The Great Gatsby

Jay Gatsby---A Tragic Hero

What does the word Ў°heroЎ± mean? Who can qualify as a hero? Heroes such as King Arthur may seem hard to understand and relate to, but there are many heroes in our everyday lives. Heroes are great people who have done special things; however, they are not perfect. Every hero has flaws; it is these flaws that make them humane but extraordinary. Happy endings are rare and unrealistic in the real world. Therefore most heroes are tragic heroes. Writers often portray tragic heroes in their writings as F. Scott Fitzgerald did in his novel The Great Gatsby. The pursuit of great hope, the readiness to sacrifice, and the silent but noble death make Jay Gatsby a tragic hero.

First of all, Gatsby has a pursuit of great hope. As a young man, Gatsby falls in love with the rich and beautiful Daisy. He is poor and therefore can not marry her. But his love for her continues and deepens for five years. In these five years, Gatsby goes to the war and returns a war hero. He is involved in bootlegging with Dan Cody and Meyer Wolfshiem. Through he is in illegal business, he does it for a reason. He wants to make more money in order to go back to Daisy and marry her. With strong determination and thorough preparation Gatsby succeeds. He has a big fortune and buys a gigantic mansion in the West Egg of Long Island by the bay. Across the bay is the Easy Egg; it is where Daisy lives. Gatsby waits a long time for a reunion with Daisy. As a neighbour, Nick meticulously observes Gatsby. He sees Gatsby staring at the green light on the other side of the bay and Nick says Ў°I could have sworn that he was trembling.Ў± Gatsby tries so hard to win back DaisyЎЇs love. He adorns his house with the concern of Daisy. He throws lavish parties hoping that Daisy may someday stop by. According to Nick, Gatsby has Ў°an extraordinary gift for hopeЎ±. Gatsby is very optimistic and does not give up. He believes he can change everything to the way he wants them. When Nick tells Gatsby that he canЎЇt repeat the past, Gatsby replies by saying Ў°Cannot repeat the past? Why, of course you can!Ў± The end is not important. What is important is the long battle fought getting there. GatsbyЎЇs ways of pursuing his great hope make him a hero.

Secondly, Gatsby has a readiness to sacrifice. Gatsby is a very abstemious and hard-working person when he was young. Fitzgerald establishes that when GatsbyЎЇs father shows Nick GatsbyЎЇs old schedule. However, Gatsby is now involved in corrupt business such as bootlegging and drug dealing. But can we say that this is really what GatsbyЎЇs moral tells him to do? No. He does not want to do illegal business, but he does want the money. When he chooses to start this business, he makes a sacrifice. He sacrifices his freedom and innocence, he sacrifices his true friendships and he sacrifices his moral values. He makes these sacrifices all for Daisy---a girl he loved as a young man. GatsbyЎЇs sacrifices take him to Daisy and get him DaisyЎЇs love. However, he does not ask much of Daisy. He says to Daisy Ў°Tell him you never loved him.Ў± He does not ask for marriage or any other commitments. He only wants the true feelings of Daisy. Daisy, however, is a very superficial and materialistic person. Gatsby notices this and tells Nick Ў°her voice is full of money.Ў± Daisy is confused about her true emotions. She loves Gatsby but she refuses