What man can be a knight, a savior and a highly dignified man? Jay Gatsby, the title character, in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can and is. Fitzgerald, using symbolic imagery, portrays Gatsby as a romantic idealist.
             Fitzgerald explicitly connects Gatsby to the Romantic Idealist as classically defined. A romantic is someone who uses the imagination, who has a strong sense of individuality, uniqueness and sometimes a quest, a goal for passion. Alternately an idealist focuses on the metaphysical and attempts to transcend reality.
             Gatsby is bluntly linked to these definitions. Emphasizing Gatsby's idealism Fitzgerald claims that "Jay" sprang from his platonic conception of himself. "He was a son of god...and must be of his fathers business..."(104) He goes on to say, "...to this conception he was faithful to the end." Gatsby grew up in a middle class family under the name of James Gats. His parents were unsuccessful farm people and he needed to create an image of himself that was, to him, more respectable; changing his name was the first thing.
             Another time that Gatsby is literally connected to a Romantic Idealist is his quest to get Daisy. He pursued her much like a night pursues a grail. He finds a way to make money, purchasing a big house in west egg and throws huge parties all for the purpose of getting Daisy. "...so that Daisy would be just across the bay" (83). He does anything he can to get in her favor. In turn, to achieve his goal of Daisy, Gatsby must try to turn back time; five years have passed for Gatsby while he tried to become suitable in Daisy's eyes and he must find away to over come this gap.
             Gatsby is not only portrayed as a Romantic Idealist literally but also figuratively. Gatsby creatively creates a unique fantasy world, full of possessions and actions that help further mirror his traits. His house is a large medieval castle with many rooms. The lo...