Was F. Scott Fitzgerald's Character Jay Gatsby Really Great? No, Jay Gatsby isn't that great, he's a man who will stop at nothing to get back a girl he loved and was once obsessed with. Other reasons Gatsby failed were his own, lies about his future, his wealth, and his role in Myrtle's death. The book describes Gatsby's appearance and mannerisms as "...a stylish young thug, a year or two later." thirty years, whose elaborate formality of speech narrowly missed being absurd. (Fitzgerald 53). His wealth is never hidden, from the mansion to the huge weekly parties and very expensive cars. It is obvious that Gatsby's wealth is not like the wealth of the people of East Egg. Gatsby is what seems to be the American dream in the flesh. He is handsome, he is rich and extremely popular and can have whatever his heart desires; or so you think. As the story progresses, Fitzgerald exposes Gatsby's past and the many assumptions about his wealth, including, but not limited to, that he killed a man, that he is the Kaiser's cousin or that he is actually a German spy. He has a rather shady profile ...