Great Gatsby Essay, Research Paper

Time tells us that success often comes with a price. Often money will create

more problems than it can solve. The richness of a person?s soul can be hidden

in the folds of money. Such is the case of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is constantly

altering in the readers mind due to the various puzzling events that transpire

in the novel creating a level of mystery. First off, Gatsby is a man who feels

secure in his privacy and allows very few people into his personal life due to

lack of trust. Jay often throws parties at his lavish house, only to shrink away

from contact with his various guests that frolic in his privately funded bashes.

He does not drink, mainly because he has a high level of composure that cannot

be compromised by the effects of alcohol. When the narrator, Nick Carraway, is

allowed to venture into Gatsby?s personal life Gatsby tells Nick only what he

feels is necessary to keep him from being suspicious. The eerie thing about this

is that while doing this he is so guarded that Nick often questions how concrete

and truthful the information is. When discussing his past Gastby is choppy and

uncomfortable telling Nick about his education and war experiences. Only when

Gatsby produces a metal of valor earned in the war does Nick believe in his war

service stories. Even then Nick has a hard time believing Gatsby?s educational

background because of his uncomfortable declaration that he attended Oxford, a

very prestigious English university. Trust is not a strong point of Gastby?s

makeup and lifestyle. Therefore, when looking at Gatsby?s most impressive

traits one thing that pops up is his energetic smile, vibrant personality, and

loyalty to those who he respects or cares about. It is important to mention the

fact that Gatsby always seemed to make every person feel important and at ease

while conversing with him. It was his nature to express courtesy to any guest he

came in contact with, no matter how insignificant they were or what their

occupation was. As far as loyalty is concerned, it is best represented in his

devotion to Daisy Buchanan. With his money and notoriety he could have easily

have had numerous love opportunities. He sacrificed all openings for love as he

stoked the coals trying to ignite a past flame with a married women. Even when

Jay and Daisy?s relationship was over in the readers mind Gatsby still clung

to a hope of having a life with her. He loyally stayed at her house to the wee

hours of the morning, convinced her husband was a live wire that could erupt and

physically punish his wife. This he displayed to a women that is impossible to

love anyone but who faces the her in the mirror. Further more, all the things

that Gatsby had worked hard for in the end abandoned him and led to his

unfortunate death. For all of the devotion he gave Daisy she couldn?t possibly

love a man who was in shady business dealings, or could possibly taint her

impeccably clean appearance in society. The money that he had accumulated and

those who helped him accumulate it fell to wayside after his death. Meyer

Wolshiem, who proclaimed that he made Gatsby in to the man he was didn?t even

attend his funeral. Neither did Daisy or the numerous guests that roamed the

grounds of his estate on numerous weekends. What a shame to think of all the

people who had benefited on behalf of Gatsby not to even attend the funeral,

even given the circumstances surrounding his wealth. The man who to so many was

a mystery and of profound mystic died in a untimely manner which allowed others

to keep up their destructive lifestyle?s with a lack of consequence. Lastly,

The Jay Gatsby that everyone caught glimpses will always be a mystery to many.

His life was an example of the highs and lows of the American dream. The

pitfalls and plateaus that he reached show deep insight into The United States

in the 1920?s. All of his character traits represented different things to

different people only to end in his own pointless demise. In the end it was, and

will always be tragic for a life that it not yet lived to the fullest to be

extinguished.