Every Man

’s Quest : Gatsby And The Quest Essay, Research Paper

From Greek mythology.s Hercules, to the American.s Paul Bunyan, myths perpetrating

the quest can be found in all cultures and societies. Stories of the mythic quest .express

knowledge that is complete and coherent.,1 thus the mythic quest exists to teach an idea

or principle to its audience.

Quests can be identified by several distinct elements that occur in all myths of this type,

these characteristics are: a hero, the journey and the reward. The hero is the central

protagonist character, (generally a male) who will attempt to complete the quest.

Because he is often the son of a god, the hero usually has the benefit of superhuman

powers to assist his struggle, however he could have a crucial character flaw, a type of

Achilles. heel, that he must overcome to complete his journey. The journey, is the series

of obstacles that the hero must endure to achieve his goal. It is the path upon which the

hero must walk to complete in his quest. It is on this journey that he will face challenges,

battle enemies or make allies who may assist him. Upon successful completion of his

journey, the hero will receive a reward, retribution for his struggles in the form of

intellectual, spiritual or material gain.

Through comparison of King Arthur.s legendary quest for the Holy Grail and Jay

Gatsby.s quest for the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald.s novel The Great Gatsby,

it is discovered that human existence is essentially a quest; a frivolous quest for idealistic

dreams that rewards its. heroes with superficial achievements or failure.

Careful examination of the ambitions, personal attributes and histories of both King

Arthur and Jay Gatsby reveal that the hero can take on many different forms, yet

similarities will exist. Each hero that embarks on a quest, whether he be King Arthur or

Jay Gatsby, hopes to achieve a reward, the goal of his quest. The value of these rewards

and there cost to the hero or others effected by the quest must be examined to help

establish the validity of the quest.

In both the myth of the Holy Grail, and The Great Gatsby, very distinct, central

characters can be labeled as the hero. In the myth of the Holy Grail, it is King Arthur

who fits the heroic role. Having been raised by Merlin, a magician with .superhuman

wisdom and great occult powers. after the death of his biological father, Arthur was given

the guidance necessary to become a powerful King. Arthur ruled the Kingdom of

Camelot in Britain with his wife Guinevere, and it was there that he established his knights

in the fellowship of the Round Table. 2 This organization consisted of a group of

seemingly honorable, selfless men who existed to seek glory in Arthur.s name. Thus it

was through the knights that Arthur carried out his quest for the Holy Grail. In the

novel The Great Gatsby, the hero is Jay Gatsby, a man born to .shiftless and unsuccessful

farm people. (99) who was reinvented as a .Platonic conception of himself. (99) at the

age of seventeen when he changed his name form James Gatz and hopped aboard the

yacht of a wealthy man named Dan Cody. Jay Gatsby

had something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the

promises of life… This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby

impressionability which is dignified under the name of the .creative

temperament. – it was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic

readiness… (2)

which drove him to take control of his destiny and attempt to procure a better life for

himself. Jay Gatsby was a manipulative, idealistic hero. King Arthur and Jay Gatsby

demonstrate the importance of a strong hero in a quest. Both men seemed destined to

heroism, King Arthur for his strong upbringing by Merlin and Gatsby for his incredible

desire for a better life. Both heroes created for themselves goals of improvement, for

Arthur it was the Grail, for Gatsby it was the acquisition of the American dream.

However, both men demonstrate a distinct flaw in their characters. Arthur selects men for

his knighthood who prove to be dishonorable; one knight, Sir Lancelot even betrays

Arthur through an adulterous affair with Guinevere. 3 Gatsby.s flaw lies in his

overzealous nature for one goal, he becomes obsessed with winning the love of Daisy

Buchanan and this love eventually destroys him. Both men demonstrate strengths and

weaknesses that any ordinary man could possess and therefore demonstrate the plight of

common people (or common heroes) trying to complete their specific quests.

Combined with their personal flaws, King Arthur and Jay Gatsby had to face external

forces; obstacles and accomplishments that constitute the journey. King Arthur, in his

quest for the Holy Grail, sent out his knights to fight for his prize. His knights had to

overcome seductive and evil fairies, enchanted forests and harmful magicians as they

searched for a

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