Jay Gatsby Character Analysis

The mystery behind Jay Gatsby allows for him to become one of the most intriguing members of the upper class. As Gatsby’s background unravels, it becomes clear that Fitzgerald chose Jay Gatsby as the main character because he defies every social normality in the 1920’s. By Fitzgerald’s writing, the reader realizes that Gatsby’s mindset separates him from others. Everything Gatsby has accomplished in the past five years is because of his dedication, ambition, and integrity in following in his dreams which Fitzgerald greatly admires. The social class one is born into is the one they belong to their entire life, unless you are Jay Gatsby. Although Gatsby attempts to convince people that his entire life has consisted of lavish and wealthy things,
the reader knows it’s the opposite. In his youth, Gatsby was struggling and poor but his this did not stop Gatsby’s ambition, “He was never quite still; there was always a tapping foot somewhere or the impatient opening and closing of a hand” (Fitzgerald 69). Apart of his American dream became a reality, being apart of the upper class but Gatsby is not in love with wealth or power like everyone else during the 1920’s ,but loves what money can help him achieve, Daisy. Fitzgerald’s writing emphasizes on the idea that Gatsby stands out from the rest of the wealthy by radiating a sense of mystery about Gatsby. From the introduction to Jay Gatsby, people in his own home being unsure of his appearance, and unrealistic rumors circulating, no one knows the true Jay Gatsby.