Open Prompt (1979 prompt)

1979. Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character's actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

To somebody that didn’t know anything about his life, and to many that do, Jay Gatsby could be considered a morally corrupt, petty, and generally deplorable man. He spends time with gangsters, illegally peddles alcohol, and cares desperately that people view him as wealthy and a member of a social class he will never be a part of.  In the Great Gatsby though, Fitzgerald does not portray him as such. Instead we see a deeply flawed man, like many of ourselves, who pulled himself up by his bootstraps to get to where he is, and ultimately only ever wanted the attention of the woman he loved.

The cast of characters in The Great Gatsby doesn’t feature many shining stars of morality; most everyone is petty, and overly concerned with class, Tom Buchanan is a misogynist and a racist, and Daisy Buchanan is only surpassed in superficiality by Gatsby himself. However, Nick Carraway, the narrator, the man who guides and informs the reader’s conscience, tells Gatsby that “you’re worth the whole damn bunch put together”. Perhaps not the most impressive sum, but it illustrates Fitzgerald’s intent of characterizing Gatsby more sympathetically than his other characters. Unlike Tom, or Daisy, or Wolfsheim, Jay Gatsby has an ultimately noble pursuit; to be with the one he loves. Everything that he does, however morally bankrupt, is to fulfill a noble dream. The dreams and ambitions for other characters are not nearly so virtuous, only concerned with wealth and power.

Unlike the old money, privileged East Egg residents, Gatsby lives on the West Egg. He is set apart. Gatsby is a decorated war hero, who dedicated himself to self improvement. Fitzgerald makes sure the reader sees this dedication, in the form of his meticulous and rigorous daily schedule he made for himself as a youth. Gatsby is far from perfect, desperately concerned with being accepted into the high society East Egg and having acquired much of his wealth illegally, but he was not born into the snooty, high society of the old money, making him more relateable to the reader.

Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby to comment on the degradation of America’s founding principles, and the death of the American Dream. Because of this, the glimpse into the microcosm of the American experience he presents is not a pleasant ones, and few sympathetic characters can be found, but Jay Gatsby is meant to draw some sympathy from the reader. His dream is a noble one, and his story is relateable. Ultimately though, his society keeps him from pursuing that which he desires and he dies young, symbolizing the death of the American Dream.