the meaning of jay gatsby’s view on life as seen · ii a sarjana pendidikan thesis on the meaning...

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THE MEANING OF JAY GATSBY’S VIEW ON LIFE AS SEEN

IN FITZGERLAD’S THE GREAT GATSBY

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Christoforus Sigit Bramaditya

Student Number: 131214062

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2017

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

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A Sarjana Pendidikan Thesis on

THE MEANING OF JAY GATSBY’S VIEW ON LIFE AS SEEN IN THE

FITZGERALDS THE GREAT GATSBY

By



Approved by

Advisor

Dr. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A. 14 June 2017


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THE MEANING OF JAY GATSBY’S VIEW ON LIFE AS SEEN

IN FITZGERALD’S THE GREAT GATSBY

By

CHRISTOFORUS SIGIT BRAMADITYA


Defended before the Board on Examiners

on 11 July 2017

and Declared Acceptable

Board of Examiners

Chairperson : Yohana Veniranda, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.A., Ph.D. ___________

Secretary : Christina Lhaksmita Anandari, S.Pd., Ed.M. ___________

Member : Dr. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A. ___________

Member : Monica Ella Harendita, M.Ed. ___________

Member : Patricia Angelina Lasut, M.Hum. ___________

Yogyakarta, 11 July 2017

Faculty of Teachers Training and Education

Sanata Dharma University

Dean,

Rohandi, Ph.D.


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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and

references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, 11 July 2017

The Writer


131214062


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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Christoforus Sigit Bramaditya

Nomor Mahasiswa : 131214062

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan

Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE MEANING OF JAY GATSBY’S VIEW ON LIFE AS SEEN IN

FITZGERALD’S THE GREAT GATSBY

beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan

hak kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,

mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikan di internet atau

media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya

maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya

sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 11 Juli 2017

Yang menyatakan



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ABSTRACT

Bramaditya, Christoforus Sigit (2017). The Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on

Life as seen in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Yogyakarta: English Language

Education Study Program, Faculty of Teachers Training and Education, Sanata

Dharma University.

This study analyzes a novel entitled The Great Gatsby by F. Scott

Fitzgerald. The novel is about a man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in Long Island,

New York on 1922. He lives extravagantly and he loves to hold big parties where

everyone can come without being invited. In his extravagant life, Jay Gatsby

secretly seeks for a woman that he used to love.

The aim of this study is to reveal the meaning of life as seen in Jay Gatsby,

the main character of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. There are two problems

formulated in this study. The first one is the description of Jay Gatsby while the

second one is about the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life.

This study is a library research. The researcher chooses this novel because

he is attracted to Jay Gatsby’s view on his life. The theories in this study are

character and characterization theory and motivation theory. This study uses

psychological approach to answer the formulated problems.

There are two findings in this study. The first finding shows that Jay

Gatsby is a mysterious, untruthful, snobbish, ambitious, and a self-confident

character in the novel. The second finding shows the literal meaning of Jay

Gatsby’s view on life is a desire to live with his old girlfriend, Daisy Fay while

the true meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is his way to seek for belongingness

in the world that he believes he belongs to. Jay Gatsby’s view on life is caused by

his needs of belongingness. It motivates Gatsby to seek where or who he belongs

to.

It is suggested for the English lecturers to implement this novel in their

Prose or Drama class and for future researchers to analyze Nick Carraway’s view

on life in the Jazz Age era.

Keywords: character, view, life, meaning, motivation


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ABSTRAK

Bramaditya, Christoforus Sigit (2017). The Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on

Life as seen in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Yogyakarta: Program Studi

Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Jurusan Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Seni, Fakultas

Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Studi ini menganalisis sebuah novel berjudul The Great Gatsby oleh F.

Scott Fitzgerald. Novel ini menceritakan seorang bernama Jay Gatsby yang

tinggal di Long Island, New York pada tahun 1922. Dia hidup berkemewahan dan

dia senang mengadakan pesta-pesta dimana semua orang dapat datang tanpa

diundang. Di kemewahan hidupnya, Jay Gatsby diam-diam mencari seorang

wanita yang pernah dicintainya.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengungkap makna dari kehidupan

oleh Jay Gatsby, sang tokoh utama dalam novel karya Fitzgerald, The Great

Gatsby. Terdapat dua rumusan masalah dalam studi ini. Yang pertama mengenai

deskripsi dari Jay Gatsby dan yang kedua mengenai makna dari pandangan Jay

Gatsby terhadap hidup.

Studi ini merupakan sebuah studi pustaka. Peneliti memilih novel ini

karena ia tertarik dengan pandangan hidup oleh Jay Gatsby. Teori yang digunakan

dalam studi ini adalah teori karakter dan karakterisasi dan teori motivasi. Studi ini

menggunakan pendekatan psikologi untuk menjawab rumusan- rumusan masalah.

Terdapat dua hasil penelitian dalam studi ini. Hasil pertama menunjukan

bahwa Jay Gatsby dalam novel adalah seorang yang misterius, tidak jujur,

sombong, ambisius, dan percaya diri. Hasil kedua menunjukan makna pandangan

hidup Jay Gatsby yang tersurat di dalam novel adalah sebuah keinginan untuk

hidup bersama dengan pacar masalalunya, Daisy Fay sedangkan makna

pandangan hidup Jay Gatsby yang sebenarnya di dalam novel adalah cara Gatbsy

untuk mencari rasa keberasalan di dunia yang dia yakini. Pandangan hidup Jay

Gatsby disebabkan oleh kebutuhan akan rasa keberasalan. Hal ini memotivasi Jay

Gatsby untuk mencari dari mana tempat dia berasal dan siapa yang memilikinya.

Disarankan bagi para dosen Bahasa Inggris untuk menerapkan novel ini

pada kelas Prose dan Drama mereka serta disarankan bagi para peneliti di masa

mendatang untuk menganalisa pandangan hidup Nick Caraway terhadap

kehidupan di era Jazz Age.

Kata kunci: character, view, life, meaning, motivation


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank God that this thesis can be finished on

time by His blessings. He gives me power to stand and rise against the obstacle

that I face in my way to finish this thesis.

I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Antonius Herujiyanto, M.A.

for his advice, patience, ideas, and guidance which help me a lot during writing

this thesis. He has sacrificed his time to help me finishing my thesis. May God

always bless him and his family with joy and happiness. I would also like to show

my gratitude to all the lecturers in English Language Education Study Program

who have guided me since the first time I study in the university. They all have

taught me patiently and have developed my English and teaching skill so I can

graduate proudly with it.

My deepest gratitude goes to my parents, Antonius Ngadimin, S.Pd and

Yustina Murwani, S.Pd who always support me and never stop praying for me.

Their love and prayers are the reasons why I can graduate successfully. They

always support me wholeheartedly. I am so proud of being their son. I am also

thankful for my grandparents in Bantul who are always patient with me and took a

good care of me when I went to their house.

My greatest appreciation goes to my best friends in PBI; Agus, Seto, Victo,

Indrajit, and Heris who always cheer me up with inappropriate jokes and laughter.

My appreciation goes also to all “Penghuni dan Alumni Kost Surya 11”, Anes,

Alfa, Charles, Alek, Agung for their companionship in the boardinghouse and the


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silly disturbance they made when I did my thesis. I also send a big appreciate for

all people in “Class C Kecil PBI 2013” who learn and study together with me for

this four years. With them, I grow together to be a better individual.

My special thanks goes to my beloved one, Kirana Cinta Murti who always

supports me when I am tired and becomes my source of happiness. My biggest

gratitude also goes to my friend Yohanes M. Restu S.Pd who has helped me to

proofread my thesis.

The last, I would like to thank all people that cannot be mentioned here one

by one and for the people who has helped me in the university life.



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE ........................................................................................................... i

APPROVAL PAGES .............................................................................................. ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ...................................................... iv

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ........................................................ v

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vi

ABSTRAK .............................................................................................................. vii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................. viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ x

LIST OF APPENDICES ....................................................................................... xii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1

A. Background of the Study ............................................................... 1

B. Objective of the Study ................................................................... 4

C. Problem Formulation ..................................................................... 4

D. Significance of the Study .............................................................. 4

E. Definition of Terms ....................................................................... 5

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...................................... 8

A. Review of Related Study ............................................................... 8

B. Review of Related Theories .......................................................... 9

1. Theory of Character ................................................................... 9

2. Theory of Characterization ...................................................... 10

3. Theory of Motivation ............................................................... 13

4. Psychological Approach .......................................................... 15

C. Theoretical Framework ............................................................... 17

D. Context of the Novel ................................................................... 18

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 20

A. Object of the Study ...................................................................... 20

B. Approach of the Study ................................................................. 21


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C. Method of the Study .................................................................... 22

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 23

A. The Characteristic of Jay Gatsby ................................................. 23

1. Mysterious ............................................................................... 24

2. Untruthful................................................................................. 26

3. Snobbish................................................................................... 28

4. Ambitious................................................................................. 30

5. Confident ................................................................................. 31

B. The Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life ............................... 32

1. The Literal Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life ................ 33

2. The True Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life ................... 38

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATION, SUGGESTIONS ................. 44

A. Conclusions ................................................................................. 44

B. Implication ................................................................................... 45

C. Suggestions .................................................................................. 46

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 48

APPENDICES …………...………………………….....…………………...….. 49


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LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald ……………………………...... 50

APPENDIX 2 Summary of The Great Gatsby ……………………………….... 53


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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of four parts which are Background of the Study,

Problem Formulations, Significance of the Study, and Definition of Terms.

