Jay Gatsby — The Obnubilated!

The introduction starts of Gatsby without disclosing 'him' explicitly but with the unwavering idea of 'what could he be' as Nick Carraway used to add certain dialogues to build up and characterise his first disclosure. When Gatsby comes, he is shown to be something very different from what he is organising. He was organising a grand party, yet most of them were unaware of him; even Nick failed to recognise him — it was an act of keeping ambiguity for his character that was to be later revealed in an impactful way. 'I am Gatsby' — this was what he exclaimed at first, giving us a shock that he could be modest.

Now, the main aspect of his writing lies in the criticism of 'The American Dream' and part of it, 'unwavering love' for Daisy that led to his downfall. One of the best themes, such as tragic hero and anti-hero.

Jay Gatsby's initial plan was revealed of why he became friends with Nick; he didn't want to be friends just because he was his neighbour but for a greater picture — to repeat the past. As he always believed, 'I could repeat the past.' That he could reconcile his unwavering love for Daisy, who was now married and had a daughter. He had a good motive, just like Hamlet, who wanted to return the dignity of his father (with vengeance) but later got consumed by an all-consuming obsession. You can see here that he could go to any length to gain his love back, and F. Scott Fitzgerald has affectionately provided the criticism of how having a certain dream (American Dream) and obsession for 'anybody' leads to downfall — a tragic fall. Daisy is wife to someone who's openly committed to infidelity, and both Daisy and Gatsby know about it. When the meeting of Gatsby and Daisy happened, he exclaimed he waited 5 years to reconcile this meeting. When Daisy sees his humongous house, she exclaims, 'I love it.' Gatsby kept on arranging parties to invite Daisy, and that led to several emotional manipulations of Nick, but Gatsby never realised, as he was so consumed by the sight of his unwavering love, that in Nick's words, "He had forgotten me when he was lost with sight of Daisy." He doesn't realise that Daisy is not in love with him but the glory that comes within him. When he met Tom (Daisy's husband), we got to know that there were several lies tied within Gatsby — he always lied to even Nick, but he justified it, saying, 'I do not want you to have any false perception, old sport, from the rumours. I want you to see the real me.' He successfully convinced Daisy to change her feelings and leave Tom.

He exclaimed to Tom, "She never loved you, do you hear? She only married you because I was poor, and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved except me." — It's the peak of the trajectory of his real emotion that tied within him, which he never showed how emotionally crippled he was due to this. It reveals his past a bit, that he was poor initially (5 years ago) but now is rich, and how? Through deception, which he justifies it. Daisy loved him? Yes, but she left him because he went to war and Daisy couldn't perceive him as what he perceived. He was so invested in the relationship that he wouldn't choose anyone except Daisy, but Daisy 'betrayed' him, and that is what Fitzgerald has shown: 'Anyone would betray you if you are disillusioned and extremely invested in a relationship blindly. That's what Franz Kafka motioned: They all will betray you - just like Samsa's sister did. Gatsby here realised that 'yes, Daisy did make a mistake, and it was a blasphemy to me, a terrible mistake', and yet he couldn't do anything except to love her. He is disillusioned to believe that Daisy never loved anyone without any veracity of his claim. He's obsessed, rather disillusioned. The quote is a symbolic oxymoron as he thinks, and the outer layer of it reveals his ecstatic state, but inside he is terribly sad, terribly disillusioned. Daisy failed to wait some years where Gatsby could wait his whole life. In the past they were lovers, but it reveals that only Gatsby could go to any length for his love — which was underneath a tragedy — a tragic love story.

Daisy didn't acknowledge his love as he wanted, but he kept on loving — a symbolism of obsession. He had a great motive — to protect and gain the love — but how he tries to get them is morally ambiguous — an antihero. The great symbolism in The Great Gatsby is the 'green light symbol'. Gatsby exclaims that the green light near Daisy's lounge is an object that helps him getting closer to his goal and getting Daisy, but that's a lie — it symbolises that he's getting far away from her — it's the symbol of his disillusionment. Yet he doesn't realise. "His dream seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him." "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orogastric future that year by year recedes before us. "According to Meyer Wolfsheim, 'He wouldn't look at any of his friends' wives.' If someone were to read without context, they would consider Gatsby an ideal man, but in reality he was abusively knee-deep in Daisy's; he was disillusioned — it's the same for Humbert Humbert's obsession: But in my mind she was always Lolita.'

Daisy accidently killed Mrs. Wilson, and the car was of Gatsby. He wasn't driving. Everyone hates him now; well, there was no one to begin with except Nick. He hates Gatsby now because he thinks that he killed Mrs. Wilson. Nick got to know that it was Daisy who did that. But Gatsby said, 'She did... but of course I will say that I did it.' He was completely blindfolded. He could go to any length to 'protect' his 'unwavering love' — but that soon came to bite him. Gatsby was there in Daisy's and Tom's garden at night after that incident and said to Nick that he would be there in order to reassure Daisy's safety. A millionaire is there to stay up at night just to check someone's safety? What an obsession!

The next day Gatsby was shot while he was in pool by Mr. Wilson, who taught that it was Gatsby who killed his wife. He was made to believe it was done by Gatsby by Daisy's husband, and yet Daisy never uttered a word. The funeral took place, and who was with Gatsby? His American Dream? His unwavering love? The one who made him? His friends? His money? No one except Nick and his father. "Daisy didn't come to his funeral, and not even a flower was atoned to him." He sacrificed or was willing to go to any length for Daisy, and yet she betrayed him again. Fitzgerald warned us not to go in the direction of his trait. Gatsby died a tragic death; his motives were all benevolent, yet he failed to grasp that the people whom he was trying to protect were not roses but the thorns that subside within its prose.

Gatsby thought that it was money that led Daisy to betray him previously, as he was poor, and yet the money he earned — the new money through gambling, deception, lies, with the help of corrupt flairs—couldn't get him what he wanted — here the green light symbol gets validated — he was always far away from her despite everything seeming so close. His father exclaimed to Nick that he was always driven by a sense of ambition since his childhood, and he was James Gatz later turned to Gatsby. He was driven by ambition — the obsessive one that led him to be crestfallen. His journal, the book 'Hopalong Cassidy' when he was a kid, answers his ambitiousness and relates to even 'us' the very grown-up individuals. His schedule The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby's schedule included:

6 AM: Rise from bed 6:15–6:30 AM: Dumbbell exercises and wall-scaling 7:15–8:15 AM: Study electricity 8:30 AM–4:30 PM: Work 4:30–5 PM: Baseball and sports 5–6 PM: Practice elocution, poise, and how to attain it 7–9 PM: Study needed inventions Gatsby also had some general resolves, including: No wasting time at Shafters No more smoking or chewing Bath every other day Read one improving book or magazine per week Save $3 per week Be better to parents

These all showcase and characterise the traits he is bound to have. He wanted to rise high at any cost that led to his downfall. I think he is quite an impactful and timeless character that inspires other characters too; that is why we are told to read it in our school days. I think he is the quintessential example of the tragicness and consequences of chasing love and power with obsessiveness.