The Role of Self-Perception in “The Great Gatsby”

Self-perception plays an important role in an individual’s attempt to create a meaningful life.

Self-perception can be defined as an awareness of one’s own characteristics, attitudes and feelings.  This fact means that an individual has a chance to make decisions based on his/her own attitudes and feelings and evaluate these actions from the point of view of others. In order to create a meaningful life, an individual should have a good understanding of the meaning of life and how achieve the established  goals which should be centred on justice, self-identity, autonomy, and socialization. In the novel The Great Gatsby written by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, due attention is paid to how the young millionaire with mysterious personality conducts himself in different situations and how other people evaluate his behaviour. Jay Gatsby perceives himself as a kind person who is ready to lend a helping hand to everyone, while other people perceive him as a selfish person.

In fact, many people want to see themselves only in a positive way, without noticing their weaknesses or vices. It is not easy to recognize one’s own weaknesses and vices, therefore, self-perception may differ from the perception of an individual by other people. In the novel, Jay Gatsby is perceived by others as a wealthy man who had everything in his life, including money, friends, women, property, etc. However, he perceived himself as a lonely person. Nick Carraway was impressed by Jay Gatsby’s luxury house, parties, car and massive financial opportunities. He describes Jay in the following way: “He smiled understandingly–much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favour” (Fitzgerald 23). Instead, Gatsby was not an ideal person. His selfish and narcissistic nature made him a criminal.

As a matter of fact, Jay Gatsby pursued the only goal in his life – to win back the love of a beautiful and wealthy woman Daisy. For him, it was important to create a meaningful life. But, he saw a meaningful life as a life of happy, loving man. He wanted to love Daisy because once she refused to stay with him. The idea of Daisy moved Jay to achievement of the established goals. Unfortunately, he lost everything he had in his last attempt to return her love. Daisy did not love Jay. She said, “I never loved him”, when her husband Tom asked her about her feelings to Jay. This fact means that Jay’s achievements were not enough for pursuing a meaningful life. He wanted to achieve more and more, but Daisy’s love was Jay’s fantasy or dream. He had wealth and power, but he failed to obtain love. “He  did not know it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night” (Fitzgerald 144).

Thus, it is necessary to conclude that self-perception plays a critical role in an individual’s attempt to create a meaningful life. In The Great Gatsby, the main character has high self-esteem; therefore, his self-perception was positive. However, the perceptions of others greatly differed from his own. This difference led to the main character’s failure to create a meaningful life. Hence, self-perception motivated Jay Gatsby to return Daisy’s love. He could have created a meaningful life if she had been an honest woman.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. S. The Great Gatsby. Aegitas, 2016. Print.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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