Essay about The Character of James Gatsby - 1664 Words

The Character of James Gatsby There is a saying that each person is actually three people: Who he is, who he thinks he is, and who others think he is. Who Jay Gatsby thinks he is, is what he has invented. Who others think he is, is wildly speculative. Yet the answer is elusive to who is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is the most shadowy figure in terms of reader knowledge. Yet he is the only character that at the end of the story turns out, ironically, the most truthful. Who Gatsby is, we find out, is shown in contrast to the other characters and their behavior. What does the reader know about Gatsby besides he is the title character? The whole first chapter is devoted to Nick Carraway and his background. The glimpse we get of Gatsby through†¦show more content†¦The nature that is hidden and slowly revealed throughout the book. This is the readers first clue that Gatsby is a man who innocently believes in something. Gatsbys belief, we come to discover, lies in fantasy. Yet it is an honest belief. He has an idealism that has lost touch with reality. He thinks that he can have Daisy, the focus of his life, again. Everything that he does, since arriving in West Egg, is to bring Daisy back into his life. When Nick tells him he cannot bring the past back he responds: Cant repeat the past?...Why of course you can (Fitzgerald 116)! This is the honestly of Gatsby; he believes he can make his dreams reality. This is proven by how he invented himself. As Nick observes The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprung from his platonic conception of himself (104). He is the ultimate self-made man. Justified by his success in inventing himself, he feels he can realistically conjure anything from his imagination and make it reality. This self-made reality is the key to understanding who is Jay Gastby. He is the man who always believes in pursuing the green light. He is full of imagination and dreams. Gatsby blunders along the way, yet he is full of wonder for the human imagination. It is his firm belief that one can make fantasy into reality. And why not? He has succeeded in transforming himself from James Gatz, poor mid-western boyShow MoreRelatedInvention of Gatsby818 Words   |  4 PagesInvention of Jay Gatsby Mckenzie Hart 03.03.05 It was a testimony to the romantic speculation that he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that is was necessary to whisper about in this world. (48) States the narrator, illustrating the attractiveness to attention and gossip of a party host. The quote comments on a conversation of two woman gossiping about the mysterious host named Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds book The Great Gatsby, a young mansRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. 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