Background of the Study contains the reasons why the researcher conducts this

study. Problem Formulations consists of the formulated questions discussed in

this study. Significance of the Study consists of the contribution of this study to

future researches. Then, Definition of Terms contains the discussed terms that is

used in this study in order to avoid misunderstandings.

A. Background of the Study

Literature is a part of human world and a creation of human’s thinking

process. According to Welleck and Warren (1956), literature can be defined as

every human narrated creation in a printed form. Literature is created by human to

record their thoughts in everything printed. The content inside can be in the form

of poems, prose, and plays. The three forms of literature that human creates are

basically related to their experience in life. Someone who writes a literature will

reflect their life and experience by expressing his or her ideas on the literature

work that they write. It will be written in a beautiful language and style to create a

meaningful work. The more meaningful the work, the more pleasure the reader

will get from the text. It will also open the reader’s mind to understand about life

and experience which are written in the text.


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One type of literature which is interesting to be discussed is novel. Novel is

a type of prose which is written as a narrative work. As a product of literature,

novel is also connected with human life. Hudson (2006) stated that a novel is

concerned directly with life, with men and women, and their relationships, with

their thoughts and feelings, and with their passions and motives (p. 163). By

reading a novel, the reader will understand more about life through the life of

others inside the novel. It is shown in the novel from the plot, characters,

problems, and the conversations inside.

Understanding life through a novel is interesting especially by using one of

the character’s example of life in the novel. Despite the numerous character in the

novel, the writer of the novel often only has one character which plays as the main

character in the novel. The main character in the novel usually takes the biggest

part in the novel. The life which the main character lives in the novel may vary as

a novel is written by capturing the portrait of reality. According to Rohrberger and

Woods (1971), a novel “reports the actions of individual characters with details

sufficient and abundant to create the illusion of authenticity to the material facts of

everyday world” (p. 29). It means that in the novel the character’s life is similar

with our daily life.

The researcher takes the novel entitled The Great Gatsby as the material of

his research because the researcher is attracted to Jay Gatsby’s life story. Jay

Gatsby in the novel is a rich man who lives in Long Island, New York at the era

of 1920’s. Jay Gatsby’s struggle in the novel is very interesting as he views his

life and his work differently than other characters in the novel. His life becomes


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very interesting to be discussed. This novel gives the researcher an example of

how a man lives his own view of life and creates his own destiny.

The Great Gatsby is a novel which was written in 1925 by F. Scott

Fitzgerald. As a novel which was written in the 1920’s, the novel captures the

portrait of the glamorous society in America at that time after the First World

War. The 1920’s is the years which was namely famous as the Jazz Age. The

glamorous society in America in the Jazz Age had made the people to start living

extravagantly and for the people who were poor they can only imagine how it is to

have an extravagant life. In the novel, there is one character named Jay Gatsby.

He is a man who lives extravagantly. He loves to hold a big party in his huge

mansion in the West Egg of New York. In his party, none of the guests knows

who he is but still accepts his hospitality. Mysteriously, Jay Gatsby never tells his

secret and his background to other people. However, as he meets Nick Carraway,

he starts to tell about his life. One by one, Gatsby’s life background and secret is

revealed. There is one thing related about his past that Jay Gatsby still pursues in

his life that looks so perfect in other people’s eyes. He tries to get a woman who

used to be his lover in the past back to his life. The woman is Daisy Fay, a woman

who is separated with Gatsby when he went to the war in his younger age.

The fact that Jay Gatsby’s life and his view of life are different than the

other characters in the novel has certainly caught the researcher’s attention to

analyze it. In this study, the researcher discusses the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s

view on life. The researcher hopes that by this study, the true meaning of Jay

Gatsby’s view on life can be shown. In order to analyze Jay Gatsby’s view on life,


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this research uses some theories such as the theory of character and

characterization, theory of motivation and using psychological approach.

B. Objective of the Study

The objective of the study is to reveal the meaning of life according to Jay

Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

C. Problem Formulation

Referring to the background of the study, the research problems are

formulated as follows:

1. How is Jay Gatsby, the main character of the novel described?

2. What is the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life?

D. Significance of the Study

There are three significances which are expected from this study. This

study is expected to give significance for the researcher, readers, as well as future

researchers.

1. The Significance of the Study for the Researcher

This study is expected to develop the researcher’s understanding in

analyzing a literary work especially a novel. It makes the researcher understand

the character of Jay Gatsby which is analyzed in the novel. This study also helps


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the researcher to understand more about the literal meaning and the true meaning

of an issue in the novel.

2. The Significance of the Study for the Readers

The second significance of the study is for the readers. This study is

expected to help the readers to understand more about novel. The researcher hopes

that this study can widen the reader’s knowledge about literature, especially about

novel.

3. The Significance of the Study for the Future Researcher

The third significance of the study is for the future researchers. This study

hopefully can be a reference for the future researchers to write a thesis on

literature regarding the same issues.

E. Definition of Terms

In this part, there are some terms that need to be explained based on the

title and the problem formulations to avoid misunderstandings in the further

discussions. Those terms are:

1. Character

Characters are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work,

who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral, intellectual, and

emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive


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ways of saying it or the dialogue and from what they do or the action (Abrams,

2009). In this study, the character means someone who appears in the novel as the

subject in the novel.

2. Characterization

Characterization is a method for establishing the distinctive characteristics

on characters in a literary work (Abrams, 2009). Based on the description,

characterization in this study is the way the researcher defines the characteristics

Jay Gatsby which is the character discussed in this study.

3. Motivation

Motivation is interest, willingness, and necessity of a person, which urges

the behavior toward goals (Huffman & Vernoy, 2000). In this study, motivation is

described as Jay Gatsby’s grounds of interest, willingness, and necessity in his

view of life.

4. View

As indicated by the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (eleventh

edition), view is an opinion or belief or idea, or a way of thinking about

something. This study analyzes about Jay Gatsby’s view, belief, and think about

his life.


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5. Life

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (eleventh edition),

life is the existence of an individual human being or animal, a particular type of

aspect of human existence. Life in this study is related to Jay Gatsby’s life in the

novel which is different than other character in the novel because of his view of it.


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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter is divided into four parts. They are Review of Related Study,

Review of Related Theories, Theoretical Framework, and Context of the Study.

The Review of Related Study contains of study, comments, and criticism which

are related to the writer’s thesis about The Great Gatsby. Review of Related

Theories contains the theories that is used in this study. Theoretical Frameworks

shows how the researcher uses the theory answer the formulated problems.

Context of the Novel describes the time and place the novel written and

background of the novel.

A. Review of Related Study

There have been some studies related The Great Gatsby by F. Scott

Fitzgerald. There are two researchers that have researched the novel. Since it is a

famous novel and widely known, The Great Gatsby is very popular novel to be

discussed in a thesis or research paper.

First, the writer finds a research discussed The Great Gatsby by Oliviana

(2012), titled The Socio-Historical Criticism towards the 1920’s American Society

Seen through Gatsby’s Life in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. From this study,

there are two main points which are analyzed. The first is about how Jay Gatsby’s

character described by Fitzgerald in the novel. She finds Gatsby has two

characters which are really different. Gatsby has a big ambition to reach his dream


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and he is a motivated man to pursue his dream. However, Gatsby used bad ways

to reach his dream on the other side. The second is about how Fitzgerald depicts

the social life and situation of America in the 1920’s. Oliviana uses many social,

historical, and Fitzgerald’s biography aspect to analyze the social life that

influence Jay Gatsby’s character.

The second research was conducted by Paramita (2016). The research

entitled Nick Carraway’s Self-Regulation in Dealing with Hedonism as seen in

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In this research there are two main points

discussed. First, is about how Fitzgerald depicts the social life of American in the

1920’s. Second, is about how Nick Carraway as the side character in the novel

The Great Gatsby regulates himself toward the hedonism and consumerism in the

American society of that time.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this study, there are several theories used. The theories are used to

analyze and support the scientific data of the study. The theories are the character

and characterization theories and the motivation theories.

1. Theory of Character

The main character has his or her personality which is written in the novel.

As an important elements in the novel, character has different style and

personality regarded on the author of the novel. To understand more about the

character, Abrams (2009) stated that persons represented in a dramatic or


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narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral,

intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and

their distinctive ways of saying it or the dialogue and from what they do or the

action. The grounds in the characters’ temperament, desires, and moral nature for

their speech and actions are called their motivation (p. 42). It means that the

character in the novel should be understood by the reader by imagining what the

character says and does in the novel.

Rohrberger and Woods (1971) also state that characters are like human

beings in real life. They have their own personality and appearance, which make

them different from one another (p. 20). It means that characters in the novel are

illustrated and can be identified like a human beings in the real life. Each of the

characters have their own physical or personality differences that make them

unique from each other.

2. Theory of Characterization

Theory of characterization is important to distinguish the character’s virtue

and characteristic in a novel. Abrams (2009) defines characterization as a method

of establishing the distinctive characteristic in a literary work (pp. 42-44).

Furthermore, Murphy (1972) states that there are nine ways of understanding the

characters which are presented in the story by the author.

a. Personal Description

In personal description, the author may describe a person’s appearance or

clothing. The purpose is for the readers to be able portraying the described


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character and its appearances. The author may also describe clearly about what the

characters look like and he can also tell the readers about the characters in details.

(pp. 161-162).

b. Characters as Seen by Another

The author also can describe a character through the opinions, attitudes,

views and comments of other characters instead of describing a character by

himself. The readers will catch a reflected image of the characters which the

author means that way (p. 162).

c. Speech

The author can describe a character through the way the character speaks.

