Why Is The Great Gatsby Not So Great

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Why The Great Gatsby Is Not so Great In the book The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, why does the main character, Jay Gatz, claim the title of being great? The Great Gatsby is set in the early 1920’s in New York City in two areas known as East Egg and West Egg. Jay Gatz, widely recognized by the name Gatsby, lives in West Egg in a mansion where he hosts parties hoping that one day his true love, Daisy Buchanan would attend. However, Gatsby becomes untrustworthy as he lies to his party guests and describes his inaccurate past to multiple characters in the story. So, is James Gatz worthy of the name “The Great Gatsby” even though his actions and his background determines him as not so great? Gatsby has a vast amount of wealth, but…show more content…
When in reality, Gatsby comes from a family of unsuccessful farmers where he attended St. Olaf’s college in Minnesota. “Although Gatsby constructs a fake history to tell to his party guests, the lie suggests that he wants Nick to see the truth behind his theatrical performance.”(Young…show more content…
Gatsby has destroyed the relationship of Tom and Daisy with not only his words, but also his persistence in continuing the argument between the three of them (Twentieth 1). He continues on saying that the affair has gone on for 5 years. Gatsby then walks over beside Daisy and says “It doesn't matter anymore. Just tell him the truth that you never loved him, and it's all over forever.”(Fitzgerald 132). In this situation, Gatsby was forceful in the way that he wanted Tom to know that Daisy would leave him. Jay insists to Tom that Daisy is leaving him, but he does not want to believe it. However, Daisy later confirms that she is in fact, leaving Tom for good. Jay Gatz, known as the so-called “Great Gatsby” does not deserve the title of being great. Gatsby has clearly destroyed the relationship of Tom and Daisy. He lives with the illusion that through the force of his will, he and Daisy after the 5 year affair, can go back to begin a relationship. By the same token, the lies that he has created for himself have proved that he will remain an untrustworthy man. The man that embodies the American ideal for democracy turns out to be a liar that has committed a federal crime through which he has made all his
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