Gatsby is determined to find his one true love, which causes him to stand out from the wealthy as well. All of the rich in the novel aren’t searching for anything, none of the rich can love anything unless it is of material value. It seems like they love each other, but they only do out of each other’s wealth. Tom does not love Daisy he cheats on her all the time. Daisy did not love Tom, she married him for wealth, or else she would have married Gatsby if he were not confronted. Gatsby was into bootlegging, which was illegal, he could lose his riches at any time, and if Daisy were with him she would end up poor. Gatsby was in search of the American Dream, the only thing he had left to clench in it was a loving family. Daisy was the flaw in the American Dream. Gatsby wanted to marry out of love and not out of wealth like all the others. He knew he had to live the American Dream to wed her. He knew she loved wealth more than anything else, he had a collection of clippings of almost everything she had done over the years (p.90). Gatsby could have anyone else in the world with old money, but he only wanted Daisy, therefore she was his one true love.
Gatsby was ruled by his emotions, which causes him to doubt any second thoughts he had made about Daisy. Gatsby knew she could never love him like he loved her, but it did not stop him. Gatsby kept on having parties in hope that she would come to them, when she never did he thought it coincidence and not fate, which it was. He believed in hope and not fate or else he would have foreseen the bitter end. Once he has seen her again he verifies that she is in life only for money, but he remembers he has been after her his entire life and it doesn’t matter what she thinks. After the party she had finally attended Gatsby is unsatisfied with the results and says that she didn’t like it (p.106). After this Gatsby is still determined to make her understand like she used to, to make her love him like she did. After this flaw he still pursues her, despite what she thinks, he hopes deep down inside she remembers.
His quiet temper causes him to stand out amongst the others as it upholds his greatness. Gatsby’s house is in a disastrous mess after these parties yet he is never angered about it. He perceives the rich as being low tempered and mannered people, when in truth they are not, they are angry simple people, and because he is not this way he is the hero. He never is mad about Daisy never coming to his party, never becomes frustrated, and not at all angered by what rumors are spread about him. When he becomes rich himself he realizes that the rich are high tempered and primitive people, which is why he uses people to get what he wants. He meets Nick and actually feels bad for using him, because he is a mannerly less primitive personality such as himself. When Tom is trying to confuse Daisy by confronting Gatsby and make her stay with him he is still not angered such as tom is (p.126). At this point Gatsby stands out, he is the only one not angered or entirely out of control, he remains calm.
Gatsby is always protected by others in the novel which tells us that he is an important person. He is protected by people related to his job and anyone who knew him. He always wants Nick to come with him on things he is unsure of, like when meeting daisy for the first time in eight years (p.83). He needs others to fulfill his confidence in himself, it is how he got as far he did in the novel (money wise). He only meets new people through association with someone else in the novel, he meets Nick through Jordan and Daisy through Nick. He is like this because he expects things to come to him like they have in the past like his job from Meyer Wolfshiem.
James Gatsby is the hero in the novel through: his modern acts, determination for love, his conquering emotions, his quiet temperament, and his protected state. A hero is someone unlike the others and Gatsby fills this character perfectly in the novel. Therefore Gatsby is the character and no one else should even be considered for his place in The Great Gatsby.