Jay Gatsby. What makes him great?

 The title character and protagonist of the novel, Gatsby is a fabulously wealthy young man living in a Gothic mansion in West Egg. He is famous for the lavish parties he throws every Saturday night, but no one knows where he comes from, what he does, or how he made his fortune. As the novel progresses, Nick learns that Gatsby was born James Gatz on a farm in North Dakota; working for a millionaire made him dedicate his life to the achievement of wealth. When he met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville, he fell in love with her. Nick also learns that Gatsby made his fortune through criminal activity, as he was willing to do anything to gain the social position he thought necessary to win Daisy. Nick views Gatsby as a deeply flawed man, dishonest and vulgar, whose extraordinary optimism and power to transform his dreams into reality make him “great” nonetheless.

Why is he ‘great’?

F. Scott Fitzgerald already sets us up to understand that Gatsby is Great, but why? Even people who have read this book cover to cover, took notes on the inner symbolism, and got A's on the tests; do not know the reason that Gatsby is considered great. Therefore, let us look on how F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a character good enough to be called "great". I feel this is a good time to point out that F. Scot Fitzgerald, nor any author but Fitzgerald took pain staking drinking binges to achieve it, does not write ANYTHING accidentally or arbitrarily. F. Scott Fitzgerald thought out every minute and every second of his book he called "his crowning achievement". In Gatsby, he has developed a character that can only be considered great, and develops it all the way to the end of the novel.

In short, F. Scot Fitzgerald created Jay Gatsby to embody the American dream. That unique American ability to go from rags to riches. The ability of each of us to live as rich as we want, and dream as big as we want. A dream that is the epitome of all dreams, and that all people have dreamt at one time or another: The poor boy or the broke soldier having the very very rich girl, and rising to the class of the rich and famous. James Gatz, the man who would become Jay Gatsby, had only $5 in his pocket when he arrived in New York and met Wolfshiem(from the end of the book after Gatsby's death) This little piece of info shows that in a mere 3 years, he went from nothing to owning one of the largest houses in New York speaking to the most powerful people around, and throwing parties that every important person in the Us attended. This is the American Dream.

F. Scot Fitzgerald places him as a mid-west good old boy, who went into the Army to fight "the great war". He is the all American boy. Then we find out that he had a list of things to guide his life and become great. These are directly reminiscent to Ben Franklin's rules to live life by from his autobiography. F. Scott Fitzgerald knew the history, and added these in because these rules took over the 10 commandments as Americas laws to live by, and we live by and know many of them right now. By doing this, F. Scott Fitzgerald has likened him to one of our greatest founding fathers.

F. Scott Fitzgerald has put this information into the book to show that we do have the ability to do these things, to become as great as we want. Even though F. Scott Fitzgerald could have stopped there, he did not feel that James Gatz had truly become great. Fitzgerald then lifts Gatsby to god like status. He points out that yes, we all do have this ability in America; but Gatsby, unlike everyone else, achieved this greatness for love. When one person selflessly gives themselves, sacrifices themselves, sacrifices everything they have, and even gives their life for someone else; they are greater than anyone - they are akin to the status of Jesus.

James Gatz lived his entire life to love Daisy. When he shows her the stuff in his house, he's showing her the house he has created for her. He doesn't really care for any of this - it's all done specifically for her. The parties stopped when she didn't like them, because they too we for her. In the end, he says that he will tell the police that he was driving, he waits outside her house like a gallant knight, and finally takes a bullet for her so that she may live on. Jay Gatsby has lived and created all that eh has in the name of love and the name of Daisy, not James Gatz or Jay Gatsby.

F. Scott Fitzgerald made the general populace as the ashen men. He has them, symbolized by George, to rise up to kill the most powerful of them, and the one and only exemplar that the normal people had for what they could do and become - Jay Gatsby. This parallels the death of Jesus who did all things exactly as the Jewish people had written them. He came in on a Donkey on the exact date, he entered the temple at the required time, he challenged the status quo when it was suppose to be, and told everyone that there was a possibility to live in a world of love; and they all denounced him. Without a thought of anger or fear, and even to the very last moment on the cross, he stated that he loved all of them. The last comment from Gatsby is about Daisy coming to him, and Nick responds by stating that Gatsby is better then all of them. So Gatsby dies for love, for the people, and as an example of what can be if we want it to be.