The Mistakes Made By Gatsby In “The Great Gatsby”

When the reader is first introduced to Gatsby, we see his extravagant parties, marvelous mansion, and luxurious lifestyle. None of that is real though, his personality is almost entirely made up. However, Gatsby wins the reader (and Nick) over with his dedication and assurance. Some are born with greatness, but for some it is something you have to achieve. Fitzgerald depicts Gatsby as someone who has many admirable qualities, someone who has a persona that is rather mysterious (perhaps covering up some of his truths), faults that are rather superficial, and an innocently loyal dedication to accomplishing his dream. Gatsby’s traits give him the noble title of being a “great” man.

In Nick Carraway’s first interaction with the Gatsby, Nick concentrates on and even spotlights Gatsby’s great smile. He even explains how: “It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in a life…”. To go along with his charming looks, Gatsby has an even greater perspective on things. He is proven as very generous when Lucille rips her dress in a chair after one of Gatsby’s parties. She says: “He asked my name and address and inside of a week I got a package from Corrier’s with a new evening gown in it”. She later goes on to explain that Gatsby delivers her a very expensive dress worth over 260 dollars. Even though Gatsby is wealthy, he isn’t arrogant. At first, Nick doesn't even know he is talking to the “Great” Gatsby. Gatsby went on to respond modestly by stating: “I thought you knew, old sport. I’m afraid I’m not a very good host”. The reaction Gatsby has to this shows how humble he is. Gatsby being such an excellent man with great features is enough to earn his own “greatness”. Jay Gatsby is an invention created by young James Gatz. When he was 17 years old he got a chance to chase his dreams and recreate himself as a person. Gatz leaves behind his poor past because “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people- his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all”.

Dan Cody, the owner of the yacht, gave Gatz freedom to change himself in to the esteemed Jay Gatsby. Now he lives the almost cookie cutter like life we call the “American Dream”. In the end, however, we see this is just a big delusion.Gatsby obsessively has a commitment to acquire his dream. This becomes his almost harmful relationship with love that is from the past. Daisy is almost a fantasy. Later in the book, Daisy and Gatsby’s “perfect” relationship is destroyed when Daisy says: “Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom”. This is devastating for Gatsby and becomes in a state of denial, he is blinded by the never ending pursuit to obtain his dreams. Gatsby gives off a false impression of himself which most people can’t do. Gatsby never becomes perfect, even though his wrongdoings are rather superficial. Tom exposes Gatsby and past life as a” criminal” to Daisy, shwoing that: “He and his Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter”.

Gatsby is also accused of being a liar. However, the only reason he lied was to make sure Daisy was always a part of his life.Gatsby’s wrongdoings are those of shallow incidents and shouldn’t be held against him and how noble he is. The hope Gatsby has about obtaining his dreams and his optimistic outlook is what makes him different. Gatsby’s smile: “understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey”. Nick has all these emotions after only a smile from Gatsby. Gatsby was poor earlier in life, but he was still in love with Daisy comes from older money. However, his strong belief and will earns him a chance with her despite them being in different social classes, “he let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself- that he was fully able to take care of her”.

After Gatsby dies, Nick still thinks optimistically for a short while: “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther…”. Gatsby definitely affected Nick’s thoughts and he provided support to his life changing positivity.

Finally, the creation of Jay Gatsby alone makes him “great”. This is largely in part of his confidence of making his dreams a reality. The mistakes made by Gatsby in the story are not those of bad intent or behavior, they only even happen because he is consumed in fulfilling his dream. However, some might say greatness is an illusion, which Gatsby definitely stands for as well. Finally, Gatsby is great because his traits are admired by most in the story and he is a man who was respected highly.