The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Published 1925

American Novel

The Well-Educated Mind Novels

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I. Grammar Stage Inquiry [The What]

Who is (are) the central character(s) in this book? James Gatz A.K.A. Jay Gatsby

What is the book’s most important event? This is the event in which the main character changes the most.   

I am stumped.  I want to say that the most important event is the accident that kills Myrtle, however it does not seem to affect Gatsby.  It affected others, including myself, but Gatsby is completely oblivious to what has just happened; he does not even consider how it will completely change his life after he takes the blame for Daisy. 

In fact, he does not seem to change throughout the entire story.  From the time we meet him as a mysterious man who hosts extravagant parties for the wealthy and powerful to the end of the book, he is still dreaming about Daisy who does not care about anyone but herself.  The only time we get an inkling of any change from Gatsby is when we hear a story about how, as a poor, restless young man, he worked for five years with Dan Cody, a wealthy man, on his yacht and came away seduced by wealth and power; it was then that he became committed to gaining that wealth and power for himself.

However, then I spoke with an avid Great Gatsby extraordinaire who carries a copy of The Great Gatsby on her person at all times, and she was certain that the story was about Nick: he’s the one who changes drastically.  But if she had to choose when Gatsby changes, she suggested it was in his youth, when he wrote that list of self-improvement and decided not to follow in his parents’ footsteps but to (in my words) “blaze his own trail.”  He never strayed from it.  Then again, she thought maybe Gatsby changed most when he took the bullet for Daisy.  He just had to.

What do you think?  What is the most important event in The Great Gatsby, and do you think Gatsby ever changes within the story?  If so, when???

II. Logic Stage Inquiry [The Why and How]

What does the central character want?

Gatsby wants wealth and prestige.  After he meets Daisy, she becomes a status symbol for wealth and high society, and he turns her into an idol and worships her.  It appears he wants her, but his love for her does not seem genuine or believable.  Does he want Daisy or what she represents?

What is standing in his way, and what strategies does he use to get what he wants?  

Gatsby comes from a poor family, so that forces him to have to work for a living and to work harder for a specific class or position in society.  After the War, he gets a janitorial job to pay for his schooling, but out of humiliation from the work that he does, he quits.  He wants to get rich quick, and he is willing to earn his wealth immorally.  

As for Daisy, Gatsby is foolishly living in the past, which is not realistic, and he ignores the fact that Daisy is legally married to someone else, and he cannot just break up the marriage and pick up where he and Daisy left off.  His greedy pride is standing in his way because he wants to have what he wants because he wants it without considering the reality of his demands.

III. Rhetoric-Stage Inquiry [The So What]

Is there an argument in this book?  Do you agree?

There are numerous arguments in The Great Gatsby, but I rather address an argument that is prevalent within Great Gatsby circles: “The American dream is dead” or “unattainable.”  

Maybe during the author’s time, he had a sense that America’s bubble was going to burst - like the housing market where I live in California: builders kept building; prices went higher; banks kept lending; people kept buying until they could not afford what they purchased; then they lost their houses; banks lost money; builders lost, too; and now houses sit vacant and prices are lower than ever, but no one can buy.  Surely, greed is a destructive end regardless of the goal.

But what is the American dream?  I would argue that it is not the same for everyone.  For some, it may be to build their own home, or to earn a doctorate and open a private practice, or to own a business and create a job for one’s self.  My son’s second piano teacher was from Russia, and her American dream: to open a piano studio.  My grandparents are from Italy, and their American dream: for their children and grandchildren to have more opportunity than they did.   I know someone whose dream was just to escape communism in her country and be free.  Success may be part of the American dream, but it is not the same for everyone.  To suggest that the American dream is one specific idea is foolishness.

However, since F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the American dream as wealth, power, and prestige, while not painting a very pleasant picture of high society, the reader is forced to renounce high society with disdain.  The author’s point is that these people are absolutely miserable, careless, shallow, selfish, and dull.  This may be true in many cases, but not all.  But, again, I do not agree that wealthy people and their place in society represent the American dream.

People are messy because of their sinfulness, just as Myrtle Wilson, who was poor, practiced adultery.  Nick observes that Mr. Wilson was in the same position as Tom Buchanan.  And what can we say about Mr. Wilson who took judgment into his own hands and murdered Gatsby?  Is he any better?  And Nick, who was wealthy, did not subscribe to the debauchery that existed within his circles, but rather it exhausted him.  People are corrupted at all levels of society – don’t blame the American dream for success and wealth. People need boundaries and limits, but it is not freedom and liberty’s fault for the sinfulness of man’s heart. 

To get preachy, if man’s heart is right with God he does not have continuous conflict with (in no particular order of importance): success, wealth, prestige, honor, truth, justice, friendships, relationships, or marriage.  When man’s will is his own will, apart from God, then he is open to disappointment and destruction.  But if man’s will is God’s will, he shall attain his goals, and hence he shall have a healthy “American dream.”

Bottom line: I love The Great Gatsby, nonetheless, because it is poignant, thought provoking, and aesthetically written.  A definite re-read!