We all have come to know and love The Great Gatsby, but what is it that makes him so great? Gatsby sure made himself seem significant. He has all the glitz and glamour of a fabulous life. Gatsby had a grand mansion, luxurious parties, vital connections, and alcohol. To an outsider, it would seem that Gatsby had it all; but did he really?
When we first meet Gatsby, we would think that he is everything greatness consists of, but nothing we see is real. Everything Gatsby does is fabricated all for one person: Daisy. If Gatsby has to live his entire life in a reality that is not his own, that does not seem very great to me. Sure, Gatsby does seem to have fun living his lifestyle, but behind closed doors, when he is all alone, does he think it is worth it? When you go to bed alone every night with no true friends, I would not define that as great.
All of the lavishness aside, Gatsby was indeed just a hopeless romantic looking for love. He lived his life for someone else and never got a chance to just be him. If Gatsby had done as he truly pleased in life, then he could be defined as great. As we get to know Gatsby’s true heart throughout the book, we come to love him. If he had opened up to the world, he might have had people at his funeral besides Nick, his dad, and the random people he never paid attention to. We can all learn from Gatsby’s life. If we need to perform for the people around us to keep them in our lives, those are not true friends.
Gatsby died almost entirely alone, without the girl he had fabricated his whole life for; there is nothing remarkable about that. Gatsby made people think he was great, but ultimately, is greatness defined by your net worth or an authentic life?
Chandelier, Pintrest, Accessed September 10 2023, https://pin.it/5HcfcXB.