Jayson Wieczorek

Mrs. Loy
English II H-2
April 29
, 2015
Great Gatsby Writing Assignment #3
In the beginning of this novel, Jay Gatsby seems like any other rich attention-seeking
man. He likes to flaunt his wealth by throwing over-the-top parties for hundreds of people. This
lavishness does not make him a bad person. Gatsby is even described as having one of those
rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it (Fitzgerald 48). The reader soon discovers
his excessive love for Nick Carraways cousin, Daisy Buchanan. He does everything in his
power to get Daisy to love him as she did before he went to fight in World War I. The only
reason that Gatsby throws the parties is to get Daisy to love him. Although his actions and
intentions are romantic and somewhat heroic, the way he goes about impressing Daisy is nothing
to praise. He hides behind his money and when is confronted with an opportunity to speak to
Daisy in an informal setting, makes her frightened [and] on the edge of a stiff chair
(Fitzgerald 86). This moment in the book shows how Gatsbys character is flawed by showing
his inability to act normally without superficial objects to hide behind.
I would not necessarily call him corrupt. His loss of Daisy in a desperate time changed
his character and made him obsessive about her because of what she brought him. One example
of his flawed character is when he tries to get Daisy to admit she never loved [Tom,] she loves
[Gatsby] and that she only married [Tom] because [Gatsby] was poor and she was tired of
waiting for [him] (Fitzgerald 130). Gatsby shows how he thinks that only he should be able to

be with Gatsby because he believes he only ever truly loved him. However, his perception of
reality is very skewed as she cannot openly admit she never loved Tom and began to sob
helplessly, [admitting she] did love [Tom] once (Fitzgerald 132).
Gatsby is not necessarily a morally corrupt character, but he does have his flaws. His
obsession with Daisy leads him to do things he would not normally do. When he realizes that his
feelings do not apply to everyone, he goes into a fit of rage and accidentally kills someone while
driving. We should not distance ourselves form him, but should not take romantic advice from
him either.