Why Has Fitzgerald Called Gatsby Great

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Many people have wondered why Fitzgerald has chosen this said title in this novel and why in particularly he has decided to describe Gatsby as great. Other than the profound alliteration and catchy sentiment to the title Fitzgerald has strategically decided to choose Gatsby amongst all the other notable characters to relate to as great and thus creating the identity to this renowned novel. In order to address this question we must delve into what attributes made Gatsby ‘Great’ and was Fitzgerald right in doing so. The main protagonist Jay Gatsby is presented as great in three ways, as a romantic, as having a great reputation and his potential and his greatness is only limited by one underlying factor. A distorted dream which is the central idea to the novel. In the novel, the greatness (and limitations of that greatness) of Gatsby is developed through how Fitzgerald comments on the American Dream, using the character of Gatsby to develop his core themes. Arguably the quality which makes Gatsby great is that he dedicates his whole life to achieving his dream. Originally, the American Dream was about discovery, individualism, and pursuit of happiness, but the society of 1920's New York, as depicted in the novel, is about easy money and relaxed social values leading to the corruption of this dream. For example, the party in Tom's apartment, where he has an affair with Myrtle Wilson, expresses the deterioration of morality and culture due corruption and self-indulgence in luxury. However Gatsby is very different to the other demoralized characters as even though he has gained his reputation through ‘new money’ and choosing to use prohibition as a means of acquiring wealth we understand that unlike everybody else Gatsby does it in order to achieve his American dream which is Daisy Buchanan. Through throwing lavish parties which were described to come “with a simplicity

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