Is Gatsby really 'Great'?

The "Great Gatsby" is essentially about the rise and fall of the American Dream, and what meaning that held for Gatsby. It is also about how the American Dream is seen by Gatsby, not to obtain something materialistic, money, but to reach a goal not in keeping at all with what the American Dream stands for. For him the American Dream is a vehicle toward his goal. The greatness of "Gatsby" can be explored through …

…that Gatsby, although appearing to have failed to the reader and to himself is actually a success, he is "Great" he overcomes the American Dream and establishes a new meaning for it. The only thing that kept him from being greater or trying even harder was death. Nick's last words, "tomorrow we run faster, stretch out our arms further and one fine day..." Life will go on without Gatsby, but he was a "Great" man.