The author can also give a clue about the character of the described person

through the language he or she uses in the conversations with other people. In

addition to that, whenever that person states his or her opinions towards others,

the readers will have a clue to her or his character. (p. 164).

d. Past Life

The author may give a clue related to one character in the story to the

readers through that characters’ past life. By using the past life, the author can

present a clue to events that help to shape characteristics. The author may also

lead the readers to an event when the readers can see the real character of the

person described in the novel. It may be in the form of direct comment, that

person’s thoughts, his or her conversation with others, or by something

extraordinary that he or she has done (p. 166).


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e. Conversation of Others

The author can provide an explanation about a character through the

conversation of other characters and what they say about him or her. Through this,

the readers will have a clue what others say about the character may reveal what

kind of character he or she is (pp. 167-168).

f. Reactions

The author can describe the characteristic by displaying the way a

character’s responses or reactions to various situations and events in a story. By

seeing the reaction that a person shows in the novel, the readers may have a clue

to what characteristic a character owns (pp. 168-170).

g. Direct Comment

The author can give the readers a way to imagine the characteristic of the

character when he or she gives comments and descriptions on it directly. On

another occasion, the author may give the comment explicitly as well as the

author’s opinion related the characters written. The readers will often have to

guess and recognize the meaning of the author’s comment. The purpose is that the

readers will know what the author precisely wants to reveal about a particular

character he writes in his novel by recognizing it. (pp. 170-171).

h. Thoughts

The author can also give the readers a direct knowledge of what a certain

person and what different person is thinking about. The author can also write

something that helps the reader to see the way the character described thinks and

what the character feels (pp. 171-172).


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i. Mannerism

A person’s mannerism or habit can also be characterized by the author to

tell the readers something about the character’s characteristic both in negative and

positive ones (p. 173).

3. Theory of Motivation

People usually have their own reason or goals to do something. It is called

as motivation. According to Huffman and Vernoy (2000), motivation is interest,

willingness, and necessity of a person, which urge the behavior toward goals.

Motivation is also related to someone’s view about his life. A person who is

motivated will view his life better and becomes motivated to do everything in life.

Motivation also can be a background to do a certain action in life. According to

Ryan and Deci (2000), to be motivated means to be moved to do something. Thus,

Ryan and Deci distinguished motivation into two categories:

a. Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its inherent

satisfactions rather than for some separable consequence. When intrinsically

motivated, a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than

because of external prods, pressures, or rewards (p. 56). It means that intrinsic

motivation is the motivation that emerges from themselves. Regardless of the

outside condition, a person who has an intrinsic motivation will do the action or

thinking by his or her own willing.


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b. Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from the outside. Deci

(2000) stated that extrinsic motivation thus contrasts with intrinsic motivation,

which refers to doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself (p.

60). There are four categories of extrinsic motivation. The first category is

external regulation. In this category, behaviors are performed to satisfy the

external demand or obtain externally reward contingency. The second is

interjected regulation. It is the internal regulation which controlling because a

person performs an action based on the feeling of pressure in order to avoid guilt

or anxiety. The third is regulation through identification. Here, the person has

identified with the personal importance of a behavior and has thus accepted its

regulation as his or her own. The last category is integrated regulation. Integration

occurs when identified regulations have been fully assimilated to the self.

c. Maslow’s Theory of Motivation

The theory of motivation also related to the needs that human have. As the

basic need is important, human becomes motivated to fulfill their basic needs.

Maslow (1943) develops one of the earliest theory about the human needs. He

creates a hierarchy which includes five motivational needs.

1) Physiological Needs

Physiological needs are the situation where a person will motivate him or

herself to fulfill their needs in an emergency situation such as hunger and thirsty.

Physiological needs is related to the bodily or physical needs. It means that a

person will fulfill his or her needs when they are in emergency situation (p. 302).


15

2) Safety Needs

Safety needs are the needs of human to be protected from physical and

emotional disruption. The safety needs require protection or security from any

element to keep a person away from fear or danger. (p. 303).

3) Love or Belongingness Needs

These needs involve a hunger for affectionate relationship with other

people, either small or big group. The love needs require both receiving and

giving love from another and someone to love (p. 303).

4) Esteem Needs

This needs for self-esteem motivate an individual to reach for achievement,

strength, confidence, independence, and freedom. It involves a desire for

reputation, recognition, appreciation by other of one’s abilities and feeling of

importance (pp. 303-304).

5) Self-actualization Needs

Self-actualization needs are fulfilled when the four levels of needs have

been reached. A person needs to reach achievements for him or herself. It means a

person must realizes his or her personal potentials, so he/she has motives to seek

for personal growth and experience. (pp. 304-305).

4. Psychological Approach

In the literary world, critical approach is used to get the value and the

beauty of a literary work. The critical approach that used in this study is

psychological approach. The reason is because by applying the psychological


16

approach, the researcher will know how to analyze the personality of Jay Gatsby

which values his life different than others.

Psychological approach focuses on the complexity of thought and

behavior. According to Freud (1920), the psychoanalytic believes that behaviors

and personalities are reflection of the contents in the mind’s unconscious part. It

states that human behavior and personality are the result of the interactions among

three component parts of the mind: id, ego, and superego.

a. Id

Weiner (1980) stated that the Id is the first system in the human’s

personality. According to Freud (1920), the id is the reservoir of all psychological

energy; therefore, it relates to the bodily needs. The id works unconsciously in the

service of pleasure principle which seeks immediate satisfaction of all needs.

b. Ego

Different with id, the ego works consciously. The ego operates to satisfy

the id demands with the aware aspects of reality. Weiner (1980) states that the ego

is governed by the “reality principle” rather than the pleasure principle (p. 15).

The ego includes the mechanism of defense to protect the individual from

physical pain.


17

c. Superego

The super-ego is often called as conscience. According to Weiner (1980),

Freud divides super-ego into two main functions (p. 16). The first is to reward

individuals for acceptable moral behavior. The second is to punish actions that are

not socially sanctioned by creating guilt.

C. Theoretical Framework

This study uses psychological approach. This study also uses the theory of

character, theory of characterization, and theory of motivation. The theories and

approach are used to answer the two formulated problems that appear at the first

chapter of this study.

The theory of character and characterization is used to help the researcher

in analyzing the characteristics of Jay Gatsby in the novel. The theory of character

from Abrams (2009) is about the characters’ action and thoughts in the novel,

Rohrberger and Woods (1971) about the characters personality and appearance,

and theory of characterization from Murphy (1972) is to understand how the

character’s characteristic is presented in the novel.

The psychological approach is used to reveal the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s

view on life. The researcher uses the psychological approach to differentiate the

meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life based on Jay Gatsby’s Id and Ego. The

literal meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is based on Jay Gatsby’s Ego,

meanwhile the true meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is based on the his Id.

On the other hand, as the person’s view on life is related to his/her motivation


18

about life, the researcher also uses the theory of motivation in this study. The

theory of motivation is used to help the researcher in analyzing the true meaning

of Jay Gatsby’s view on life as the way he views his life is related to his

motivation. The intrinsic and extrinsic motivation theory from Ryan and Deci

(2000) and Maslow (1943) hierarchy of needs will help the researcher to find the

true meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life as seen in the novel.

D. Context of the Novel

The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel was

published in 1925 which known as the “twenties” or “Jazz Age” in America. The

Great Gatsby is the masterpiece of Fitzgerald’s work. The first it was published,

the novel received excellent reviews, with T.S. Elliot being among the first to give

comments on the novel. However, the novel was not successfully published in the

market when the novel was firstly published. Lindberg (2015) said that The Great

Gatsby is the representation of the Jazz Age and Fitzgerald’s life itself. It

represents Fitzgerald’s life who lives the dream of an “American Dream”.

The Jazz Age is the period of 1920-1929 in America after the World War I.

Mahardika (1990) stated that the decade of twenties in America is named Jazz

Age after the bloom of Jazz music. The Jazz Age was a period where most of

Americans were tired after the World War I. Most of them tried to pursue personal

happiness after the armistice. The economic situation blooms which is marked by

the rise of America’s capital market. Jimmy (1997) stated that the United States


19

was as rich as Europe because of nearly 40 percent of the world’s total wealth was

created by Americans.

On the other hand, the ideals and morals value in the society dropped due

to the habit of the society. As the society only seeks for their personal pleasure,

people tend to hold parties to spend their leisure time. It raised the habit of

hedonism in the peak of America’s economic life. Large parties at that time

usually filled with liquors and people were creating a hard drinking habit society.

It is contradictory with the Nineteenth Amendment in America which prohibit the

manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages (Jimmy, 1997).

Thus, the sale of illegal liquors was rising. Illegal liquors were sold by

bootleggers who earned a great profit from the society.

The Great Gatsby takes place in Long Island, New York in 1922. The story

inside the novel represents the condition of New York in 1920’s where most of

the society live glamorously with the blooming of America’s economic life. The

novel takes two different main location as its setting of place. There are West Egg

and East Egg which are the representation of two different social class. The East

Egg is the place where people who are naturally born rich live. On the other hand,

West Egg is the place where many new rich people live.


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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes three sections, namely Object of the Study, Approach

of the Study, and Method of the Study. Object of the study deals with the major

subject of the study. It elaborates the physical description of the work studied,

author, publisher, etc. Approaches of the Study concerns with the literary

approaches which the writer used to analyze the novel. Methods of the Study

describes the procedure the researcher use to develop this study.

