In F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby many characters are not as they seem. The one character that intrigues me the most is James Gatsby.
In the story Gatsby is always thought of as rich, confident, and very popular. However, when I paint a picture of him in my mind I see someone very different. In fact, I see the opposite of what everyone portrays him to be. I see someone who has very little confidence and who tries to fit in the best he can.
There are several scenes in which this observation is very obvious to me. It is clear that Gatsby is not the man that everyone claims he is. One scene that clearly shows the true Gatsby is when he meets Daisy at Nicks house. He is very nervous and wants everything to be perfect for Daisy.
To me that shows he is really hung up on what other people think. He wants to impress them the best he can. Obviously Gatsby has little confidence and feels he needs to overwhelm people with appearance opposed to his personality. When Gatsby and Nick go out on the town Gatsby took his yellow Rolls Royce, which is a magnificent car. Gatsby wanted to impress Nick and everyone else in town with his awesome car. Once again this shows how Gatsby uses objects to get attention and not his personality.
The scene that displays Gatsbyslow confidence the most is when he has his elaborate parties with all of the fancy decorations and incredible food. So many people come to his parties and the whole time he is never present. He never comes down to greet anyone or welcome them. He never comes down to check on his guests to see how things are going and if they are having a good time. Gatsby always spends time in a room by himself watching everyone.
He waits, hoping Daisy will appear. Gatsby is built up to be a big man. He is thought of as extremely wealthy and good looking with lots of confidence. However, if this label was really true, then why did Gatsby use Nick to get Daisy instead of doing it himself? If this was really true, then why did Gatsby constantly work to impress others with his objects and not his mind?
Gatsby was a wealthy man, but he had little confidence and poor self-esteem. Gatsby wanted to be well liked and he would do anything to get that way, except use his personality.
