Mr. Nobody from Nowhere: The Infinite Hope of Gatsby's Quest
Is Gatsby’s hope truly the greatest quality in a character?
“There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams -- not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything.”
- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
What is hope?
The idea of hope has become much more than a definition or emotion. It’s a state of a mind where one can look positively upon the world with optimism on life and/or the world.
Is hope, founded on insubstantial things, still better than having no hope?
Gabriel Marcel was a famous Christian existential philosopher in the 1900’s. For Marcel, one of humanity’s few redeemable traits was hope, although this was not to be an optimistic hope. Hope is not about faith in a good future since this rarely happened, rather, it was to give man something to live for in a terrible world. There should always be something to hope for so that one can continue to move forward. Gatsby is the only character in the novel that thrives off hope. He’s lived his whole life with the hope of something better and, as Marcel has said, this kept him moving forward. Perhaps his dreams were based on unsubstantial things that would never have brought him joy, but this dream was shared by everyone during that time. Fitzgerald makes a point of displaying the depressive state of the Jazz Age, yet amidst all these numbingly heartbreaking characters, Gatsby’s hope shone through. Gatsby knew the impossibility of his dream and he fought for it even harder despite this. Marcel would agree that this made Gatsby more alive than any other character in the novel because he had something to live for among a world that was unkind to him. In comparison to George Wilson whose life teetered on the edge of death constantly due to lack of hope, Gatsby lived vibrantly through him infinite hope. Hope based on insubstantial things may be weak but having hope of anything in a desolate world gives one the strength to keep on moving.
Is Gatsby’s hope something that destroys him or gives his life meaning?
Although Marcel would have believed Gatsby’s hope gave his life meaning, Greek stoic philosopher, Epictetus would disagree. Epictetus believed that when we hope for things beyond our capabilities of achieving, as Gatsby did. When we find ourselves incapable of achieving these things, it makes us anxious with feelings of frustration, anger, bitterness, etc. This is a source of misery to all humans. These emotions simply get magnified when we continue to fight for these desires, despite knowing the impossibility of it. Gatsby’s own misery and bitter ending would, therefore, be his own doing through his hope for impossible things. Gatsby is unable to change his past but throughout believes that he can and is unable to let go of these desires. Epictetus believed that by continuing down that path, it would lead to an inability to achieve one’s goals, unhappiness, and emotional turmoil. Gatsby destroys his own life with his hope and his inability to know when he is in a losing battle. He wants to believe that he can be the man everyone wants to be, and although he can fulfill that to some extent, he can never change the person he was born as.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher famous for his controversial and radical ideas, wrote in his book Human, All Too Human, “In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.” Although Nietzsche would disagree with Epictetus in many aspects of philosophy, they might agree that Gatsby’s hope destroyed the man he was. Hope centered on one impossible thing blinded him for seeing other possibilities for himself. This hope prolonged his torment for five years. Nietzsche and Epictetus would say Gatsby’s hope destroyed his life and prevented him from happiness or freedom, whereas Marcel would say Gatsby’s hope gave his life meaning in a meaningless world.
- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby
What is hope?
The idea of hope has become much more than a definition or emotion. It’s a state of a mind where one can look positively upon the world with optimism on life and/or the world.
Is hope, founded on insubstantial things, still better than having no hope?
Gabriel Marcel was a famous Christian existential philosopher in the 1900’s. For Marcel, one of humanity’s few redeemable traits was hope, although this was not to be an optimistic hope. Hope is not about faith in a good future since this rarely happened, rather, it was to give man something to live for in a terrible world. There should always be something to hope for so that one can continue to move forward. Gatsby is the only character in the novel that thrives off hope. He’s lived his whole life with the hope of something better and, as Marcel has said, this kept him moving forward. Perhaps his dreams were based on unsubstantial things that would never have brought him joy, but this dream was shared by everyone during that time. Fitzgerald makes a point of displaying the depressive state of the Jazz Age, yet amidst all these numbingly heartbreaking characters, Gatsby’s hope shone through. Gatsby knew the impossibility of his dream and he fought for it even harder despite this. Marcel would agree that this made Gatsby more alive than any other character in the novel because he had something to live for among a world that was unkind to him. In comparison to George Wilson whose life teetered on the edge of death constantly due to lack of hope, Gatsby lived vibrantly through him infinite hope. Hope based on insubstantial things may be weak but having hope of anything in a desolate world gives one the strength to keep on moving.
Is Gatsby’s hope something that destroys him or gives his life meaning?
Although Marcel would have believed Gatsby’s hope gave his life meaning, Greek stoic philosopher, Epictetus would disagree. Epictetus believed that when we hope for things beyond our capabilities of achieving, as Gatsby did. When we find ourselves incapable of achieving these things, it makes us anxious with feelings of frustration, anger, bitterness, etc. This is a source of misery to all humans. These emotions simply get magnified when we continue to fight for these desires, despite knowing the impossibility of it. Gatsby’s own misery and bitter ending would, therefore, be his own doing through his hope for impossible things. Gatsby is unable to change his past but throughout believes that he can and is unable to let go of these desires. Epictetus believed that by continuing down that path, it would lead to an inability to achieve one’s goals, unhappiness, and emotional turmoil. Gatsby destroys his own life with his hope and his inability to know when he is in a losing battle. He wants to believe that he can be the man everyone wants to be, and although he can fulfill that to some extent, he can never change the person he was born as.
Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher famous for his controversial and radical ideas, wrote in his book Human, All Too Human, “In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.” Although Nietzsche would disagree with Epictetus in many aspects of philosophy, they might agree that Gatsby’s hope destroyed the man he was. Hope centered on one impossible thing blinded him for seeing other possibilities for himself. This hope prolonged his torment for five years. Nietzsche and Epictetus would say Gatsby’s hope destroyed his life and prevented him from happiness or freedom, whereas Marcel would say Gatsby’s hope gave his life meaning in a meaningless world.