Essay Question One
The tragic death of Gatsby — does he deserve his fate?
Essay Question Two
The important relationship between Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan — what does it reveal?
F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is a novel of illusion, class, and the corruption of the American Dream. These notes cover two essay questions: the circumstances and justice of Gatsby's tragic death, and the nature of his defining relationship with Daisy Buchanan.
Point One: Gatsby as a Victim of the American Dream
Gatsby is a victim of 1920s American society and the false hope given by the corrupt ideology of the American Dream — the belief that hard work guarantees success, including transcending class barriers. Fitzgerald regarded this as a false and dangerous ideology.
The Illusion He Built
Gatsby creates a false life and lives entirely for the illusion of achieving the American Dream, symbolised by Daisy. His identity — "Jay Gatsby" — is a fabrication constructed in service of this dream.
The Price of the Dream
Fitzgerald makes it clear that his tragic downfall is a direct result of trying to achieve this dream: "he paid a high price for living too long with a single dream." Gatsby had become so obsessed that the only possible outcomes were achievement (impossible) or death.
Nick's Closing Verdict
Nick makes this explicit in the closing lines: "his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it…Gatsby believed in the green light…" The false hope offered by this ideology is what drove Gatsby and what ultimately killed him.
Point Two: The Carelessness and Destructive Nature of the Upper Classes
A contributing factor in the tragic fate of Gatsby is the carelessness and destructive nature of the elite. Due to his unwavering devotion to Daisy — caused by his belief in the American Dream — Gatsby takes the blame for the death of Myrtle Wilson.
Gatsby's Self-Sacrifice
"Yes,' he said after a moment. 'But of course I'll say I was." Fitzgerald clearly portrays the careless and destructive nature of the elite in their ungrateful and selfish actions in the aftermath of Myrtle's death and Gatsby's self-sacrifice.
Daisy's Abandonment
"I call up Daisy half an hour after we found him, called her instinctively…But she and Tom had gone away…" Gatsby had stayed in West Egg hoping for communication from Daisy — it didn't come. She abandons him to his fate in the name of self-preservation.
Tom's Betrayal
Tom sacrificed Gatsby to preserve himself and Daisy by revealing Gatsby's location to George Wilson: "He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn't told him who owned the car." The richer get richer through having no regard for the lower classes.
Nick imagines that Gatsby had a moment of revelation before his death in which he realised the true careless and destructive nature of Daisy: "…shivered as he found what a grotesque thing a rose is…" Consider: if you feel sympathy for Gatsby, you may believe he had this revelation. Or — if he could never accept the truth — was this end inevitable?
Point Three: Fitzgerald's Comment on the Cause of Gatsby's Demise
"It is what preyed on Gatsby; what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams."
Fitzgerald's Authorial Intent
Fitzgerald provides an effective comment on the cause of Gatsby's demise from the very start of the novel. This early signal frames the entire narrative — the reader is primed to understand that Gatsby's destruction is not accidental but structural, embedded in the ideology he serves.
Analytical Questions to Address
- What message is Fitzgerald conveying in terms of theme through this early foreshadowing?
- What is Nick saying about Gatsby not deserving his fate, and how does this link to the reader's feelings?
- How does the phrase "foul dust" characterise the American Dream and those who embody it?
Important Relationship: Introduction to Gatsby and Daisy
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the period dubbed "The Roaring Twenties". It is set in East America where wealth, organised crime and corruption were in abundance. Nick, the narrator, witnesses Jay Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, the living embodiment of everything for which Gatsby strives — wealth and status.
The Setting
East America, the 1920s — an era of excess, organised crime, and deep class division between old money and new.
The Narrator
Nick Carraway witnesses and mediates the relationship, giving the reader a morally complex lens through which to interpret Gatsby and Daisy's dynamic.
The Central Tension
As the relationship between the two unfolds, it becomes clear that Daisy symbolises the American Dream — and it is through this that the grotesque and corrupt nature of this ideology comes to light.
