The review that I read by Charles E. Shain said that gatsby was no more great the any other man of his time. The reason for this is that Gatsby was trying to live in the past, to try to recapture what he once had. Sure he had very much money, gonnections, and many acquaintances, but this does not make a man great. The only thing Gatsby doesnt have is Daisy, his old lover. Daisy live across the lake from Gatsby with her husband Nick.
Gatsbys main mistake is that he is trying to recreate the past to recapture Daisy, rather than live in the present and face the reality that she is married. Even though Gatsby has what seems to be almost everything, he does not have Daisy. The American Dream is brought up in the criticism I read, and Gatsby has everything involved with American Dream, except for the happy marriage, kids and the white picket fence. This is the reason that Gatsby can never truly fulfill the American Dream. Gatsby died a lonely washed up gangster with nothing but money and an empty mansion.
