greatness by reaching their goals. One of those goals could be to attain wealth or to become wealthy. Francis Fitzgerald’s fictional novel, The Great Gatsby, addresses the different effects wealth can have on certain individuals. All through this novel, one can find that the desire of wealth can cause the devastation of others. First of all, when one wishes for wealth to the extent that one wishes to lie, others suffer ruination. 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