Gatsby's Desire for Daisy: The Green Light
"he stretched out his arms toward the dark water… a single green light"
Gatsby's desire for Daisy is driven by his lust for wealth, status and power, and this is demonstrated clearly in his introduction to the novel. Nick describes a curious encounter in which he witnesses Gatsby standing at the end of his dock, physically reaching toward the green light at the end of Daisy's dock.
What the Image Reveals
The physical act of reaching emphasises his intense yearning for Daisy and her glamorous, old money life. This reveals, for the first time, the motivation behind the façade — the illusionary Jay Gatsby — which Gatsby has put all of his effort into creating and upholding.
The Delusion at the Core
He is under the delusion that the American Dream is a reality and believes that once he regains the relationship that he and Daisy once had, his version of the American Dream can finally be obtained. The green light is both literal and symbolic — hope, desire, and the impossibility of recapturing the past.
Daisy's Materialism and Self-Interest
"'They're such beautiful shirts,' she sobbed."
As Gatsby becomes more and more invested in his relationship with Daisy, her materialism and self-interest appears even more evident. Their sincerity towards the relationship is almost parallel: Daisy is the living embodiment of everything Gatsby strives for, while to her, their relationship is a mere flirtation — a distraction from her unrealistic, synthetic life.
The Shirts Scene
Despite appearing passionate about their reunion initially, the depth of Daisy's love is questioned when Gatsby's mansion is unveiled. The genuine mourning of something so physical reveals how much Daisy's life is centred on the significance of objects — the grotesque materialism symptomatic of the self-centred elite.
What Her Tears Really Mean
As she cried, the reader realises she is not yearning for the lost years she could have shared with her teenage love, but instead the wealth and fortune she could have shared with him. She is unconcerned about other people's feelings as long as she has wealth, and the stability and comfort that it provides.
The Shattering of the Façade
"With every word she was drawing further and further into herself."
The final and most significant moment involving Daisy and Gatsby's relationship is the moment when the façade of 'Jay Gatsby' shatters, and alongside it, any feelings that Daisy has for him. Gatsby makes the foolish mistake of believing that Daisy's feelings are genuine enough that she would risk her wealth and status to be with him.
The Revelation
Once Tom reveals the illegal lengths that Gatsby went to in order to win Daisy back, she abandons him as quickly as she fell for him. Her feelings were not built on the foundations of love but admiration towards Gatsby's impressive mansion and possessions.
The Hypocrisy
Daisy tosses Gatsby aside once discovering his criminal activities and returns to the unfaithful Tom, who treats her with as little regard as she treats others. She retreats to the comfort and security of old money life — perfectly happy to do what she wants without worrying about the people she hurts.
The Broader Critique
Daisy's retreat to Tom emphasises the grotesque nature of the elite. Their destructive and selfish nature allows them to be as careless as they wish while leaving others to pick up the pieces — a damning indictment of the class Gatsby so desperately wanted to join.
Gatsby's Moment of Realisation & Points Still to Cover
Gatsby's Realisation
Gatsby's moment of realisation about Daisy's true nature — he realises what a "grotesque thing a rose is" — he placed too much on her; he imagined her to be something that she wasn't (much like the American Dream) and this destroyed him in the end.
Daisy doesn't attend Gatsby's funeral — she caused his death but only cares about self-preservation. The reader learns that the American Dream is a corrupt and false ideology.
Points Still to Cover
- Daisy and Tom 'conspiring together' whilst Gatsby remains utterly faithful and 'watches over nothing' — the contrast between his devotion and their indifference
- How the conspiring of the elite reinforces Fitzgerald's critique of the upper classes as fundamentally self-serving
- The significance of Gatsby watching over nothing — the final image of misplaced loyalty and the hollowness of the dream he served
Theme: The American Dream
A corrupt and false ideology that destroys those who believe in it most sincerely.
Theme: Class & Carelessness
The elite are destructive and self-preserving — they leave others to suffer the consequences of their actions.
Theme: Illusion vs. Reality
Gatsby's Daisy — like the Dream itself — was always an illusion. Reality was always grotesque beneath the surface.
Death of a Character & Important Relationships in The Great Gatsby