A. Object of the Study

This paper analyzed a novel titled The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald is a famous American writer and regarded as one of the greatest

American writers of the 20th century. The story is set in the Long Island of New

York in the summer of 1922. The Great Gatsby was published in April 1925 and

it is considered as Fitzgerald’s best creation. However, in the first year of its

publication this book was poorly sold and only reached 20.000 copies until

Fitzgerald died in 1940. This book then was republished at 1945 and 1994 and

reached a big success. The novel was also adapted into numerous stages and film

adaptions later in the following decades. It brings Fitzgerald becomes a world-

class author together with T.S Elliot and Charles Dickens. The Great Gatsby also

attracts Hollywood to adapt this novel into a film. The novel is adapted into a

blockbuster film in 2013 with the same title with Leonardo DiCaprio who plays as


21

Jay Gatsby, the main character of the novel. The film then won two nominated

awards in the 86th Academy Awards.

This novel is about a man named Jay Gatsby who tries to get his love back.

His love, Daisy Fay is a woman from a rich family. They first meet when Gatsby

was a soldier but they have to be separated when Gatsby joined the war. Daisy

later married with Tom Buchanan who is a man from a rich family in Chicago.

Gatsby comes from a poor family, so after the war Gatsby tries anything to find

where Daisy is. When he becomes a very rich man, he tries many things so he can

meet Daisy again such as buying a mansion in front of Daisy’s home and

conducting big parties in hope that Daisy will be attracted to come over.

B. Approach of the Study

In analyzing The Great Gatsby, the writer uses psychological approach.

The psychological approach is the most appropriate approach when it comes to

the psychology of the characters in the novel. Psychological approach focuses on

the complexity of thought and behavior. According to Freud (1920), the

psychoanalytic believes that behaviors and personalities are reflection of the

contents in the mind’s unconscious part. This approach is also to answer the first

formulated problem which deals with the character of Jay Gatsby in the novel.

The psychological approach also deals with the motivation theory which is used to

solve the second formulated problem about the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on

life.


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C. Method of the Study

The researcher uses library study method to gather the sources. The writer

gathers the materials and the data from the library. The researcher also searches

some data from the internet to find the relatable and valuable data for this paper.

This study uses primary and secondary sources. The primary data is the novel The

Great Gatsby itself. The secondary data are the articles and criticism related to

work.

There are several steps that the researcher uses as the method of library

study. First, the researcher chooses the topic. The researcher reads F. Scott

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby several times to understand the story, character,

plot, and settings in the novel. Then the researcher picks a topic that is interesting

to be discussed. The researcher decides to analyze the characteristic of Jay Gatsby

and the meaning of his view on life. The researcher then creates two problem

formulations for the research. Second, the researcher tries to find some references

and articles related to the study as the secondary data. This secondary data will

help the researcher to analyze the problem. Third, the researcher chooses the

theories and approach which are used in this study. Fourth, the researcher

analyzes the primary and secondary data to create an analysis to solve the problem

formulations. Fifth, the researcher uses the approach and methods to supports the

arguments. Sixth, the researcher creates a conclusion briefly based on the analysis.


23

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

In this chapter there are two parts which aims to answer the formulated

problem in this study. The first part analyzes the description of Jay Gatsby’s

character using character and characterization theory. This part is to answer the

first formulated problem. The second part of this chapter analyzes the meaning of

Jay Gatsby’s view on life using the psychological and motivation theory. This part

is aimed to answer the second formulated problem in this study.

A. The Characteristics of Jay Gatsby

In order to have a deeper understanding about the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s

view on life, it is important to analyze the characteristics of Jay Gatsby.

Therefore, in this part, the researcher answers the first formulated problem which

is the description of the Jay Gatsby’s characteristics. Jay Gatsby is the main

character in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As the main

character, Jay Gatsby has an important role in the story. There are other characters

in the story besides of Jay Gatsby such as Nick Carraway, Daisy Fay, Tom

Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Meyer Wolfsheim.

Jay Gatsby is a man who lives extravagantly. He loves to hold big parties

in his huge mansion in the West Egg of New York. In his party none of the guests

knows who he is but still accepts his hospitality. He is a mysterious man who

never tells his secret and his background to other people. However, as he meet


24

Nick Carraway, he starts to tell about his life. One by one, the past of his life and

his secret is revealed. Jay Gatsby starts to trust Nick and tells him about his secret.

He also told about his intention of holding a big party in his mansion. At the end

of the story, the secret of Jay Gatsby’s background and life are revealed.

In order to find the description of Jay Gatsby’s characteristics, the

researcher uses the character and characterization theory. According to Abrams

(2009), stated that characters are persons represented in a dramatic or narrative

work, who are interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral,

intellectual, and emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and

their distinctive ways of saying it or their dialogue, and from what they do, or the

action. Jay Gatsby is a character in the novel because in the novel there are

dialogues and actions which are done by Jay Gatsby. Therefore, Jay Gatsby can be

characterized with Murphy’s characterization theory. Murphy (1972) states there

are nine ways in which an author attempts to describe to be understandable and

more alive for readers. The nine ways are personal descriptions, characters as seen

by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reaction, direct comment,

thought, and mannerism. In this part, the explanation about Jay Gatsby’s

characteristic is explained.

1. Mysterious

In the beginning of the novel, Jay Gatsby is described as a mysterious man

who holds many secrets. Nobody seems to know who Jay Gatsby is. There are

many speculations thrown by other characters in the novel who try to guess who


25

the actual Jay Gatsby is. The speculation grows into gossips even in his own

party. The people in his party often gossip about him and even spread bad rumors

about him. His mysterious characteristic is shown from other characters

conversation below:

‘Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once.’

A thrill passed over all of us. The three Mr Mumbles bent forward and

listened eagerly.

‘I don’t think it’s so much that,’ argued Lucille skeptically; ‘it’s more that

he was a German spy during the war.’

One of the man nodded in confirmation.

‘I heard from a man who knew all about him, grew up with him in

Germany,’ he assured us positively.

‘Oh, no,’ said the first girl, ‘it couldn’t be that, because he was in the

American army during the war.’ (p. 50)

Referred to Murphy’s theory of characterization (1972), the quotation

above is an evidence that the guests of Gatsby’s party know nothing about him

precisely. They just know him from the gossips that have been spread by others.

There are no evidence about the gossips as many people in the party have never

met Jay Gatsby before. “Sometimes they came and went without having met

Gatsby at all” (p. 47).

The mysterious character of Jay Gatsby becomes greater as the uncertain

information about him makes people start to doubt him. People around him

always wonders about his background. They doubt it as they never meet him

directly. Furthermore, they start to think rationally about the gossip and the

information that they receive.

‘Well, he told me he was an Oxford man.’

‘However, I don’t believe it.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t know,’ she insisted, ‘I just don’t think he went there.’ (p. 55)


26

The quotation above shows how people doubt their information about Jay

Gatsby. According to Murphy’s theory of characterization (1972), the quotation

above is another evidence of Jay Gatsby’s mysterious character in the form of

other character’s conversation. Jay Gatsby is described through other character’s

conversation which states that they do not believe if Jay Gatsby is educated in

Oxford.

Another fact that shows the mysterious character of Jay Gatsby is his habit

to isolate himself from the people. As a mysterious person, it is important to Jay

Gatsby to have less interaction with other people. Despite of the big parties that he

holds, he prefers to be alone rather than interacts with his guests. From Murphy’s

theory of characterization (1972), it is shown from other characters’s view in the

novel. It is shown from Nick Carraway’s view in the novel that stated “I wondered

if the fact that he was not drinking helped to set him off from his guests, for it

seemed to me that he grew more correct as the fraternal hilarity increased” (p. 56).

Additionally, he also only speaks when it is needed. It makes other people curious

about him. The evidence is found in another Nick Carraway’s view about him in

the novel which stated that “I had talked with him perhaps a dozen times in the

past month and found, to my disappointment, that he had little to say” (p. 70).

2. Untruthful

Jay Gatsby keeps so many secret about his background and never tells it to

anybody. The situation changes when he meets Nick Carraway. Jay Gatsby seems

to trust Nick with his secret and he tells him about his background. One day


27

Gatsby asks Nick to have lunch with him to the city and they drive together in

Gatsby’s car. There, Gatsby said to Nick that he wants to tell him about his secret

life. He tells Nick that he is a son of some wealthy people from Middle West and

he was educated in Oxford. However, there are some untruthfulness which Nick

realizes from him as stated in the quotation of Nick Carraway’s thought below:

… and I know why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He hurried the

phrase ‘educated at Oxford,’ or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it

had bothered him before. (p. 71)

According to Murphy’s characterization theory (1972), the quotation above

is in the form of Nick Carraway’s thought about Jay Gatsby. From the quotation

above, Nick Carraway does not believe what Gatsby has said to him. He thinks

that Gatsby is hiding something. Nick’s thought is caused by Gatsby’s awkward

way to say that he was educated in Oxford. Nick realizes that it can be one of

Gatsby’s way to lie or to hide something untrue about his education.

Gatsby also lies about the money that he owns. It happens when Gatsby

wants to show Daisy and Nick about his mansion. He used to say to Nick

Carraway that he is a son of wealthy people. “My family all died and I came into a

good deal of money” (p. 71). Therefore, it will be certain that he inherits their

wealth and money but the fact is different. He does not inherit any money. He lies

to Nick and makes a false pretension that he lost the money which he should have

inherit. It is shown from Gatsby and Nick’s conversation below:

‘It took me just three years to earn the money to buy it.’

‘I thought you inherited your money.’

‘I did, old sport,’ he said automatically, ‘but I lost most of it in the big

panic – the panic of the war.’ (p. 97)


28

Gatsby’s untruthfulness is caused by his past that he was actually born in a

poor family. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” (p. 105).

Born in an unsuccessful farm family makes Gatsby does not want to tell people

about his background. It is because the condition of his parents which is very

different with his rich condition right now. Therefore, he becomes untruthful to

people and begins to tell lies about his background.

