The Modern Tragic Hero Of Gatsby English Literature EssayIn the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby is a tragic hero because he displays the fundamental characteristics of modern tragic hero. He is a common man, he contains the characteristics of a tragic flaw, and he eventually has a tragic fall.Although at first glance Gatsby might not seem to be the everyday man, in reality he actually is. At one point Gatsbys past is being examined and his parents are described as shiftless and unsuccessful farm people which shows the readers that he came from humble roots and was just like everyone else (Fitzgerald 95). He was not born into wealth and privilege and did not have any special background that gave him an advantage over others. Another instance in which Gatsby is portrayed as the average man is when Nick is discussing Gatsbys past and he says, So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent(Fitzgerald 95). This shows that the persona that Gatsby has created for himself is that of any average, immature boy.
