F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “the Great Gatsby”

Arguably the most highly acclaimed yet controversial character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” would be none other than Jay Gatsby himself. An eccentric millionaire of the 1920’s, Gatsby embodies the idea of a wave of “new money” which overcame our nation during a time of our first great economic prosperity. The most intriguing aspect of Gatsby’s character, is just how encoded his true personality can seem underneath the person he portrays himself to be. Using evidence from the narrator's depiction of his time with Gatsby, we can see how Gatsby’s primary motivations in life revolve around his love for Daisy, a girl he hasn't seen in 5 years who also happens to be separate from his own social class. In other words, Gatsby is an obsessive romantic, whose dream of being with Daisy causes him to desire the impossible achievement of the "old money" social status, thus blinding him from the reality of society.

If not for Gatsby’s love for Daisy, he may fall under the same corrupt category that many others in the novel do, such as Tom and Daisy herself. However what actually redeems him is his innocent emotion, a naive optimism and belief that he will actually achieve his dreams. His devotion to Daisy is absolute, and it is not tainted by any suspicion or any criticism. In William Voegeli’s article, “Gatsby and the pursuit of happiness”, I would agree with his statement: “He (Gatsby) got rich quick out of a sense of urgency and desperation and crazy hopefulness, out of refusing to get over a broken heart and give up the love of his life.” The motivation behind Gatsby’s venture into organized crime and rapid economic growth was not selfishness or greed, but to put him closer to his final goal of being with Daisy. Thus, showing the intensity of his longing for Daisy. Not only did Gatsby obtain the material possessions required to attract Daisy, he also committed to a full persona rehaul. Another critic of Gatsby’s character, Claire Stocks, had a similar point of view that I happened to agree with as well. She states, “While Nick seems to want to believe in the democratic ideal that anyone can make it in America, Gatsby shows his friend that the mythic 'American Dream' is actually impossible to achieve--he knows that a farm boy cannot become a member of the social elite, but he hopes that the Oxford-educated Jay Gatsby can achieve James Gatz's dream.“ Gatsby is intelligent enough to realise that without his elevated made-up persona, he would never stand a chance of being with Daisy. However, what he fails to recognize is that being wealthy and owning glamours things is not enough to transition between the two social classes of “new” and “old” money. A woman of high birth and social standing like Daisy will never marry a bootlegger from modest beginnings. Gatsby was blinded from this reality of society, and could never accept that facts, eventually dying with