Jay Gatsby as the tragic hero of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby According to Aristotle, there are a series of characteristics that identify a tragic hero : must cause one's own ruin; his fate is not deserved and his punishment exceeds the crime; he too must be of noble stature and have greatness. These are all characteristics of Jay Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition. Jay Gatsby is an enormously wealthy man, and in the flashy years of the Jazz Age, wealth defined importance. Gatsby has infinite wealth, power, and influence, but he never selfishly uses material objects. Everything he possesses exists only to achieve his vision. Nick feels "inclined to reserve all judgment" (1), but despite his disapproval of Gatsby's vulgarity, Nick respects him for the strength and selflessness of his idealism. Gatsby is a romantic dreamer who wishes to realize his ideal by gaining wealth in the hope of impressing and ultimately winning the heart of the materialistic and superficial Daisy. However, he is completely undeserving of her adoration. "Then they had simply been the stars to which he had aspired that June night. He came alive to me, released suddenly from the womb of his aimless splendor" (79). Nick realizes that Gatsby's seemingly "purposeless" possessions, parties, T-shirts, and other possessions are not purposeless. Everything Gatsby does, every move he makes, and every decision he conceives has a reason. He wants to realize his ideal, Daisy. Gatsby's "aimless splendor" is everything to the woman he loves and who wishes to represent his ideal. Furthermore, Gatsby believes that he can win his woman with wealth, and that his woman can achieve the ideal that lies... in the center of the card... in the World" (182). Gatsby's vision corresponds to that of the explorers who discover the promise of the New World, he is a man of extreme ability but fails to see the inevitability of the failure of his vision and, in his inability to see it, continues to try to realize the power to realize this vision, until her death. Daisy indirectly causes Gatsby's death, making her more than ever unworthy of Gatsby's affection. Ironically, Gatsby lived for Daisy and until her death, he believed and had faith in her and her vision. Quoted Dillon. , Andrew. "The Great Gatsby: The Vitality of Illusion." The Arizona Quarterly 44 Spr. 1988: 49-61. Fitzgerald, F. Scott New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992 "Compensatory Visions: The Great Gatsby. Southwest Review 77 Autumn 1992: 536-545.