Why was Gatsby so Great? The Roaring 20’s was a time of celebration, but to many the 20’s were instead seen as a decade of decadence. Many wealthy people lived reckless and careless lives,not caring about anything but the next party or social function. In Scott Fitzgerald’snovel, The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick Carroway, observes the greedy, selfishbehavior of the rich. This uninhibited view into others soul’s causes Nick to lose faith inmankind until he met Jay Gatsby, the mysterious man who this novel is written about.What made Gatsby so different from the average American? To answer this question,one must observe, through Nick Carroway’s eyes, Gatsby’s hopeful yet tragic dream,personality, and how he kept his dream alive.“Wearing the gold hat and bouncing high” (1), may seem like the ultimate lifestyleto most, but to Gatsby this wasn’t. Gatsby’s dream was not to be successful, but toinstead obtain his obsession (Daisy) and have her “cry lover, gold-hatted, high bouncinglover, I must have you” (1). The money, cars, fancy house, and parties were never forhimself; rather they were what he thought would lead Daisy to love him, in turn achievinghis dream. The tragic truth for Gatsby was that without all the money he would be just a“nobody from nowhere” (137), to Daisy. Although to the outside world it looked likeGatsby had everything; his dream was never truly achieved. Interestingly enough thiswas also the case with the author, Fitzgerald, who also lived the high life in order to gainthe affection of his wife, Zelda, even though it was not what made him happy.In order to obtain dreams, one must be careful, thoughtful, and inspired. This isnot the case for the many of the established Americans. “Careless, smashing up thingsand then retreating back into their money or their vast carelessness and letting otherpeople clean up the m...
