Who Was Gatsby?

Nick Carraway is the narrator of "The Great Gatsby." Nick is portrayed as a nice, honest person that listens to everyone's problems. Nick meets the woman golfer, Jordan Baker. She is a very keen golfer. He also reunites with his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom, who Nick is not very fond of. There are many hints in the first chapter, given about some problems between Daisy and Tom. We soon discover that Tom is having an affair with a woman named Myrtle. Myrtle Wilson is introduced in more depth in chapter two. We find out that Myrtle is in a different social class than Tom, when Myrtle buys the tabloid at the newsstand instead of a classy magazine. Tom and Myrtle have a fight and Tom breaks Myrtle's nose. This is because she had mentioned Daisy's name wrong.

Gatsby is seen for the first time in chapter one. Gatsby was known to hold excessive parties, but never socialises with the people in his party. No one ever knew Gatsby and so people gossiped and rumours were around about Gatsby and his unknown past. These rumours were allegedly put aside when Gatsby's past of attending Oxford and inheriting his wealth and power from his family.

Jordan then tells Nick that Gatsby and Daisy were once involved in a love affair and Nick will set up a meeting between the two. Daisy and Gatsby are reunited through Nick and Gatsby shows Daisy that he now has more wealth than he used to. This is when everyone, but Nick seemed to be materialistic. Gatsby is disappointed because Daisy was not that perfect person that he was in love with. It was like he had never known her, a stranger to his eyes. Gatsby's life story eventually is revealed in the sixth chapter and Gatsby's obsession with Daisy is also revealed. It is all clear now. Everyone knows about Gatsby's past, no more rumours, no more gossip. Straight after Tom and Gatsby have a confrontation, from this confrontation Tom figures out what is going on between Gatsby and Daisy and becomes very upset. Gatsby then tells Daisy to tell the truth and tell Tom that she never loved him, but she couldn't tell him.

At the same time Wilson, Myrtle's faithful, true, hardworking husband, discovers Myrtle's unfaithfulness, and so locked her up. Wilson at this point does not know whom his wife is having an affair with. Myrtle escapes and runs out onto the road, while escaping Gatsby's car hits her and she is killed. We find out later that it was Daisy who was the one in the driver's seat of Gatsby's car. Wilson was hurting and he could not take what Myrtle had done to him. From this he kills Gatsby because it was his car that killed Myrtle. After this death Wilson commits suicide. Nick plans Gatsby's funeral and only three people showed up. Nick then returns to the West and meets with Tom Buchanan. Finally Nick had taken one last view of Gatsby's house.

Gatsby is the main focus of the novel and also the prime example of pursuing the American Dream. We do not learn much about Gatsby in the first couple of pages. We only had some glimpses of the gossip and rumours about Gatsby. The rumours made Gatsby sound very mysterious and he was presented as a man of mystery. F. Scott Fitzgerald had made it very interesting. It was clever in the way he made us read on and find out more about who Gatsby really was. It made us in our own mind build and make an identity for him. By introducing Gatsby in the way the author had and that created an atmosphere of suspense and really built up the tension.

Different characters in the novel are presented as having very different attitudes towards Gatsby.

Tom does not like Gatsby. He didn't from the start. He didn't trust him and became ver suspicious of him. At the end of the day it had all added up to Tom being jealous of Gatsby. He was jealous of the wealth and power that Gatsby had. He didn't show it and never admitted to it, but you could see right through him. The one thing that Tom was not jealous or afraid was of Daisy. He knew that she would never leave him for Gatsby. Tom seems to be in the way of Gatsby and Daisy's love. He never appreciated Daisy, but she would never leave him, she loved him, no matter what. In the novel everything seems to symbolise something else on a wider scale. Tom sees Gatsby as no match for himself, as at the end of the story he knows he has won Daisy and she will never leave him for Gatsby.

Myrtle is only concerned with possessions, it is clear she regrets marrying Wilson, as she thinks she could have done better than a gas attendant. She, like Tom, is not grateful for having such a devoted husband. Myrtle is blinded with the power and wealth of Tom. She is not concerned with Gatsby.

George is a very hard working husband to Myrtle. He has no idea that Myrtle is having an affair and when he does find out he takes out his anger on everyone, especially Gatsby, who he thinks was driving the car that killed Myrtle.

Daisy loved Gatsby once, but she loves Tom now. The material possessions are more important to Daisy than anything else. Tom supplies her with all these possessions and does not need Gatsby. She has learned to love Tom, or so she thinks it is love. She does not want to change anything in her life, just as she knows Tom is having an affair, but she still wants to stay with him. Daisy did not see Gatsby beyond than his money.

Nick shows great faith and trust in Gatsby. No matter how a person of a certain lifestyle presents himself, Tom for example, Nick will still remain open to the idea that others of the same lifestyle can and will be different, like Gatsby for example. The mere fact that Tom is seeing another woman does not impress Nick much, and does not further help provide him with an impressive image of people of Tom's lifestyle. We can tell Nick does not hold a very high opinion of Tom by the way