Jay Gatsby's Tragic Flaw example essay topic

Jay Gatsby This book is called The Great Gatsby. The character that I chose from this book is Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby an extremely rich man who lives in a giant mansion. His home is located on the West Egg and is "rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season".

(9). Jay Gatsby was born in Minnesota and had two very poor farming parents. His real name was James Gate but his good friend Dan Cody gave him the name Jay Gatsby. Dan Cody also taught Gatsby everything about being wealthy.

When Dan Cody died Gatsby inherited a small amount of his wealth. About this time Gatsby became intimate and fell in love with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby then had to leave for war and when he returned he was sent to Oxford. Gatsby then spent the rest of his money to go and visit Daisy in Louisville but he had then learned that Daisy had given up on Gatsby. She had married a rich man named Tom. This is when Gatsby realized that the only way that he could win Daisy over was to become wealthy so he promised himself that he would become rich.

Gatsby then meets his mentor Meyer Wolfsheim. His mentor Meyer Wolfsheim is the person who is responsible for Gatsby's wealth. He helps Gatsby become a millionaire by helping him in illegal activities such as bootlegging. This is where Jay Gatsby's tragic flaw begins. After he finds out that Daisy married Tom because he was rich he figures that he needs to be rich in order to have her so he begins to become a millionaire just for Daisy. Everything he does after this point is all for Daisy Buchanan.

Saturday night Gatsby throws a very extravagant party were all of his so called friends come to. At his parties Gatsby does not drink or party at all. He just sits around and waits for his lost love Daisy. This is Jay Gatsby's tragic flaw. He is obsessed and everything that he does and has ever done revolves around Daisy Buchanan. Jay Gatsby's appearance seems to be very clean cut and young looking man.

As described by Nick he has "tanned skin [which was] drawn attractively tight on his face and [has] short hair looked as though it were trimmed every day". (54). Gatsby also seems to dress in very expensive clothing and has "two hulking patent cabinets which held his masses suits and dressing gowns and ties, and his shirts piled like bricks in stacks a dozen high" (97). He has a "man in England who buys [his] clothes.

He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall". (97). He wears clothes that are "shirts of fine linen and thick silk and fine flannel" (97), "shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue". (97-98).

Gatsby doesn't really have the best social life. He has many giant parties but he does not actually know any of the people who come and most of them were not even invited. When he was a teenager his only real friend was Dan Cody. Around this time he fell deeply in love with Daisy and when Dan Cody died he found a new mentor named Meyer Wolfsheim. "He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919". (78).

Meyer Wolfsheim also helped Jay Gatsby gain all of his wealth in bootlegging. After Jay Gatsby became a millionaire his entire life basically revolved around Daisy and trying to win her over. All that he though about was Daisy he basically had a one track mind and all of his parties were even all for her. He barely socialized at any of his parties and "the fact that he was not drinking helped to set him off from his guests" (54). Every Monday he even has "eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before". (43).

The house that he lives in is even across from hers and he tells daisy that "You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock". (159). He often stands outside late at night staring at this green light. Gatsby doesn't even really have any morals along with every other character in this story. He will do anything for Daisy. You can tell that he has no morals because he wanted to be a millionaire so that he could be with Daisy so bad that he didn't get a real job to earn his money.

He began bootlegging and other illegal activities. This shows how much he is in love with Daisy and how he doesn't have any morals. In closing Jay Gatsby may have on of the most tragic of the tragic flaws, which is being in love. His entire life was all for Daisy.

From becoming a millionaire to throwing extravagant parties and in the end it all didn't matter because he was shot dead. He never even truly got what he really worked for all of his life and that is the worst kind of tragic flaw. Working all your life for something and being stopped short after coming so close to it.