Jay Gatsby was a character who strove for self-improvement, self worth, and wanted to be recognized as eminent among his peers. His environment was influenced by money, greed, drugs, alcohol and corruption. Gatsby, however, was innately a genuinely gracious, chivalric gentlemen. It seemed the sole purpose of his life was to reclaim his only lover. Gatsby knew that in order to compete with other men, and in order to fit in with Daisy’s lifestyle and expectations, he would need to form a façade, in which his deceptive pedestal would lead people to think that he was greater than he really was. He likely had no confidence with a humble lifestyle, and did not strive to improve just himself, but also to improve the perception of those who judged him.

Gatsby, in the lime light, looses sight of his true aspirations. Every day, Gatsby awakes to a fabulous decorative mansion, numerous servants, a Rolls Royce, and a plethora of flamboyant suits so as to grab the attention of anyone. He is the host to outrageous parties every weekend, in which he invites the most famous, wealthy, and sought after people. He tries to be more friendly and informal with every than is necessary, commonly referring to them as “Old Sport

Gatsby becomes overwhelmed in his quest for Daisy, and he is immersed in lies, corruption and so much money he doesn’t know what to do with it. However, there are certain points in the story when the onlookers are gone, and Gatsby becomes grounded, as the extravagant show did not succeed in attracting the one thing he wanted; Daisy. It is not uncommon for people to put on a façade that portrays them as much different then who they are. The truth is revealed when no one is watching. It is how one conducts oneself in private that reveals one’s true character.

Gatsby’s money in the end never accomplished for him his dream. His dream of romantically reuniting with Daisy and spending the remainder of their lives together never happened. His dream became hollow and lifeless. Although Gatsby never acknowledges the metaphor, Fitzgerald compares Gatsby’s dreams to a boat moving up a river, in which the current pulls proportionally harder against the boat the harder the rower rows, and the destination (in this instance Daisy’s dock), is never reached. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…And one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (p. 189).

            Gatsby was never satisfied with his life. He was always striving for something more, something unattainable. In the end, Gatsby’s wealth did not buy him friends, Daisy, or happiness. In his funeral, this once popular man passed on with a family member, a few loyal friends, and Nick. Gatsby was subject to rumors, speculation, and admiration by many, but no one, possibly not even Gatsby knew the truth to the quest for an unattainable, imagination driven dream.