F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby A Tragic Hero

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Greed is a curse and is not for cowards. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, the character Jay Gatsby is neither a tragic hero nor a hero at all. He barely exists as a character. Jay Gatsby is not a tragic hero because of his outlandish behaviors and actions that was done throughout the book that contradicts the role and characteristic of a hero. According to the AP Language on Tragedy and Tragic Flaw/Hero, a tragic hero is a hero “who may bring about his or her own downfall because of an error in judgment or because of a personality failure.” Although people think he merits the same great and exalted position as a tragic hero, since he rises to a pinnacle of success and then falls to ruin; is merely just tragic and not heroic. …show more content…
Gatz nature is to attain more and more. It has been observed that he is never satisfied with what he possesses and his heart desires and generates materialistic gain. There is no limit to his materialistic achievements as his love for materialism stains his spirit. Excessive materialistic desire in life engenders a very strained disorder which creates profound desperation. Gatsby is dissatisfied and his display of morals and values is very low. We are continuously barraged with images of things that we can achieve that once we possess them we feel happier and more contented than ever before. Greed is an unquenchable craving for more, where more is never sufficient. Never can insatiability be satisfied, once you attain your hearts desire another desire replaces it. Greed is narcissistic, destructive and like a hurricane, it continues to draw victims nearer it's eye and in due time as the center is reached the force blow victims all about and destroys them. The "The Great Gatsby" is one such victim which undoubtedly exemplifies the damaging effect of greed and therefore shows the consequences that arise as greed infiltrates the very soul of a man. Mahatma Gandhi clearly states that “Earth provided enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every mans
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