Gatsby

His life was nothing but luxurious debauchery, in a time where being seen was a trade of your wealth. He was a mystical creature, rare, majestic, he was the great Gatsby. The first known influencer?

A man of mystery, that we can say, in F. Scott Fitzgerald novel we follow and discover what life was before the great depression, when white America was enjoying the beauty of lust, the lavish parties, time of innocence? No, his message was more then that, more then just a reminiscence of a time far gone, too fast.

Gatsby was the embodiment of an era, which why he was similar to a mystical creature, he was too good for this world. If you read the book and watch the movies adaptations, you will see how that man was mystified. He always wear white, you would never see him in another color, almost virgin like representation. The narrator used him as a symbol, a symbol of lost innocence, a time no one will capture again, it was just faded memory of glorious day. Of course, it was centered around the rich and powerful, that tight circle of privilege. While I read the story and watch the movies, I felt bad for Gatsby, for everything he done to his demise, it was nothing but for love. His life showed the superficially of the rich, you need to be seen, and he was that. The best parties, the outrageous celebration, it was the place to be seen, at Gatsby's parties. He was the best host, a great friend, but mostly a desperate man, his obsession for a time he enjoyed with his love Daisy. He did everything for Daisy, the love of his life, the one who inspired him to be in her world so she would love him. The real question is not really what he represented, but how he would fit into today's world?

He is a cautionary tale for modern day influencers, Gatsby is that lingering shadow of what will happen. A reminder, that fame in this case it's not forever, people tend to forget. If Gatsby was in modern day, he would have been canceled for being killed by a man who though his wife was cheating on him with and who killed her in a hit and run. Gatsby didn't belong to the world of the above, he wasn't born into wealth, he was an outcast, even with his wild parties, he remained an outcast. He was the first known influencer, no one knew who he really was, his past, the business that he conducted, all they knew about him was that he was the guy with the wildest parties. That's all what matter, he hosted the best parties, his Instagram page would be filed with celebrities posing with him, exactly what we see nowadays. However, Fitzgerald give us a more nuanced character, humanized Gatsby, showing how innocent and well intended the man was. He wanted to reconquer his true love, even if she was married and had a family with a man who treated her miserably. To Fitzgerald, Gatsby was more then what everyone saw, his description of the man is compelling, maybe the description of delusional man, but someone we could relate to. If the story was told by another of his party goer, the one he never left enter his true world, the story would be different. It wouldn't have any depth, we would just have a interpretation of what type of person he was, still remaining in his mystical persona. We wouldn't be able to know about his love obsession for Daisy, how lonely the man truly was. We would have a description of what his Instagram page would tell us, it would be only surface level of Gatsby, no depths, a mirage. His downfall was that he didn't belong to what he created, he build a persona that he though Daisy would love, even that wasn't enough.

The Great Gatsby was to me a love story, and how greed destroy what is the most selfless act possible, love. Gatsby was an idealist, he lived in a imaginary world, where he believed his beloved Daisy would join him, as he did everything for her. Daisy fed Gatsby with hope, hope that they would escape and finally be together. Like the world he build for her, she was also a mirage, she never truly loved him, she didn't show remorse, guilt or sympathy for the man who did everything for her. Gatsby only wanted one thing, being loved to by just one person. He was the representation of how innocence dies, no one would care after his demise and no one did. Gatsby was the lamb devour by greed and selfishness, his story is a critic to the hypocrisy of the rich and wealthy as they dissociate from the rest of us.

Similar to a modern day influencer, a nobody yesterday, to the most popular today. Gatsby became a symbol not just from the time he represent but for the classism of wealth, he was an outsider as the influencers are consider the outsiders from the elite. They are not accepted amongst the gods that are the modern day celebrities, influencers are mortals with godlike worshiping but temporary. Gatsby was maybe from a different time, but if he was real and lived in today world he would be the biggest influencer in the world. Glory never last when you are not careful, the biggest price Gatsby paid was his life. His funeral was his cancellation as all of his guests forgot about him, only the narrator, his only friend, the one who really knew him was there for him until the end. Even the love of his life Daisy, she also forgot about him. It's might be a simple story, of a time too far from us to remember, but it had and I think still have a big impact on what's going on in world of social media culture. To me this story was more then a better time, or a man so in love that he dedicated his life to build world for a woman who didn't take his love seriously. That's why I think even without knowing F. Scott Fitzgerald gave us a caution tale of a influencer, indeed he was the Great Gatsby.