3. Snobbish

Jay Gatsby lives in a huge mansion in the West Egg of New York. His

mansion is huge and beautiful as it is full of decorated rooms and furniture.

Besides of a huge mansion that he owns, Gatsby also owns many expensive things

that he likes to show off to other people. Referred to Murphy’s theory of

characterization, the researcher finds that Jay Gatsby’s snobbish characteristics is

firstly shown through his action in the novel. He likes to show off even to

someone who he does not really know. When he meet Nick Carraway for the first

time, Gatsby deliberately stated that he owns a hydroplane to Nick (p. 53). He is

very proud of everything that he has and he loves to show it to other people. He

wants everyone to assure him as a rich man. “I didn’t want you to think I was just

some nobody” (p. 73).

Gatsby’s snobbish characteristic is also shown when he show off his

luxurious car. Besides of his hydroplane, Gatsby also loves to show off his car. He

drives his luxurious car to Nick’s front yard at one morning in July. He shows his

car when he wants to pick up Nick Carraway to have a lunch with him.


29

“It’s pretty, isn’t it old sport?’ He jumped off to give me a better view.

‘Haven’t you ever seen it before? ” I’d seen it. Everybody had seen it. It

was a rich cream color, bright with nickel, swollen here and there in its

monstrous length with triumphant hat-boxes and supper boxes and tool-

boxes, and terraced with a labyrinth of wind-shields that mirrored a dozen

suns. (p. 70)

According to Murphy’s theory of characterization (1972), the quotation

above is a direct speech and action from Gatsby to Nick when he shows off his

car. As a rich person who has many luxurious thing, Gatsby wants to impress

Nick with his car. His action in the quotation above is a proof of his snobbish

character. He acts like Nick had never seen his car before although Nick had seen

it. He feels so proud of his car especially when he knows that Nick doesn’t have

any.

The last thing that Gatsby loves to show is his mansion. His huge mansion

that he buys with his own money is the proof of his wealth and status as a rich

man. His mansion is built across of Daisy’s mansion and it means to show Daisy

that now they are in the same status as rich people. Therefore, Gatsby has a desire

to show Daisy with his mansion. It is stated in the novel through Jordan Baker’s

speech to Nick about Gatsby’s desire to show his mansion. It is stated that Gatsby

wants Daisy to see his house (p. 85). Gatsby’s snobbish character also can be seen

when he deliberately wants Daisy and Nick to see his mansion after they had a tea

party. “I want you and Daisy to come over to my house,” he said, “I’d like to

show her around” (p. 96).

In conclusion, according to Murphy’s theory of characterization (1972),

Gatsby’s snobbish characteristic is seen through Gatsby’s speech, action, and


30

conversation of other character. Jay Gatsby always likes to show off his wealth to

other people. Through the things he owns, he shows himself as a rich man who

lives extravagantly.

4. Ambitious

Jay Gatsby who was born in a poor farmer family has an ambition to repair

his future. He doesn’t want to be like his parents who is unsuccessful. He has a

vision since his young age. He believes that he is different from his parents. From

the theory of characterization, Jay Gatsby’s ambitious characteristic is shown

from his thought in the quotation below:

He was a son of God – a phrase which, if it means anything, means just

that – and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast,

vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby

that a seventeen year-old boy would likely to invent, and to this conception

he was faithful to the end. (p. 105)

His ambition to change his life is started when he changed his name.

”James Gatz, that was really, or at least legally his name” (p. 104). Then, he

creates the name Jay Gatsby by his concept that he made. He creates the name to

differentiate himself from his parents and to find his destiny that he believes has

been given by God to him. This ambitious character of Jay Gatsby is one of his

characteristics that brings him to a brighter life.

His destiny that he believes turns into reality when he meets Dan Cody

(p.106). When he meets Cody, Gatsby’s ambitious character is shown when he

works. Gatsby’s ambitious character the reason which makes Cody employs


31

Gatsby to sail with him. Gatsby’s ambition to change his life is started when he

works with Cody.

At any rate Cody asked him a few questions (one of them elicited the brand

new name) and found that he was quick and extravagantly ambitious. A

few days later he took him to Duluth and bought him a blue coat, six pair

of white duck trousers, and a yachting cap. And when the Tuolumne left

for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast, Gatsby left too. (p. 107)

Jay Gatsby’s ambition is not only shown when he meets Cody, but also

shown when he meets Daisy. Daisy is Gatsby’s love ambition from his past. They

used to be a lover but as Gatsby went to the war, they are separated from each

other. Daisy then got married with Tom Buchannan but Gatsby still loves her.

Gatsby still wants her to love him as they were before.

He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say:

“I never loved you.” After she was free, they were to go back to Louisville

and be married from her house just as if it were five years ago. (pp. 117)

Gatsby tries to separate Daisy from his husband. He will feel complete

when he has Daisy in his life because that he feels married to her (p. 155). He will

use many things to get Daisy back to his life. He even dares to come to Daisy’s

house and asks Daisy to say that she never loves his husband.

5. Self-Confident

Jay Gatsby always believes in himself. Every acts that he does is based on

his own mind and view. Since he was young, Jay Gatsby has a big self-confidence

in his life even though he was raised in a poor family. His self-confidence makes

him run off from his house when he was seventeen years old. He believes that he


32

will get a better life outside. Gatsby’s self-confident character is seen from his

father’s view on him.

“Of course we was broke up when he run off from home, but I see now

there was a reason for it. He knew he had a big future in front of him. And

ever since he made a success he was very generous with me” (p. 179).

Jay Gatsby’s self-confidence is also shown when he grows up and becomes

a rich man. He always believes in every action that he made. His self-confidence

sometimes grows out of normal as he has an “overwhelming self-absorption” (p.

105). However, this great confidence often makes Gatsby sounds unrealistic. He

believes that he can repeat the past. It is shown by Jay Gatsby speech which is

stated that he can repeat the past with Daisy (p. 117). Therefore, when he fails to

get Daisy back to him, he always believes that Daisy will keep coming back. He

believes that Daisy never loves Tom.

B. The Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life

In this part, the researcher discusses the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on

life to answer the second formulated problems. The researcher answers the second

formulated problems by finding the literal meaning and the true meaning of Jay

Gatsby’s view on life. In the literal meaning, the researcher explains Gatsby’s

view on life based on Freud’s psychological approach. On the other hand, the true

meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is explained based on the psychological

approach while it is enhanced with the motivation theory by Maslow (1943) and

Deci (2000).


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1. The Literal Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life

The literal meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life can be seen explicitly as it

is written in the novel. The researcher uses the psychological approach by Freud

(1920) to analyze the literal meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life. According to

Freud, there are three structures in human’s personality which are the id, ego, and

superego. The id is the basic instinct that needs to be fulfilled without considering

the reality. While id seeks immediate fulfillment, ego helps human to fulfill their

needs through the reality and operates on the reality of principle and superego

helps the human to consider the acceptable behavior.

The researcher analyzes the literal meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life

based on Jay Gatsby’s ego which operates as the main operator of his conscious

action which is written in the novel. The researcher finds that the literal meaning

of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is related with his past with Daisy. Jay Gatsby who

was born poor in a poor family from North Dakota believes that he can repair his

life when he run off from his home to find a better life. In his searching of a better

life, he met Daisy Fay, a girl from a rich family in Louisville. Then, Gatsby fell in

love with Daisy and since then his view on life has shifted into loving Daisy.

Well, there I was, way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every

minute, and all of a sudden I didn’t care. What was the use of doing great

things if I could have a better time telling her what I was going to do? (p.

156)

Jay Gatsby’s attempt to repair his life is started when he was seventeen

years old. He believes that he is different as he is a creation of God. In the novel,

Gatsby’s id has the desire to fulfill of his imagination that he is a son of God.


34

He was a son of God – a phrase which, if it means anything, means just

that – and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast,

vulgar, and meretricious beauty. (p. 105)

The reality of Jay Gatsby’s life is different. He was born poor and

unsuccessful. Jay Gatsby was born in a poor family from North Dakota. His

father’s name is Henry C. Gatz and he works as a farmer. Gatsby’s parents are

unsuccessful in their farming as they are lazy. Therefore, he decided to run off

from his house to find a better life. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful

farm people – his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all”

(p. 105).

Jay Gatsby often imagines that when he run off from home he will find his

destiny. He always believes in himself and in his view on life since he was young

as stated in the novel that Jay Gatsby has a big self-absorption in himself. His

action to run off from his home strengthens his view on life. He becomes so

ambitious to fulfill his imagination about living a perfect life he often imagines.

For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were

a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the

world was founded securely on a fairy’s wing. (p. 106)

His belief of finding a better life when he run off from his home becomes

true when he meets Dan Cody. Dan Cody is a millionaire from Nevada which Jay

Gatsby saved from a storm when Cody was sailing on Lake Superior. He is the

one who employs Gatsby in his yacht and then sailed for almost five years with

Gatsby. Gatsby learned a lot from Dan Cody how to well behave. “It was

indirectly due to Cody that Gatsby drank so little” (p. 107). Dan Cody trusts


35

Gatsby so much that he wants Gatsby to inherit his wealth. However, Gatsby fails

to get it.

Jay Gatsby then enrolls the army for World War I and there he meets Daisy

Fay. He once was an officer in the Camp Taylor when he met Daisy for the first

time. Gatsby falls in love with Daisy since his first arrival in Daisy’s house.

Gatsby loves Daisy so much but they have to be separated when Gatsby went to

the war. Gatsby did very well in the war but he couldn’t directly went home by

some complication that sent him to Oxford instead (p. 156). However, Daisy

didn’t stand to be alone and she later decided to married with Tom Buchanan.

