Great Gatsby Research Paper

Not So Great Gatsby

Hundreds might have flocked to Jay Gatsby’s mansion on the weekends to party the night away, but do extravagant get-togethers and large sums of money give the title The Great to somebody? One cannot be considered great because of money or parties. An individual must earn the title great by being truthful, hardworking, and respectful. Jay Gatsby cannot be considered great because he is dishonest, earned his fortune through illegal activity, and too focused on the past. Gatsby did not lie once or twice. He created a completely different history of his past. When Gatsby and Nick had lunch together for the first time, Jay Gatsby lied about his entire family history. Gatsby stated that he was brought up in the Middle West.
The connections he has in the business world are shady. Gatsby always receives calls from cities, not names, and at all hours of the day. He introduces Nick to his business partner and friend Meyer Wolfshiem. Gatsby says Wolfshiem is well known because “he’s the man who fixed the 1919 World Series (Fitzgerald 78). Meyer is also categorized as a gambler, and if this is whom Gatsby is working with, there is no doubt that Gatsby is in on the illegal activity surrounding Wolfshiem. To prove to Daisy, Nick, and Jordan that Gatsby participates in illegal, Tom has Jay Gatsby investigated: “He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 141). This is illegal because of prohibition surrounding this era. It is also hinted that Gatsby is involved with illegal bonds. He may have made millions, but it came from cheating people and organized
He is stuck relieving how he wished his life had unfolded. Nick tells Gatsby that the past cannot be repeated, but Gatsby responds with “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can (Fitzgerald 116). A plan has been created in his mind that Daisy and him can back track five years and be the same exact people they were. Everything Gatsby has done in the last five years has been to get Daisy back in his arms. Gatsby also wants Daisy to admit that she has never loved Tom, but Daisy cannot bring herself to do that: “Oh you want too much! I love you now-isn’t that enough?” (Fitzgerald 139-140). In Gatsby’s ideal world, the last five years would be erased, and they would get married as if nothing changed between the, over the last few years. The image of Daisy in Jay Gatsby’s head is unattainable for her to live up to. He has placed her on a pedestal, and it is impossible for her to live up to his vision. Jay Gatsby expects too much from Daisy, and a great man does not set unrealistic expectations of