The Great Gatsby Essay examples -- English Literature

The Great GatsbyIn F. Scott Fitzgeralds book The Great Gatsby the narrator, NickCaraway makes a statement that, in my opinion, reveals to the readerwhy the book is called The Great Gatsby.Theyre a rotten crowd Nick shouted across the lawn to GatsbyYoure worth the full-length damn lot put together.I agree with Nicks statement because Gatsby has outstanding valuesthat differ and set him apart from the other characters in the book.Also the wiz main feature that really sets him apart from the crowdand makes him worth more than than the whole crowd is his ability to sethimself goals and achieve them.He had a dream, An American Dream.Throughout the book Gatsby is portrayed as a mysterious character. Thefirst impressions of Gatsby, which are conveyed to the reader, arethrough gossip. This is mainly due to Gatsbys inaccessibility. Hesurrounds himself with masses but never interacts, instead opting towatch other people enjoy themselves.The rumours about Gatsby are abundant and come from t he very peoplewho take improvement of his hospitality. Jordan and the two twins, tellNick at one of Gatsbys parties Somebody told me that he killed aman. There are also disputes about which country he fought for in thewar. As one man tells Nick I heard that from a man who knew all abouthim, grew up with him in Germany.This is opposed by another woman at the party saying, It couldnt bethat because he was in the American army during the war. Gatsbyswealth which is also a secret to begin with, adds to his mysteriousreputation.Despite these rumours circulating about Gatsby our first realimpression of Gatsby is a positive one,He smiled understandingly- much more than understanding... ...for he is unceasingly searchingfor more. For example in the beginning he wanted to obtain wealth, heachieved that and then he wanted more in the form of get along Daisy.Although in the end it is that drive that brings him down. Gatsbylived life to try and catch the attention of one woman, Daisy Fay, andhe almost attained that goal but never instead reached it. When thedream was gone, he had no function left to live for.In conclusion the American Dream that Gatsby had created for himselfimproved him as a person. Fitzgerald has created Gatsby as a moreexciting and mysterious character than any in the story. Gatsby is theonly character that had the ability to set himself goals and achievethem. Although this ability brought about his downfall it was the onlything that Gatsby had to live for. For these reasons, Gatsby is worththe whole damn lot put together.