They had gone from Louisville when Gatsby went home and left no clue for

Gatsby where Daisy lives now. Gatsby felt that it is his fault that he lost daisy.

Gatsby who had lost Daisy then meets Meyer Wolfsheim. Meyer is a

famous gambler from New York. “He’s quite a character around New York – a

denizen of Broadway.” (p. 79). Meyer later employs Gatsby who is very poor

after he spent all of his wages from the war to find Daisy. He is the one who start

Gatsby into business that Gatsby owns.

I raised him up out of nothing, right out of the gutter. I saw right away he

was a fine-appearing young man, and when he told me he was an Oggsford

I knew I could use him good (p. 178).

Gatsby and Meyer work together since then and their work has been

successful. They always work together since then (p. 178). Jay Gatsby’s success

work is shown from his wealth and extravagant live which is very different from

his past. However, Gatsby’s work with Meyer is not a legal work. They work as


36

bootleggers who sell liquors. This is why Gatsby never tells anyone about his job

and being untruthful to others about his source of money.

He and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side street drugstores here and in

Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little

stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t

far wrong. (p. 140)

Gatsby uses this opportunity to fulfill his previous ambition to get Daisy

back to him. He starts searching for Daisy again. It is shown from Jordan Baker’s

dialogue that stated “He has read a Chicago paper for years just on the chance on

catching a glimpse of Daisy’s name” (p. 86). He will use his money to attract

Daisy and impress her with his wealth. Gatsby wants to make Daisy is sure that he

is now in the same class with her. He starts it with buying a mansion just across

the bay of Daisy’s mansion and holds big parties where everyone can come freely.

“I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night, but she

never did” (p. 86).

Gatsby wants Daisy to come over to his house and reunites. There, Gatsby

will ask Daisy whether she still loves him or not. Gatsby knows that she has

already married with Tom but Gatsby believes that she still loves him. Gatsby’s

ego wants him to repair his past with Daisy because his life has been disordered

since he lost her.

His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could return

to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what

that thing was. (p. 117)

Gatsby’s ego has created a denial as a defense mechanism to his reality

condition that he is no longer with Daisy. He denies to accept the reality and

decides to keep his pursue on Daisy to repair his past with her. Freud (as cited in


37

Weiner, 1980) stated that denial is one of human psychological defense

mechanisms. Freud then refers denial to a refusal to accept consciously the

existence of a threatening situation. In Jay Gatsby’s case, the threatening situation

is his life without Daisy. Jay Gatsby’s denial is shown in the dialogue of Gatsby

and Nick below:

‘I wouldn’t ask too much of her,’ I ventured. ‘You can’t repeat the past.’

‘Can’t repeat the past?’ he cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’

‘I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,’ he said, nodding

determinedly. ‘She’ll see.’ (p. 117)

Gatsby believes that Daisy still loves him. Gatsby believes that even

though she has married with Tom Buchannan but deeply in her heart she still

loves Gatsby. Gatsby is very confident with this belief. He states that Daisy might

have loved his husband when they were first married but love Gatsby more (p.

158). Jay Gatsby uses the opportunity that Nick Carraway, who is Daisy’s cousin,

moves besides his mansion. He uses Nick to get close to Daisy again. As an

ambitious man, Gatsby is determined to regain Daisy’s love regardless of the

condition that Daisy has married. Gatsby once succeeded to bring Daisy back to

his life with the help of Nick. In the chapter five, Jay Gatsby successes to bring

Daisy into his house by asking Nick to invite her into a tea party where was held

in Nick’s house.

In conclusion, Jay Gatsby’s literal meaning of his view on life is his desire

to repair his past life with Daisy. He wants to live with Daisy. Jay Gatsby who

was poor and was still in his search for a better life finds Daisy Fay, who becomes

his life purpose. However, he lost Daisy and his life becomes disordered. Gatsby

wants to regain Daisy back to his life even though he has to deal with the


38

condition that Daisy is married to Tom Buchannan. He believes that Daisy still

loves him like they used to be.

2. The True Meaning of Jay Gatsby’s View on Life

The true meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life can be seen through deep

understanding of the novel. The deeper meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is

written implicitly as it is related with the Id of Jay Gatsby. According to Freud

(1920) id is a basic instinct that needs to be fulfilled by human without

considering the reality. The Id is the parts of personality which is related to

unconscious part of mind which needs immediate satisfaction.

In this part, the researcher finds that the true meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view

on life is in order to fulfill his needs that become his motivation. It is analyzed

with the motivation theory by Maslow (1943) and Deci (2000). The motivation

theory is used to analyze the true motivation of Jay Gatsby’s view on his life.

Maslow (1943), as cited in Petri (1988) stated that human motivation can be

studied trough hierarchy of needs. As the needs in the lower hierarchy is satisfied,

then the needs in the higher hierarchy will be activated (p. 302). However, there

are some exceptions in the hierarchy of needs. In some cases, Maslow (1943)

stated that for some people the esteem needs can precede the love needs. They

need to feel worthwhile before they can satisfy the love needs (p. 304).

In the novel, the researcher finds that Jay Gatsby has an exception in the

hierarchy order of the fourth needs that Jay Gatsby’s esteem needs has been

satisfied before the love or belongingness needs. Jay Gatsby’s physiological and


39

safety needs are adequately satisfied as he lives rich and wealthy. He owns a huge

mansion with a lot of servants to serve his needs of food and security. He also has

a good self-esteem which is shown by his view on life. ” He knew he had a big

future in front of him” (p. 179). Maslow stated that a person with a good self-

esteem will see himself as having purpose in this world (p. 304).

The researcher finds that Jay Gatsby still lacks of belongingness since he

was young. Maslow (1943), as stated in Petri (1978) stated that the belongingness

needs involve a hunger for affectionate relationship with others, a need to feel part

of a group, or a feeling that one “belongs” (p. 303). Referred from Deci’s theory

of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, the needs of belongingness is considered as

extrinsic motivation as it demands gratifications from outside the person.

There are two conditions of belongingness that Gatsby wants to fulfill. The

first one is Jay Gatsby needs to feel belong to a higher social class. The second

one is he needs to feel belong to someone he loves. Since Jay Gatsby was young,

his ego has denied the condition that he was born poor in a farmer family. His id

believe that he is different from them, thus he doesn’t feel that he belongs to his

family. He considers his life with his parents as a failure. Therefore, he constantly

searches for belongingness that matches with his imagination.

Jay Gatsby’s lack of belongingness in his family grows since he was

young. Jay Gatsby’s parents are unsuccessful in their farming as they are lazy. In

the other hand, young Gatsby is diligent. His self-esteem has grown since he was

young. He loves to make schedules and daily resolves of his activity. Gatsby


40

writes his schedule in a book called Hopalong Cassidy. He is bound to get ahead

and he wants his parents to change and improve their life.

He was reluctant to close the book, reading each item aloud then looking

eagerly at me. I think he rather expected me to copy down the list for my

own use. (p. 180)

However, they refuse to do it as stated in Henry’s statement that he once

beat Gatsby as his son told him that he eat like a hog. Gatsby’s parents never do

anything to improve their poor life. Therefore, in Gatsby’s imagination he never

really accepted his parents at all (p. 105).

The difference between Gatsby and his parents makes Gatsby to make an

important decision of his life. When he was seventeen years old, he changed his

name from his legal name James Gatz to a name which he believes was invented

by God, Jay Gatsby. By this conception of life, he runs away from his house and

starts to work along the south shore of Lake Superior (p. 105). In this lake, Jay

Gatsby finds his destiny when he saved Dan Cody from a storm that will hit his

yacht. Dan Cody who was a millionaire then employs Gatsby until he died.

After Cody died, Jay Gatsby’s search of belongingness is continued. Then,

when he joined the army he met Daisy Fay. Gatsby falls in love with her and he

feels belongs to her. Jay Gatsby’s love to Daisy is very deep. He wants to fulfill

his needs of belongingness in Daisy.

I can’t describe to you how surprised I was to find out I loved her, old

sport. I even hoped for a while that she’d thrown me over, but she didn’t,

because she was in love with me too (p. 156).

Since they met, Daisy becomes Jay Gatsby’s purpose in life. As Gatsby has

a big confidence, he is eager for reputation by having Daisy by his side. Daisy’s


41

reputation as a famous rich girl in Louisville is an attraction for Gatsby. The fact

that many men had already loved Daisy also increased her value in Gatsby’s eyes

(p. 154). Therefore, he embrace himself to take Daisy’s love regarding with his

condition in life who was poor. Gatsby was nobody and a penniless young man

without a past at that time. He pretended to be someone who has the same social

class with her. Gatsby cannot resist his feeling of love to Daisy even though he

knows the fact that he had no such facilities to fully able take care of her.

He had intended, probably, to take what he could and go – but now he

found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail. He felt

married to her. That was all. (p. 155)

From the quotation above, Gatsby makes Daisy as his purpose. Therefore,

when he lost Daisy after the war he seeks so many ways to find Daisy back to his

side. Gatsby does many things to get Daisy back to his life. His way to get Daisy

back to his side includes his illegal work with Meyer Wolfsheim because he needs

to be rich to regain Daisy. Gatsby believes that he has lost Daisy because he was

poor and Daisy chooses Tom Buchannan because Tom is rich. Jay Gatsby

believes that he can regain Daisy by becoming a person in the same social class

with her. In the other hand, Gatsby’s work with Meyer Wolfsheim which brings

Gatsby into success becomes Gatsby’s another opportunity to fulfill his needs in

belonging in the social class that he always believe that he belongs to.

