Aristotle And The Great Gatsby

“An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and possessing magnitude; in embellished language, each kind of which is used separately in different parts; in the mode of action and not narrated; and effecting through pity and fear (what we call) the catharsis of such emotions” (Aristotle). This is what the great Greek philosopher, Aristotle, believes a drama must have to be great, which he explains in his essay Poetics. Aristotle believed that it was possible to categorize works of art, namely dramas, as being better than another by the use of his “rubric.” Basically, Aristotle says that to be a great drama, the drama must: have a clear protagonist that the audience identifies with, the protagonist must have a downfall and while watching
the downfall, the audience will have emotions of pity and fear which will lead to the purgation of these emotions. The protagonist must also have a moment of understanding which occurs with a change in the action. This Aristotelian view has become a big part of filmmaking today and many films are considered great if they follow it. The Great Gatsby is one such film that follows Aristotle’s Poetics, meaning that the film has an identifiable protagonist, the protagonist has a tragic fall as a result of a tragic flaw, and it invokes the feelings of fear and pity in the audiences psyche. Regarding Aristotle’s Poetics and the notion that a great drama must have an identifiable protagonist, the film The Great Gatsby meets this criteria.
In The Great Gatsby film, the protagonist is Jay Gatsby, whom is easy for the audience to identify with. Jay Gatsby was born into poverty, but he always believed he had greatness in him. When he was a teen, Gatsby went to Lake Superior, where he met a man named Dan Cody. Dan became Gatsby’s mentor and taught him how to act and speak like a gentleman. Later during his training for the infantry in World War I, Gatsby met and fell in love with the a rich young woman named Daisy. While he was away, Gatsby found out that Daisy had been married to a very wealthy man Tom Buchanan. From that moment on, Gatsby decided to commit his life to becoming a very wealthy man and to win back Daisy's love. The fact that Gatsby was born into a life of poverty and he strove to become something more for his love, is a fact that makes him identifiable with the audience, who understands wanting to overcome odds and become a greater person. “We will identify with characters who are ‘just as we are’”
(Walsh). Furthermore, the film The Great Gatsby, follows Aristotle’s Poetics, because the protagonist has a tragic downfall as the result of a tragic flaw. Jay Gatsby orders his whole life around one desire: to be reunited with Daisy. Which is ultimately his tragic flaw, he cannot let Daisy go. He has committed his entire life to her and the journey he leads to get her back is quite remarkable. He goes from poverty to wealth, he throws magnificent parties hoping that one day she’ll show up, he becomes friends with her cousin, Nick, and he gets his beloved back into his arms. However, to have her isn’t enough for him, he has to make Daisy denounce her love for her husband. Which is something Daisy can’t do because in reality, she loves her husband as well as Gatsby. After a heated argument between Daisy, her husband, and Gatsby; Daisy and Gatsby take off from the hotel they were located at. Gatsby makes a huge mistake and lets Daisy, whom is not emotionally unstable, drive his car. Daisy ends up hitting and killing her husband’s mistress, and because it was recognized as Gatsby’s car, it is assumed that Gatsby did it. The deceased woman’s husband then shoots Gatsby at his home and kills him. This is Gatsby’s tragic downfall. If he could’ve just let Daisy go, he wouldn’t have met the fate he did. “Human beings must face the horrors of life: the cruelty of greed, lust, and brutality of human interaction; the desire for revenge or power; and the senseless suffering people undergo and inflict on each other” ("Types of Greek Drama"). Jay Gatsby was no exception to the horrors of life and he caused he unknowingly caused his own downfall. Last, but not certainly not least, the film The Great Gatsby invokes the feelings of fear and pity in the audience’s psyche, which Aristotle requires a great drama do in his essay Poetics.
When an audience watches The Great Gatsby, they can’t help but sympathize with Jay, even though he is a fictitious character. It is sad to see Gatsby do everything he possibly can for the love of his life, but only to have Daisy not return his same love. He even lets Daisy drive his car and inevitably takes the blame for killing someone, just to protect Daisy. When Jay is murdered, Daisy doesn’t even show up to his funeral. It is a very emotional thing to watch when a lovers efforts are wasted away to nothing because of another’s lack of love. While the audiences watches Jay Gatsby’s downfall, they also can’t help feeling fear. Despite the pity, there is the unspoken feeling that most of the audience is glad it was Jay Gatsby’s life and not theirs. The Great Gatsby invokes the fear of the possibility that this type of downfall could happen in the audience’s own
lives. Clearly, The Great Gatsby follows Aristotle’s requirements for a great drama which his essay Poetics explains. “The Greek philosopher Aristotle is generally credited with being history's first analytic thinker” (Rudall). This statement holds true and his analysis of what it takes for a piece of work to be considered a great drama is still in use today. Even though The Great Gatsby wasn’t the best film Leonardo DiCaprio starred in, it can still be considered a great masterpiece. Other films that follow Aristotle’s Poetics, are the Titanic, which “within six weeks of its debut, the blockbuster movie earned more than twice its initial investment” (“Titanic Opens in American Movie Theaters”) and The Godfather and Rocky.