Showing the connection between
Showing the connection betweenOne would look at the main character in the novel, The Great Gatsby, and see a man exhuding confidence and esteem. Mr. Jay Gatsby though, was filled with inner turmoil, longing and obsession. His life was sustained on one minute hope, a dream that was never fully realized, even whe he thought it was in his grasp. Maybe, though, Gatsby's life could have taken an entirely different course had he made a different decision at some point. For, it is the choices that Gatsby made along his journey that ultimately led to life-threatening consequences. Early in his life, Gatsby chose to shed his past and embark on a new, more prosperous future, leaving behind those who cared for him. Gatsby then decided to devote his life solely to the attainment of his former love, Daisy, inevitably blinding himself from reality. Due to this deep obsession, Gatsby chose to pretend that he and Daisy would be able to live together forever in happiness. The decisions that Gatsby made were not rational and were driven by longing and obsession. The consequences that were derived from these choices, ultimately led to his demise.
The day on which James Gatz disappeared and Mr. Jay Gatsby was born, was the beginning of the end. When Gatsby trod his first step upon Dan Cody's boat, it was as though he was proclaiming that his old self never existed, and his new-self would flourish. This act of rejection shows not only his self-centered nature, but his blatant disregard for others. The reader is able to see, though, when Gatsby's father, Mr. Gatz, returns later, that this family is extremely odd. After Gatsby's death, upon Mr. Gatz's return, the reader can see Gatsby's father's awe and amazement at his son's wealth and possessions. This illustrates Mr. Gatz's pride in his son, but moreover shows his pride in his son's belongings. Gatsby's choice to become someone else was driven by a passion to attain the "American Dream". He longed to become rich and well established, to be regarded as someone prestigious, and to be respected by those around him. He chose to attain this goal, though, in the wrong manner. His money was acquired through illegal means, and his life was based on cheating and lying. What he failed to realize was that although he would eventually possess the money and the objects he so heatedly yearned for, he would never be truly happy. Due to his obsession with the "American Dream" and his longing to forget his past, the reader is able to decipher that Gatsby was in fact, a fraud. His life was based on an unattainable goal, his past merely a figment in an unused imagination. He was not real in the sense that he never truly lived, and it could be said that he had died long before his murder. Gatsby's decisions to shed his past and begin a new "better" life was only...
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