When talking about the distinctive character traits in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece The Great Gatsby it is hard not to talk about any mental illnesses they may have. Mental illnesses seem to run rampant through the cast from Tom and Daisy to the narrator Nick himself. It is hard not to notice that something might be wrong with each one of them. They all act and over react very strangely. Tom has control problems in many situations. Daisy is extremely over the top. Finally, Nick is very withdrawn in himself letting others do the talking for him often. These different characters have many problems but they all pale in comparison to the man who the story is named after, Jay Gatsby. On the surface, he may look like the normal rags
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The DSM-5 lays out six criteria to diagnose narcissistic personality disorder. First, the patient has problems with self-functioning either by identity or by self-direction. Second, they have problems with interpersonal functioning through empathy or intimacy. Third, they have trouble with being too over the top, condescending, and attention seeking. Fourth, these traits are continuing and consistent over time and through different cases. Fifth, the symptoms do not come from the patients “developmental stage” (American Psychiatric Association 10). Finally, the traits do not stem from either drugs and medication or normal medical conditions like a head injury. Using these six points will show how Jay Gatsby has narcissistic personality …show more content…
Gatsby demonstrates both. Gatsby uses people almost to see his reflection in them. When he sees what he likes he likes that person. When Gatsby was first starting to love Daisy, it was not because he loved her it was because she loved him and he liked that. He says he loves her because she was showing him admiration and that was what he was seeking. He was not after someone to love he was after someone to love him and that’s it. Gatsby shows a lack of empathy mainly through how he treats Daisy. When everyone is fighting near the end he tries to get Daisy to say that she never loved Tom several times. He wants her to do this so that he can feel like he is the only one she ever really loved. In doing this Gatsby never considers how Daisy might feel in this situation. How she might have cared about Tom. This shows how Gatsby is very uncaring when it comes to how he treats other people if it makes him feel good about
The DSM-5 lays out six criteria to diagnose narcissistic personality disorder. First, the patient has problems with self-functioning either by identity or by self-direction. Second, they have problems with interpersonal functioning through empathy or intimacy. Third, they have trouble with being too over the top, condescending, and attention seeking. Fourth, these traits are continuing and consistent over time and through different cases. Fifth, the symptoms do not come from the patients “developmental stage” (American Psychiatric Association 10). Finally, the traits do not stem from either drugs and medication or normal medical conditions like a head injury. Using these six points will show how Jay Gatsby has narcissistic personality …show more content…
Gatsby demonstrates both. Gatsby uses people almost to see his reflection in them. When he sees what he likes he likes that person. When Gatsby was first starting to love Daisy, it was not because he loved her it was because she loved him and he liked that. He says he loves her because she was showing him admiration and that was what he was seeking. He was not after someone to love he was after someone to love him and that’s it. Gatsby shows a lack of empathy mainly through how he treats Daisy. When everyone is fighting near the end he tries to get Daisy to say that she never loved Tom several times. He wants her to do this so that he can feel like he is the only one she ever really loved. In doing this Gatsby never considers how Daisy might feel in this situation. How she might have cared about Tom. This shows how Gatsby is very uncaring when it comes to how he treats other people if it makes him feel good about