I’ll tell you God’s truth.” His right hand suddenly ordered divine

retribution to stand by. “I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle

West –all dead now. (p. 71)

The quotation above shows one of Gatsby’s belief that he belongs to the

rich people’s class. The word “God” that Gatsby use in his sentence shows his


42

belief to God which has created him and brings him a great self-confidence of

himself. Thus, Gatsby’s lie above becomes his own truth because he doesn’t feel

belong to his original family. The way Jay Gatsby lies that he belongs to a rich

family states that he wants to seek for acceptance from other people that he is

truly belongs to the rich people’s class.

With his wealth, Jay Gatsby wants to impress Daisy that he is in the same

social class with her. Thus, he throws a party every week in hopes that Daisy will

be attracted to come. Gatsby brings Daisy back to his life with Nick’s help. This

condition becomes an affair between Gatsby and Daisy and then he asks Daisy to

leave his husband. Jay Gatsby believes that with his money and love he can get

Daisy back. However, as Tom Buchannan reveals that Gatsby’s source of money

is illegal, Daisy is not attracted to Gatsby anymore and decides to stay with his

husband. She chooses Tom regardless of the affair that she used to have with

Gatsby. Therefore, Gatsby fails to satisfy his need of belongingness in someone

that he loves.

In conclusion, Jay Gatsby’s true meaning of his view on life is related to

the needs of belongingness which Gatsby desires. He needs to feel belong to a

higher social class and to someone that he loves. Since he was young, Jay Gatsby

has a big self-esteem. He always believes in himself that he is a God’s creation so

he deserves a better life. This condition makes Jay Gatsby deny his parents and his

life condition because he believes that he doesn’t belong to them. Gatsby regards

his parents and his past life as a failure. Then, Jay Gatsby decides to escape from

his home to search for belongingness that he needs. He finds that he can satisfy


43

his belongingness needs in Daisy Fay. Meanwhile, he has to lose Daisy form his

side so he did many things to get Daisy’s love and presence. In the other hand, he

also seeks for belongingness in the rich people’s class as he believes that he is

belong to them. Therefore, it can be concluded that the true meaning of Jay

Gatsby’s view on life is to get the sense of belongingness that he deprives.


44

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATION, AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter consists of three parts. The first part is Conclusions, which

discusses the findings of the two formulated problems. The second is Implication,

which relates the research with its implications to education. The last is

Suggestion, which presents the recommendation for English lecturers to

implement the novel in their classes and for future researchers who want to

conduct their researches on Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

A. Conclusions

In this part, there are two conclusions that can be drawn from this study.

The conclusions are drawn from the two formulated questions of this study. The

first is about the characteristics of Jay Gatsby as the main character in the novel

The Great Gatsby. The second is about the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on his

life.

There are five characteristics of Jay Gatsby. First, Jay Gatsby is a

mysterious character. He loves to keep secret to the people about his background

so they always wondering about who he actually is. Second, Jay Gatsby is

untruthful. He often tells lies to other people about the source of his wealth. His

untruthfulness is caused by the fact that he was born in a poor family. Third, he is

snobbish. As he lives extravagantly, it becomes his character that he likes to show

off his wealth to other people. He wants to impress people and someone that he


45

loves with his wealth. Fourth, Jay Gatsby is also ambitious. He is ambitious to fix

everything in his past, especially his past with Daisy Fay. The last, he is a self-

confident person because he always believes in himself for every actions that he

takes.

The meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life is analyzed in two parts. The

first part is the analysis of the literal meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life. The

literal meaning is the meaning which is written literally in the novel. The

researcher finds that Jay Gatsby’s literal meaning of his view on life is about his

desires to live with Daisy Fay, a girl that he loves. His life is disordered since he

lost Daisy. Thus, Jay Gatsby wants to regain Daisy back to his life because he

believes that Daisy still loves him. The second part is the analysis of the true

meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view on life. Jay Gatsby’s true meaning of his view on

life is related to the belongingness that he is deprived. Jay Gatsby seeks for

belongingness since he was young. He doesn’t feel belong to his family because

they were poor. He also needs for belongingness that he finds in Daisy. Therefore,

he always seeks for belongings in the higher social class and his belongings in

Daisy.

B. Implication

Literature is one of the subjects in English Language Education Study

Program. Studying literature is important for the future English teacher to enrich

their references on literary works. It will be useful when they teach in the future.

The teachers can use one type of literary works such as novel, poems, songs, or


46

drama script to teach in their classes. The various types of literature can help the

teacher to build various material in their teaching. By using many types of literary

works, the teacher can use different activities to build the students’ interest to

reading. It will also help the students to be critical towards the issues which are

written in the literary works. It is caused by the message which are written in

every literary works. It will enrich the students’ knowledge and vocabulary by

doing an intensive reading on literary works. The intensive reading activity will

increase the students’ ability to convey the meanings written in literary works and

enrich their vocabulary skills.

Literature is also important for our daily life. The message and life values

in literary works will help us to educate our self through understanding the story

and relate it to our life. We can apply the values that we find in the novel. For

example, we can learn to always believe in ourself through the character of Jay

Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby. This novel presents a good life values and

stories besides of its entertaining side. The teachers can also use this novel as one

of the materials to teach. It can help the students to analyze the life values which

every character in this novel shows through reading deeply and then apply the

good values to their life.

C. Suggestions

There are two suggestions in this part. The first suggestions is for English

Lecturers. The Great Gatsby is a good novel to be used as one of the materials in

teaching in the Prose and Drama class. This novel consists of complete literary


47

elements which can be introduced to the students. This novel also offers a good

value to the readers. Moreover, by reading this novel the students can enhance

their vocabularies.

The second suggestions is for the future researchers who intend to do

research on this novel. This research only study the meaning of Jay Gatsby’s view

on life. Meanwhile, The Great Gatsby is rich of life values and characters. Each

characters in this novel deliver different values which can be analyzed through

various aspects. The future researchers can analyze the view of Nick Carraway on

life in the Jazz Age era.


48

REFERENCES

Abrams, M. (2009). A glossary of literary terms/tenth edition. New York: Brace

Jovanovic College Publishers.

Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press.

Hornby, A. S. (2003). Oxford advanced learner's dictionary 11th edition. London:

Oxford University Press.

Hudson, W. H. (2006). An introduction to the study of literature. New Delhi:

Atlantic Publishers & Distributions.

Huffman, K, Vernoy, M., & Vernoy, J. (1997). Psychology in action. New York:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Jimmy, F. (1997). Backround analysys on Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Lindberg, L. (2015). The American dream as a means of social criticism in The

Great Gatsby. Retrieved February 22, 2017 from gupea.ub.gu.se

Mahardika, I. K. (1990). A character analysis of Fitzgerald's novel The Great

Gatsby. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Maslow, A. (1943). The principles of psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press.

Murphy, M.J. (1972). Understanding unseens: an introduction to English poetry

and the English novel for overseas students. London: George Allen &

Unwin Ltd.

Oliviana, H. Y. (2012). The socio-historical criticism towards the 1920s American

society seen through Gatsby's life in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.

Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.

Paramita, T. M. (2016). Nick Carraway's self-regulation in dealing with hedonism

as seen in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Unpublished Thesis. Yogyakarta:

Sanata Dharma University.

Petri, H. L. (1981). Motivation: theory and research. Belmont, California:

Wadsworth Publishing Company.


49

Rohrberger, M., & Woods, S. H. (1971). Reading and writing about literature.

New York: Random House

Weiner, B. (1980). Human motivation. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Wellek, R & Warren, A. (1956). Theory of literature. New York: Harcourt, Brace

& World.


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APPENDICES


51

Appendix 1

Biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald on September

24, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Fitzgerald's mother’s name is Mary McQuillan,

and his father’s name is Edward Fitzgerald. The young Fitzgerald was a bright,

handsome and ambitious boy. He attended the St. Paul Academy, and when he

was 13, he saw his first piece of writing appear in print: a detective story

published in the school newspaper. In 1911, when Fitzgerald was 15 years old, his

parents sent him to the Newman School, a prestigious Catholic preparatory school

in New Jersey. There, he met Father Sigourney Fay, who noticed his incipient

talent with the written word and encouraged him to pursue his literary ambitions.

After graduating from the Newman School in 1913, Fitzgerald decided to

stay in New Jersey to continue his artistic development at Princeton University.

At Princeton, he dedicated himself to hone his craft as a writer. He wrote scripts


52

for Princeton's famous Triangle Club. However, Fitzgerald's writing came at the

expense of his coursework. He was placed on academic probation. He dropped out

of school to join the U.S. Army in 1917.

Fitzgerald was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry and

assigned to Camp Sheridan outside of Montgomery, Alabama. It was there that he

met and fell in love with a beautiful 18-year-old girl named Zelda Sayre, the

daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge. The war ended in November 1918

before Fitzgerald was ever deployed. Then he moved to New York City hoping to

launch a career in advertising to convince Zelda to marry him. However, he quit

his job after a few months and returned to St. Paul to rewrite his novel.

The first of Fitzgerald’s successful novel is This Side of Paradise. The

novel was published in 1920 and had a glowing reviews. It turned Fitzgerald at

the age of 24 into one of the country's most promising young writers. One week

after the novel's publication, he married Zelda Sayre in New York. He

continuously wrote which begun in 1920 and continued throughout the rest of his

career. Fitzgerald supported himself financially by writing great numbers of short

stories for popular publications such as The Saturday Evening Post and Esquire.

Some of his most notable stories include "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," "The

Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "The Camel's Back" and "The Last of the

Belles." In 1922, Fitzgerald published his second novel, The Beautiful and

Damned.

