The Great Gatsby

Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby shows many important messages, one of the most important ones being the persistence of the human spirit and capacity to dream.

Throughout this book Gatsby shows very strong character. It's shown that he enjoys throwing lavish parties, and enjoys showing his wealth. What isn’t shown is that he does everything to get Daisy’s attention. As the book goes on, Gatsby is reunited with Daisy, and begins having an affair with her, even though she is married to Tom.  In Chapter 7, a critical moment of truth emerges in which Gatsby confronts Tom and declares his feelings for Daisy and what he believes are her feelings for him. It is a critical moment because the discussion is open for Daisy to stand up for her feelings and do what is honorable. Daisy fails to do this. Equally telling is Nick's description of Daisy at such an pivotal instant: “It passed, and he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up, and only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, toward that lost voice across the room.”

As Gatsby defends himself, Daisy cannot bring herself to do so.  Defending him would require too much of honor.  It would necessitate too great of a commitment.  It is for this reason that "she was drawing further and further into herself."  Gatsby recognizes this as a "dead dream."  It is a pivotal moment in the text in which it becomes clear that Daisy could never be with Gatsby. Gatsby’s character hadn’t changed after the events occurred, he still waited the next morning for Daisy to come to his mansion. Even in his final moments he had thought about Daisy, and this show that even though the worst, his character, and love for Daisy didn’t change.

        Gatsby started his life with very little, as the son of fairly unsuccessful farmers. By the time he was a young man he had even less, having voluntarily estranged himself from his family, unable to come to terms with the lot he had been dealt in life. He enrolled into the Army and during basic training, he met Daisy. Daisy was in a different social class and was fairly wealthy. Gatsby fell in love with not just Daisy, but the lavish life she lived. After the war he had the opportunity to reinvent himself, and due solely to his own ingenuity, James Gatz evolved into Jay Gatsby. As such, life became much different. He was no longer tied to his early years, but could imagine whatever past for himself he desired. After meeting Daisy, everything he did was for the singular purpose of winning her. Money was, essentially, the issue that prevented their being together, and so Gatsby made sure he would never again be without it. Gatsby's drive and perseverance in obtaining his goal is, in many senses, commendable. He is a self-made man and as such, is admirable. Gatsby's rags-to-riches success story makes him an embodiment of the American dream, and more importantly shows the persistence of the human spirit and the capacity to dream. By definition “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” Saying anyone can make it and be prosperous while living in America.