Celebrities nowadays, such as Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan are going crazy and getting addicted to drugs because of their fame and the pressure that comes with it. It is difficult to pinpoint an A-list star who hasn’t experienced some degree of insanity or addiction resulting from the stress of being in the spotlight all of the time. Why does the desire for fame and being famous seem to always cause some sort of mental breakdown in celebrities? Linden Hills is about a man named Nedeed who created a community for wealthy black folks who only end up going insane or dying themselves as a result of their own greed. The Great Gatsby is the story of a man named Jay Gatsby, who reinvents himself as a successful man and throws large, lavish parties
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Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is an unfortunate shining example of embodying the American characteristic that is narcissism. Gatsby seems to be a broken fire hydrant of lies and secrets -- spewing out anything to help him maintain his brilliantly wealthy and successful status. The population of East and West Egg are oblivious to the fact that everything Gatsby says, especially surrounding his past, is all a made up lie told just to benefit himself. The narrator, Nick Carraway, seems to be the only one aware of Gatsby’s past and in a scene where he mentally psychoanalyzes him, he notes, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself.” (98) In mentioning the words “platonic conception”, Carraway implies that Gatsby invented his fake identity with the intention of matching it to some perfect ideal he had in his own mind. Gatsby forces his natural self to mirror an ideal image even if there are major consequences. These consequences ultimately led to his downfall in which he so passionately believed was an achievement the entire time. For an individual to completely alter their life, lie to everyone they know and live in a constant state of anxiety in fear of potentially being exposed, one’s personality must scream narcissism. Towards the end of the novel, Carraway reflects on Gatsby’s death. “Gatsby himself didn’t believe that it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared...paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.” (161) Carraway’s analysis of what may have gone through Gatsby’s head as he died only proves the extent to which Gatsby’s greedy desire for wealth and success led to his downfall. Gatsby no longer cared about all the negative side effects of striving for and upkeeping a powerful, grand status because his extreme narcissism led him to believe that it was all normal when it came to him achieving. If Gatsby’s drive for the American dream is so strong, he
Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is an unfortunate shining example of embodying the American characteristic that is narcissism. Gatsby seems to be a broken fire hydrant of lies and secrets -- spewing out anything to help him maintain his brilliantly wealthy and successful status. The population of East and West Egg are oblivious to the fact that everything Gatsby says, especially surrounding his past, is all a made up lie told just to benefit himself. The narrator, Nick Carraway, seems to be the only one aware of Gatsby’s past and in a scene where he mentally psychoanalyzes him, he notes, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself.” (98) In mentioning the words “platonic conception”, Carraway implies that Gatsby invented his fake identity with the intention of matching it to some perfect ideal he had in his own mind. Gatsby forces his natural self to mirror an ideal image even if there are major consequences. These consequences ultimately led to his downfall in which he so passionately believed was an achievement the entire time. For an individual to completely alter their life, lie to everyone they know and live in a constant state of anxiety in fear of potentially being exposed, one’s personality must scream narcissism. Towards the end of the novel, Carraway reflects on Gatsby’s death. “Gatsby himself didn’t believe that it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared...paid a high price for living too long with a single dream.” (161) Carraway’s analysis of what may have gone through Gatsby’s head as he died only proves the extent to which Gatsby’s greedy desire for wealth and success led to his downfall. Gatsby no longer cared about all the negative side effects of striving for and upkeeping a powerful, grand status because his extreme narcissism led him to believe that it was all normal when it came to him achieving. If Gatsby’s drive for the American dream is so strong, he