The Great Gatsby Connection

The Great Gatsby was a very interesting book that kept my attention unlike other books that I have read in high school. The plot included cheating, killing, and revenge, which really held my interest. F. Scott Fitzgerald gave each character in the book his/her own interesting personality. Gatsby’s and Nick’s personalities seem to be the strongest ones that were developed.

“Riches have never fascinated me, unless combined with the greatest charm or distinction.” –Letter, Aug. 1936, to Ernest Hemingway
I thought this quote was developed into how Gatsby’s personality is. Even though he is rich, he worked extra hard to gain the money. His love for Daisy Buchanan was his main purpose to becoming wealthy. The book introduced Gatsby as a crazy host who threw parties every week. Later, his personality is more developed into a loving, caring person who accomplished the goal of being rich and wealthy. Gatsby’s dreams and hopes became his reality.

"That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton…I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." –F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters
This quote represented how Nick is like. Fitzgerald connected his life to his character, which gave Nick a stronger personality. Nick lived in West Egg with Gatsby as his neighbor. He went to Yale for college and fought in World War I. In the beginning of the book, the reader gets told that he’s open-minded and a good listener. Because his father taught him to be tolerant, many people can open up to him easily and tell him their secrets. While living in New York, he enjoyed the party life which was filled with fun, but by the end of the book, he realized that the New York life isn’t all that glamorous. After the death of Gatsby, Nick felt the shallowness of living a fun life.

These two characters’ personalities and lives add to what Fitzgerald’s personality and life was like. He fell in love with a woman named Zelda and tried his best to prove that he’s a success, just like Gatsby did. Fitzgerald later got caught into the thrilling party life, but ended up seeing the flaws and shallowness under having a life like that, just like Nick.