Admiration for Gatsby in The Great Gatsby

Admiration for Gatsby in The Great Gatsby
How Fitzgerald builds a hero — gradually, deliberately, and unforgettably.
Introduction: A Character Who Grows on Us
F. Scott Fitzgerald constructs Gatsby so that the reader's admiration builds gradually — and deliberately — across the novel. We do not begin by loving him. We begin by being curious about him.
We move from curiosity, to disappointment, to doubt, and finally to genuine admiration for a man capable of nobility and self-sacrifice. This is no accident: it is the result of precise structural and characterisation choices.
This essay explores how Fitzgerald achieves this through characterisation, key incidents, and structure — tracing the arc from enigmatic stranger to genuine hero.
Point 1: Myth Before the Man
The Rumours
Gatsby is introduced not in person but through whisper and myth. Partygoers speculate wildly: he is a "German spy", a "murderer", a "cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm's". Mystery precedes the man entirely.
Nick's First Glimpse
"He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, as far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling… nothing except a single green light."
The Green Light
The green light symbolises longing and an unattainable dream. "Trembling" suggests vulnerability beneath the myth. The reader is immediately intrigued — here is a man of enormous feeling, hidden behind a facade of grandeur.
Point 2: The Anti-Climax of Meeting Gatsby
The Deflation
"I had talked with him perhaps half a dozen times in the past month and found, to my disappointment, that he had little to say."
Nick's words capture a shared reader experience: the myth promised everything; the man delivers surprisingly little.
Hollow Gestures
Gatsby calls everyone "old sport" — a borrowed affectation — and brandishes a war medal to prove he is "not some nobody." The gestures feel contrived, even desperate.
Fitzgerald's Structural Strategy
This anti-climax is deliberate. Fitzgerald lowers our expectations precisely so the deeper portrait — yet to come — can exceed them. The disappointment is not a flaw in the novel; it is the mechanism of the novel.
Point 3: The Shadow of Crime
Meyer Wolfsheim
Gatsby's association with Wolfsheim — the man who "fixed the World Series back in 1919" — casts a long, dark shadow over his wealth and his character.
The Outburst
When Nick probes his business dealings, Gatsby reacts with uncharacteristic anger: "That's my business!" — before quickly restoring his cool façade.
Moral Ambiguity
Fitzgerald uses this key scene to hint at criminal origins, deliberately eroding the reader's esteem and deepening the moral complexity at the heart of Gatsby's character.
Point 4: Self-Invention and the American Dream
"The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself."
The revelation of Gatsby's humble origins transforms everything. He did not inherit his wealth, his manner, or his name — he invented them, through sheer willpower and imagination.
Fitzgerald even includes a childhood timetable of self-improvement — exercise, study, work, elocution — to show the extraordinary discipline behind the dream. Here is a man who refused to accept the life he was born into.
This admirable determination — to become someone through effort alone — is the foundation of the American Dream, and the reader cannot help but respect it.
Point 5: Daisy's Betrayal — and Gatsby's Devotion
Daisy Crumbles
In the climactic confrontation, five years of "unwavering devotion" are exposed — and then shattered. Daisy's "frightened eyes told that whatever intentions, whatever courage she had had, were definitely gone." She turns to Tom and abandons Gatsby entirely.
Gatsby Stands Firm
The contrast is devastating. Daisy is weak and self-centred; Gatsby's love is sincere and enduring. Fitzgerald uses this high-tension scene to reveal the true quality of each character — and it is Gatsby who emerges with dignity.
Point 6: The Act of Self-Sacrifice
After Myrtle Wilson's death — caused by Daisy's driving — it is Gatsby who assumes responsibility without hesitation.
"Yes… but of course I'll say I was."
Four words that define a character. Gatsby accepts blame for a death he did not cause, protecting the woman who has just humiliated him before the man she chose over him.
"If he tries any brutality she's going to turn the light out and on again."
He waits outside the Buchanan house through the night — a sentinel for someone who will never look back. Fitzgerald casts him here in an unmistakably heroic mould: a man who sacrifices everything for another's sake.
Conclusion: A Hero Built Gradually
Fitzgerald structures the novel so that admiration for Gatsby accumulates — through carefully placed key incidents and deepening characterisation — rather than arriving all at once.
01
Curiosity
Rumour, mystery, and the haunting image of a man reaching toward a green light across the water.
02
Disappointment
The hollow affectations, the contrived persona, the shadow of Wolfsheim and criminality.
03
Respect
The revelation of humble origins and the extraordinary discipline of a man who invented himself entirely.
04
Admiration
Self-sacrifice, unwavering devotion, and a nobility that shames every other character in the novel.
It is precisely because Gatsby falls short in so many ways that his capacity for self-sacrifice and loyalty makes him, in the end, the most admirable character in the novel.