The Great Gatsby As A Tragedy Essay example -- English Literature

The Great Gatsby As A TragedyA hurried read of F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby can generatea tragic impression. The deaths of three of the main characters andthe failure of Gatsby and Daisys romance can be viewed as tragic.However, a deeper analysis of the book reveals a much deeper tragedy.The relentless struggles of Gatsby himself parallel Fitzgeralds homely ideas of the struggles of all Americans. The American pipe dreamromanticized by the majority of the population is really unattainablebecause it is, in fact, nonexistent.Every character has an unfortunate role and could be called a tragiccharacter. However, the main tragedy is that of the title character.Gatsby experiences nothing but tragedy in his life. He beginsmiserable and ends miserable. He begins his life in a distressing familywhere he feels he truly does not belong. His parents were unsuccessfuland his imaginationnever really accepted them as his parents atall(104). Always envisioning a better life for himself a nd a biggerpurpose for his life, he has an amazing ability to make his dreamscome true. As a child he dreams of organism wealthy and living in luxury,and he attains this. When he is older he dreams of having Daisy, andfor a time he achieves this dream as well. He reaches out for the commonalty light at Daisys dock symbolizing the embracing of his dream.Once the distance between him and this dream is removed, he hasexactly what he thinks he wants. However, it is this belief in thedream that leads to his eventual downfall. Nick reflects on Gatsbysaspirations saying, Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgasticfuture that year by year recedes before us (189). Gatsby has anunusual quality of lasting hope... ...is family, education, and theway he fell into his money. His name is not actually Gatsby either.Like the Great Houdini, Gatsby can make unreal things seem real. Hisentire life is an error to everyone but Nick. It is heartbreakingthat in order to be happy Gatsby feels that h e must put up these falsefronts and skew reality in the eyeball of others to make him intosomething that he is not.Gatsbys struggles are very similar to those of the American societyin this particular era. In one case, the contender is reaching for anunworthy dream and in the other it is the contender that is unworthyof the dream. Fitzgerald combines the two struggles to produce anoverall tragic comment on society in the 1920s. The lack of heart inthe old aristocracy, the death of the American dream and the falsehoodof the dreams unite to form the tragedy in the novel.