Essay Topic:

A detailed analysis how the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” influence each other.

Essay Questions:

What is tragedy of the “The Great Gatsby”?

What are the moral values of the characters of “The Great Gatsby”?

How has wealth influenced the behavior and the lives of the characters?

Thesis Statement:

Each of the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a slave of money and luxurious way of life.

Introduction:

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a profound novel describing the life of the American society in the 1920’s. It portrays the reader the lives of people who have obtained wealth and money but still remained uneducated and primitive people. The main characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” reveal how the process of the degradation of society and the loss of the American dream.

Nick Carraway – is the narrator of the story. Heis an educated Yale graduate and a man who has passed through the World War. As Nick moves to West Egg he turns out to be Gatsby's next-door neighbor and he finds himself in the center of tragic events as he reunites his cousin Daisy with Gatsby. Experiencing disillusionment Gatsby moves away trying to forget how people treat each other and their lives thinking only about money and fun.

Jay Gatsby – is the protagonist of the novel. He is the young man who has recently become wealthy and who for many years has loved Daisy Buchannan. Gatsby lives his live waiting one day to be back together with Daisy, Nick’s cousin. He becomes wealthy and throws parties to impress Daisy, but unable to do everything right he results dead.

Daisy Buchanan – is a gorgeous woman who easily socializes with people. The life for her is simple – all she needs to do is look nice, sound nice and have fun. All of the above is all right with her husband Tom as this is the way the upper society women behave.

Tom Buchanan – is Daisy’s husband is a very self-confident and self-centered man. He lives the live of rich men that includes luxurious parties, polo games, expensive cars and of course different mistresses changed every once in a while.  

Jordan Baker – is Daisy’s friend. She lives the life same as Daisy’s with flirting and being attractive for other men. Being single sometimes she sees Nick. Her personality is very superficial.

Myrtle Wilson - is Tom Buchanan’s mistress, who lives in the Valley of Ashes. With the help of Tom she”tastes” the life of the elite and her life with her husband loses its attractiveness to her.

George B. Wilson – is Myrtle’s husband who after finding out about her affair is unable to hold his temper and think and as a result Myrtle dies and Gatsby gets killed.

Conclusion:

The decisions made by all the characters are so primitive and so not “highly moral” that eventually they cause the deaths of Myrtle and Gatsby. The characters are wealth financially but are poor morally and intellectually. The way of life they strive for leads them to despair, loss of dream and unhappy life.