"So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end" (99).
The parties and the grandeur of the characters' lifestyles were used a distractions from their unhappiness, and everything about that group of people was not genuine. Even the mysterious and incredibly wealthy Jay Gatsby was not who he seemed to be; he was instead an illusion conjured up in his teen years. No one really knew who Gatsby was because the man before them was not truly a Gatsby. He morphed himself into the kind of man he thought he needed to be to be successful. He had to distance himself from James Gatz, the poor farmers' boy, in order to live in the rich society of New York. The more he became Gatsby, the more he left his former life behind and turned into the restless, strange rich man Nick knew. I thought having this other life that he rarely spoke about made Gatsby less genuine. The novel talks about how he formed this conception about himself and let that consume him; he hardly ever disclosed his true identity or story. I think this covering of his past and becoming the unsatisfied, corrupt "businessman" led to the events surrounding his demise.
I also believe that it's not just Gatsby's character that's underdeveloped either. I thought Fitzgerald didn't bother going into that much detail about the important things. It left something to be desired -- some loose ends. If that's what he intended to do, then fine. But I, for one, can't stand it!
ReplyDelete