Jay Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is the fabulously attractive, wealthy beyond measure, tragic hero of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel the Great Gatsby. A lonely and troubled character, Gatsby is tormented by his frustrated love for Daisy, his sweetheart of long ago. The novel, narrated by Nick, a neighbour of Gatsby's, follows Gatsby emotional bid for Daisy to its tragic end.

Daisy emerges in the novel as a shallow and frivolous character unworthy of Gatsby' devotion. She is also married to Tom Buchanan, putting her out of Gatsby's reach as a wife, but not out of his dreams and desires. He dedicates his life to having Daisy and buys a lavish home across the bay from Daisy's home, where he stands in the evening watching the

Gatsby first met Daisy while training to be an officer in Louisville. He set out to win her affections by climbing the social ladder and entering her social circles as a wealthy man. In the hope of one day attracting Daisy to his Gothic West Egg mansion, Gatsby hosts lavish parties every Saturday night. He remains a mysterious character to his guests. Nobody knows who he is, where he came from or how he accumulated his wealth. The narrator of the novel, Nick, eventually learns that Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz on a humble farm in Dakota but that he always had ambitions to escape poverty. He showed meticulous dedication and endurance in improving himself in order to accumulate impressive wealth. It emerges later that Gatsby has earned his fortune through bootlegging and other criminal activities.

His blind optimism and enduring feelings for Daisy, against all odds, make Gatsby fabulously romantic and appealing as a man but also a tragic hero, ulitmately the victim of his own love.

Photo : Robert Redford and Mia Farrow as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan in the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby