F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby A True Hero

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Gatsby’s Tragic Dream Many critics of Fitzgerald’s protagonist claim that Gatsby is not a hero, undermined by his delusional dream and naivety; however Gatsby’s determined and relentless chase of his dream and heroic journey partially redeems him as a hero. In order to ascertain if Gatsby is a hero or not, we must first explore the definition of a hero and what makes someone a hero. The most popular and accepted definition of a hero in literature is someone that fits into Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey plotline. In this definition, the hero uses his or her heroic quality to propel himself forward and arrives at six key plot points that transform the protagonist from a human that simply has heroic qualities to a true hero that uses his or…show more content…
Dan Cody provides a window into the lifestyle of the wealthy, while Nick Carraway, provides the logical and rational thought Gatsby lacks. “That yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world”(Fitzgerald 100). Dan Cody is a rich businessman who takes Gatsby under his wing. Gatsby was Cody’s right hand man, taking over the ship whenever Cody went on another drunken rage. This perhaps parallels into Fitzgerald's own life, as he was known for his alcoholic obsession (USC). Fitzgerald suffered many financial hardships due to his and his wife’s tendencies towards a lavish lifestyle, on the other hand, Dan Cody was wealthy and constantly had woman seek to take it from him. Nick Carraway became Gatsby’s mentor after Gatsby rose to wealth, being one of the only friends to overlook Gatsby’s wealth. Nick provide reason to Gatsby to prevent Gatsby from succumbing to emotion panic.“‘This is a terrible mistake,’ he said, shaking his head…”(Fitzgerald 87). One Enotes critic, Luan, supports this point stating that while Gatsby is captured in his idealized fantasy, he overlooks the harsh truths of reality (Enote). The truth is in the five short years Gatsby has been away, he has reach self actualization and achieved great things, but in the short moment of meeting Daisy, Gatsby’s hierarchy of needs crumbles (Maslow). Gatsby’s seemingly infinite confidence and charisma disappears under…show more content…
Gatsby lets no obstacle get in his way, even if the goal of his struggles is literally impossible to achieve. Daisy enjoys the social status of ‘old money’, so Gatsby sets out to join that social class, even if that social class is constructed to keep others out. Although he bootlegs his money, when people ask him where his money is from, he instinctively responds that he inherited his wealth (Fitzgerald 90). There is no doubt that Gatsby has rehearsed this scenario, he needed to convince everyone and even himself that he was ‘old money’. Gatsby buys a house with his money, just so he could be close to Daisy (Fitzgerald 78). Gatsby throws parties every weekend, on the off chance that Daisy would wander in one day, but it never happens (Fitzgerald 90). Gatsby even reads a specific newspaper for many years just so he could have a chance of seeing Daisy’s name (Fitzgerald 90). Gatsby’s universe revolves around Daisy, the star that drives his life forward. Even when Gatsby invites Daisy to his house, “he[Gatsby] revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from his well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 91). Confucius said, “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps” (Brainyquote). This is exactly

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