In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The reader is presented a character called Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is famous for the lavish amazing he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. Some say he was involved in illegal affairs while others affirm his money was completely made legitimately. Also, we learn that Gatsby has always been in love with a woman, Daisy, whom he still loves and wants to be with. His love for this Daisy will ultimately lead to his death. A question concerning this man arises in the reader’s mind. The title being “The Great Gatsby”, readers are lead to question themselves about Gatsby’s greatness: Is Gatsby great or not? In this essay, it will be argued that Gatsby was not a great character. Firstly, because the way with which he made his money was criminal. Also, the fact of living a life with a single dream as nothing great about it and will assuredly eventually turns against you. Finally, it will be argued that Gatsby was careless to everyone except himself and his love, Daisy.

Firstly, as it was mentioned earlier, there is a lot of questioning around Gatsby and part of this questioning is due to the fact that nobody knows exactly how this young man has made all of his money, at least not before the later part of the novel. Indeed, the reader reaches a point in the story where, he meets with a character named Meyer Wolfshiem whom, it is said, “is the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919”. Already, the reader begins to suspect Gatsby’s money-making activities legitimacy when he sees the genre of acquaintance Gatsby has and these suspicions are justified in chapter 7. Indeed, on pasge 15, the reader receives a definite proof of Gatsby’s criminal dealings: “He and Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drugstores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter”[1]. Also, later, we learn that in addition to his involvement in illegal alcohol sale, Gatsby was also involved with the dealing of stolen bonds. We only learn this after Gatsby’s death when some man calls to Gatsby’s mansion and starts talking about dealing of stolen bonds: “Young Parke’s in trouble”, the man says “They picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter”[2]. If anybody was ever to think of Gatsby as a great man because of his glamorous house and parties and all if the money that paid for them, he should definitely take into account the way in which this money was made. In this case, it was with criminal activities, benefiting Gatsby only and taking advantage of other people. This has nothing great to it.

Also, living with a single dream might seems great to some people but even to these people, this feeling only lasts for a while. Living with a single dream for your whole is rather sad and certainly, it will lead to nothing good. Gatsby’s case is no exception to this trend. His life revolved around one and only one thing: Daisy. Gastby and Daisy did have an affair at one point but that was years ago and it is foolish to think that things could go back to the way they were. Gatsby made all of his money in the hope that he might impress Daisy with it and bring her back to him and this lead him to do, as stated earlier, very bad things and waste a good part of his life. He also threw all of these parties, earning himself some bizarre obscure reputation among his guests, only in the hope that he might meet Daisy at one of these parties some day. At one point, after Gatsby and Daisy finally reunite, the reader is lead to believe that there might be a light at the end of Gatsby’s tunnel, but this only lasts for a while. He meets Daisy thanks to a common acquaintance and at first, there’s this excitement of reuniting with an old lover. This is only passage since, that day at the hotel, as soon as Daisy learns about Gatsby’s obscure past, she starts doubting her feelings for Gatsby again and immediately goes back to her husband. Gatsby tries to deny everything and reassure Daisy but “with every word he said, 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”[3]. The fact is that Daisy is married and, although Gatsby would like to think she never loved her husband, she does. She loves him and did not marry him out of a gut feeling. She did so in because she and her husband Tom were so alike. They are both careless, hypocrite people who think that they could “smash up things and creatures and then retreat back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made”. When coming back from New York City, Daisy is driving, Gatsby being on the passenger’s seat, and runs over a woman, killing her. She does not even think of stopping the car though. Once they are back at home and Gatsby is inquired about the accident, he says that Daisy was indeed driving but that he would take the blame. This it was he does and what eventually leads to his murder. After the accident, we see Daisy and Tom’s carelessness and hypocrisy as they are simply eating supper as if everything was fine. It is even said that “anybody would have said that they were conspiring together”[4]. After Gatsby’s murder, Daisy doesn’t even attend his funeral if his death is due to Daisy. She just leaves town, leaving no new address. Towards the end of his life, we are told, concerning his single dream of being with Daisy that, “Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come and perhaps he no longer cared. If it was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream”[5]. And how! Gatsby had no clue of what he was doing and he literally wasted his whole life chasing a single, unattainable, dream and died in vain. Once again, this has nothing great to it.

Finally, a third reason Gatsby is obviously not a great person is the way in which he cared for nobody except himself and Daisy. This can be in part illustrated by the way Gatsby just left his family, not maintaining any relationship with them at all. Sure, he would send them some money once in a while but this was only to keep them away and out of his way. Another way his carelessness can be illustrated is just by looking at how little real friends he has. During his parties, he would “stand alone on the marble steps and look from one group to another with approving eyes”[6] without ever talking to anyone. He never made any effort to aquaint himself with new people and he paid for it by becoming this lonely man of whom the background was dim. Just look at his funeral! At how few people were present. Even his dearest friend, or should we call him criminal business partner, Wolfshiem, wouldn’t take the time to attend the event. Also, when Nick finally offers Gatsby what he desires best, a meeting with Daisy, he thanks him and as soon as Daisy and him are together, “They had forgetten Nick […] Gatsby didn’t know him at all”[7]. Another proof of Gatsby’s love for no one except himself and Daisy is the way in which, earlier in his life, he abandons his family. Certainly, we learn from his father that Gatsby did send them some money but that was not because he cared, it was rather to keep them out of his way, away from him and out of his life. It’s an odd way to show your gratitude to friends and family for everything they have done for you but it is typical of this careless Gatsby character and this is part of the reason he is, as debated all along this essay, not great

To conclude, Gatsby’s death wasn’t all that bad of a thing after all for he was far from being a great. Actually, according to the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, he could even be described as a disgraceful person. Maybe the reader should be grateful to Wilson for having spared the world from a parasite.

[1]Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York City: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925. 199 pages. Page 150
[2] Ibid, 183
[3] Ibid, 151
[4] Ibid, 162
[5] Ibid, 178
[6] Ibid, 64
[7] Ibid, 112