Was F. Scott Fitzgerald's character Jay Gatsby really great? No, Jay Gatsby isn't all that great, he's a man who will stop at nothing to get back a girl he once loved and was obsessed with. Some other reasons why Gatsby failed were his own, lies about his rise, his wealth, and his role in Myrtle's death. The book describes Gatsby's appearance and manner as "...a dapper young hoodlum, a year or two above him." thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech lacked absurdity." (Fitzgerald 53). His wealth is never hidden, from the mansion, to the big weekly parties and the really expensive cars. It is obvious that Gatsby's wealth is not like that of the people of East Egg is what appears to be the American dream in the flesh. He is handsome, rich and extremely popular and could have everything his heart desires; Fitzgerald reveals Gatsby's past and the many hypotheses about his wealth, including but not limited to, he killed a man, he is the Kaiser's cousin, or he is actually a rather shady looking German spy ...