Gatsby: A Character Study

Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby is a man that carries mystery and poise as he moves from one asdaventure to the next. He is above the ordinary, but not quite unreachable. Rumors circle about him and no one is quite sure of his standing in relation to the rest of the world. He is respected and praised for the man he has built himself to be, but there is no way to pin the work that he has done as no one has a clear picture of the beginning. Gatsby presents himself as a man of prestige and value, but has built this life simply to impress a woman who has already lived a fulfilled life without him.
Gatsby is a rich, educated man that spends his days throwing lavish parties and having more guests than he has the oppurtunity to meet. He presents his accomplishments to hundreds of strangers every night on the offchance that one particualr woman will venture out of her small. comfortable corner of the world to come see him, a man she has forgotten existed. Gatsby displays his success for the world rather than focusing on bettering himself and propelling himself forward.
Gatsby is stunted by his love for Daisy. He uses the feelings he has created for her as an excuse to not move forward in life. He ignores advances from women at his parties and denies oppurtunities to keep himself safe in order to save himself for Daisy. He wants to stay near her and be available when she inevitabley calls upon him.This thinking grounds Gatsby directly where he is, keeping him from doing the things that will propell him into his future.
 This stagnant behavior adds to the rumors surrounding Gatsby's name. The question of why Gatsby chose to stay in West Egg and continue to live in this area even once he has outgrown his surrounding breeds rumors and lies about Gatsby's intentions. There must be something grounding him to this specific shore and it is impossible to tell what without the use of fiction.
Gatsby has made a man out of himself without the help of others. He abandons his parents in an act of rebellion and refuses to return home to ask for favors. He becomes a decorated soldier without taking orders from a general and builds a career from nothing but the clothes on his back. He becomes a wealthy man with money to give and spend, but all of this success leaves Gatsby depressed and lonely as he is still chasing and brooding in his biggest failure, the loss of the woman he fell in love with. All of his accomplishments amount to nothing when placed next to his true desires in life, the affection of the woman he gave himself to and devoted his life to. She has married a man she approves of and loves and moved from Gatsby to pursue a life of comfort, while Gatsby lives lavishly and lonely without Daisy to accompany him.
The best moments of Gatsby's life are spent ruining Daisy's. He disrupts her family, including the small child she has birthed and raised. He attempts to displace her from the comfortable lifestyle she has always known to move her into his life and home. He expects her to drop everything to give herself to him. Daisy has built her own life based around Tom and the family she wanted to create with him. Her instability is what appeals to Gatsby. The act of moving her from everything she has known excites Gatsby and propels his pursuit in her. Daisy must lose everything in order to grant Gatsby happiness.