Gatsby Essay

   The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story that uses characterization to show that happiness is not really attainable. Fitzgerald shows this by making most of the characters selfish, greedy, and unhappy with their lives. He tries to show us that no matter what you have in life people will always be unhappy with what they have. For example, Gatsby is a millionaire with a big house and an expensive car but he is still unhappy because he wants the girl of his dreams. Tom Buchanan is married to Daisy but he isn't happy with just her so he gets a mistress. Also, Myrtle is unhappy with her marriage because her husband isn't rich enough for her and decides to cheat on him with Tom Buchanan. With this being said, Gatsby's opinion on happiness is that it can not be obtained.     Fitzgerald characterizes everyone in kind of the same way, they all are unhappy with their lives and they are all greedy. One character that shows this is Gatsby, even though he has lots of money, a big house and an expensive car, he is never really happy with himself. He is always going out of his way to try to impress the girl of his dreams who is with Tom Buchanan. He throws parties every night in hope that one day she'll come to one. In the book it says, "Gatsby bought that house so that daisy would be just across the bay"(page 63) and "...he says he's read a Chicago paper for years on the chance of catching a glimpse of Daisy's name"(page 64) this shows just how much Gatsby was obsessed with getting what he wanted instead of focusing on what he already had. He even goes as far as to plan a accidental reunion with Daisy by telling her cousin to invite her to one of his parties, but she ends up hating it. At the end of the book she chooses to be with Tom even after everything Gatsby did for her. This goes to show that Fitzgerald was trying to imply that happiness cannot be reached even if you try to make it right.
    Myrtle is another prime example of a character that just isn't happy with what they have. In the beginning of the book it is clear that she thinks she is better than her husband, George, and the life he's provided just isn't enough for her expensive needs. She says she thought "he was a gentleman"  in the beginning of their marriage but she found out he borrowed his wedding suit she thought he had lied about how much money he had. I don't think her reasoning really makes sense because it's not that big of a deal, but since she values materialistic things it's probably a good reason in her perspective. Because George couldn't satisfy her needs she decides to have an affair with Tom Buchanan who is much more richer than George. In the end she gets run over by Tom's wife and gets killed. I think Fitzgerald was trying to show what being greedy can do to you.
     In conclusion, Fitzgerald used characterization to show that happiness is something unattainable and that greediness will only get you killed. He did this by making every character greedy and unhappy with what they have.