Seeking a change of scenery to spark his creativity, in 1924, Fitzgerald

moved to France, and it was there, in Valescure, that Fitzgerald wrote what would


53

be credited as his greatest novel, The Great Gatsby which was published in 1925.

After he completed The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald's life began to unravel. He

became a heavy drinker, he progressed steadily into alcoholism and suffered

prolonged bouts of writer's block. His wife, Zelda, also suffered from mental

health issues, and the couple spent the late 1920s moving back and forth between

Delaware and France. In 1930, she suffered another breakdown and was treated at

the Sheppard Pratt Hospital in Towson, Maryland, and that same year was

admitted to a mental health clinic in Switzerland. Two years later she was treated

at the Phipps Psychiatric Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

In 1934, Fitzgerald finally published his fourth novel, Tender is the Night.

Although Tender is the Night was a commercial failure and was initially poorly

received due to its chronologically jumbled structure, it has since gained in

reputation and is now considered among the great American novels.

After another two years lost to alcohol and depression, in 1937 Fitzgerald

attempted to revive his career as a screenwriter and freelance storywriter in

Hollywood, and he achieved modest financial, success for his efforts. He began

work on another novel, The Love of the Last Tycoon, in 1939, and he had

completed over half the manuscript when he died of a heart attack on December

21, 1940, at the age of 44, in Hollywood, California.

Adapted from: www.biography.com/people/f-scott-

fitzgerald-9296261


http://www.biography.com/people/f-scott-fitzgerald-9296261

http://www.biography.com/people/f-scott-fitzgerald-9296261

54

Appendix 2

Summary of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a story told by Nick Carraway. It begins when Nick

moved to West Egg. He moves and becomes a neighbor of a rich man who owns a

mansion named Jay Gatsby. Shortly after his arrival, Nick visits his cousin Daisy

and her husband, Tom Buchannan, whom Nick had known in college. There he

meets a professional golfer named Jordan Baker. The Buchannans and Jordan

Baker live luxuriously and contrasted with Nick’s life. At the Buchannan’s house

Jordan Baker tells Nick that Tom has a mistress in New York. It makes Nick

realizes that Daisy is not happy with her marriage.

One day, Nick goes with Tom to meet his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, who

lives in the valley of ashes, between West Egg and New York. Myrtle is a middle-

class woman whose husband owns a garage and gas station in the valley of ashes.

After the group meets and journeys into the city, Myrtle phones her friends to

come over and they all spend the afternoon drinking at Myrtle and Tom's

apartment. The small party stops when Myrtle yells at Tom with Daisy’s name

and Tom breaks her nose.

A few days after the incident, Nick is invited to his neighbor’s party. It is

rarely happens as the guests in Gatsby’s party are not invited. They simply come

into the party without being invited. Nick attends one of the extravagant parties

where there are lots of drinks, food, music, and people who come from the high

social class. When Nick comes to the party, he hears many rumors about Gatbsy.


55

People said that he was a German spy during the war and has killed a man.

Nobody knows precisely about Gatsby. There, he bumps into Jordan Baker and

surprisingly he meets Gatsby by this occasion. Nick regrets for not knowing

Gatsby and tries to apologize to him. Nick finds that Gatsby is a gracious host, but

yet remains apart from his guest as if he is seeking something. As the party winds

down, Gatsby takes Jordan aside to speak privately with her and asks Nick to join

him in the next day to go somewhere in New York. The next day, Gatsby comes

to Nick’s front yard and invites him to have lunch in New York. In Gatsby’s car,

Gatsby tells Nick about his secret background that he never tells to anyone.

However, Nick doesn’t really believe this. He also tells Nick that he wants Nick to

meet Jordan so that Nick will know something about him. In New York, Nick and

Gatsby journey into the city and there Nick meets Meyer Wolfshiem, one of

Gatsby's friends and Gatsby's link to organized crime.

On that same day, Nick is having tea with Jordan Baker in the afternoon.

Nick learns the amazing story that Gatsby told her the night of his party. Gatsby

was a soldier and he fell in love with Daisy as a red cross volunteer. They became

a couple who loved each other. They could not be together because Gatsby had to

go to the war. Cannot stand the loneliness, Daisy then married the rich Tom

Buchannan. At that time Gatsby was only a poor boy, he did not yet have the

means to support her. In the intervening years, Gatsby made his fortune, all with

the goal of winning Daisy back. He bought his house so that he would be across to

Daisy’s house and holds big parties in the hopes that she would notice him.


56

Therefore, Jordan then asks Nick to arrange a meeting for Gatsby and Daisy on a

small tea party in Nick’s house.

The day of the meeting arrives. Nick's house is prepared by Gatsby, who

wants every detail to be perfect for his reunion with his lost love. When they meet,

Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion becomes slightly nervous. It has been five years since

the last time they meet. Shortly, the two are once again comfortable with each

other and Gatsby asks Daisy and Nick to come to his house. Daisy is surprised by

the fact that Gatsby is now rich. After that meeting, Gatsby and Daisy secretly

meets in Gatsby’s house.

Nick once lapses into memory, relating the story of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby

was born as James Gatz from a shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. Gatsby

then changed his name at seventeen and about the same time he met Dan Cody.

Cody became Gatsby's mentor and he employs Gatsby to sail with him for five

until Cody's death. By learning with Cody, Gatsby had grown his personality and

had defined the man he would become.

One day, Daisy and Tom attends one of Gatsby's parties. In the party

Gatsby tells Tom that he knows Daisy well. It makes Tom suspicious with

Gatsby. In the party, while Tom spends his time chasing women, Daisy and

Gatsby sneak over to Nick's yard for a moment of privacy while Nick keeps guard

on them in case Tom intrudes. At the end of the party after the Tom and Daisy

leave, Gatsby tells Nick of his secret desire which is to regain Daisy back to his

life as they were in the past. He wants Daisy to tell his husband that she doesn’t


57

love him. Nick disagree with Gatsby’s statement that Gatsby can repeat the past,

but eventually Gatsby still believes that he can do it to get Daisy.

The next days, Gatsby and Daisy's affair grows and they see each other

regularly in Gatsby’s house. Gatsby and Daisy even arrange a day to announce

their love. On that day, Gatsby and Nick come to East Egg to have lunch with the

Buchanans and Jordan Baker. In the Buchannan’s house, Daisy and Gatsby shows

their love to each other which makes Tom quite angry. The heat of that day makes

Daisy suggests that they should go to the city. They went together in Tom and

Gatsby’s car. Daisy is together with Gatsby in Tom’s car while Nick, Tom, and

Jordan drive Gatsby’s. On their way to the city, Tom stops at Wilson’s gas station

and finds that Myrtle and Wilson want to go West as Wilson knows that his wife

has a secret affair with someone he doesn’t know. At the same time, Tom is afraid

that he will lose his wife and his mistress.

The group gathers up at the Plaza hotel. The situation becomes worst there

as Gatsby forces Daisy to state her love while in the other hand, Tom fiercely

questioning Gatsby of his intentions with Daisy. Tom keeps confronting Gatsby

until he reveals that Gatsby is a bootlegger. Then, Daisy states that she loves both

Tom and Gatsby and says she cannot leave his husband. However, Gatsby still

forces Daisy and he states by himself that Daisy will leave Tom. Tom doesn’t

want the situation to get worse then he orders the group to head home.

On their way back home they swap car again, as Daisy and Gatsby use

Gatsby’s and Tom, Jordan, and Nick use Tom’s. Unfortunately the car that is

driven by Daisy hits a woman who is Myrtle Wilson. They then run without


58

knowing whether the woman is still alive or not. Tom who drives behind Gatsby’s

cars, pulls over to investigate. They learn that Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, has

been hit and killed in the accident. Wilson is very sad and angry with this. Tom

then tells Wilson that he knows the man who drives the car that hits his wife.

After they finally arrive at Tom’s house, Nick finds Gatsby outside the house

peeking outside the window. Nick asks Gatsby what has happened and Gatsby

tells Nick that the one who drives the car was Daisy. As he wants to protect Daisy,

Gatsby tells that he is the one who drives and hits the woman. Jay Gatsby then

decides to stay there and waits for Daisy’s sign.

At the dawn of the morning, Nick goes to Gatsby's house. Gatsby looks

tired and disappointed because Daisy has not called him yet. There, Gatsby tells

Nick more about how Daisy has figured into his life. Nick tells Gatbsy to move on

and warns him to leave his place because he might be in a dangerous situation.

However, Gatsby refuses to go without Daisy. Finally, after Nick leaves Gatsby

alone, Gatsby is shot dead by Wilson in his swimming pool. Wilson considers

Gatsby as Myrtle’s affair who has hit her with his car. Wilson then shoots himself

dead besides Gatsby’s pool.

After Gatsby's death, Nick is the only one who prepares for Gatsby’s

funeral. Nick used to phone Daisy but mysteriously she has moved with his

husband without leaving any addresses. Nick is so disappointed that no one

concerns with Gatsby’s death. He has tried to call all of Gatsby’s friend but no

one seems to come on Gatsby’s funeral. The one who comes is only Gatsby’s

father, Henry C. Gatz, who is surprisingly proud of what his son had achieved.


59

Gatsby's funeral is attended with only Nick, Henry C. Gatz, a few servants, the

postman, and the minister at the graveside. Despite of all his popularity during his

lifetime, in his death, Gatsby is completely forgotten. Nick who feels disappointed

of his experience in the East then decides to head back to the Midwest. There is

nothing he can be proud of in the East except Gatsby.

Adapted from: www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-

great-gatsby/book-summary


http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/book-summary

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-great-gatsby/book-summary

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