‘In tragic texts, the suffering of the tragic protagonist is more often self-inflicted.’ To what
extent do you agree?
Both Jay Gatsby in Fitzgerlad’s The Great Gatsby and Richard in Shakespeare’s
Richard II embody tragic protagonists whose inescapable flaws precipitate their tragic
downfall. However, while their tragic flaws are undeniably detrimental to their aspirations
and status, they are also afflicted by the actions of the tragic villains, whose calculated
pursuit of personal and political control leaves the eponymous heroes tragically isolated
and psychologically tormented, culminating in intense suffering, and ultimately, their
deaths. Thus, while both protagonists are partially the architects of their own ruin, their
suffering is catalysed and intensified by the characters and societal forces that surround
them.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald emphasises Gatsby’s flaw as his tragic blindness to the
futility of his dreams, yet also presents his psychological suffering as not purely
self-inflicted, but also a result of the performative culture surrounding him, embodied by
Daisy Buchanan. In Chapter 5, we see Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion after ‘five years’ had
passed, which is marked by comic bathos and symbolically charged mishaps, with the
near-smashing of ‘the clock’ reflecting Gatsby’s futile desire to ‘repeat the past’, and the
fact that he catches it with ‘trembling fingers’ evokes both fragility and desperation,
positioning Gatsby as a tragic figure blinded to the reality that the passage of time has
created irreconcilable differences between him and Daisy, illustrating the tragic
inevitability of his doomed love affair. Fitzgerald also presents Gatsby’s psychological
suffering through his swiftly oscillating mood throughout the chapter, from moments of
severe doubt and insecurity exemplified by the repetition of ‘this is a terrible, terrible
mistake’, to radiant elation as he ‘literally glowed’ ; this is further reinforced by
Fitzgerald’s use of pathetic fallacy to convey Gatsby’s fickle nature and his internal
turmoil as the ‘colossal vitality’ of his dreams have all lead up to this moment, shown by
the contrast between the ‘rain’ and the ‘twinkle-bells of sunshine.’ This demonstrates
how fleeting and superficial Gatsby’s happiness is - rendered bright only by the shallow
affections of Daisy, which arguably represents Gatsby’s true desire to be accepted into
the upper-echelons of American ‘East Egg’ society - thereby underscoring how Gatsby’s
suffering is not merely self-inflicted, but emblematic of romantic idealism corrupted by a
rigid social order and class hierarchies that Gatsby is unable to transcend. As such,
Fitzgerald’s use of the intradiegetic narrator Nick is crucial for distancing the reader from
Gatsby’s private breakdown and thus allowing us to critique his flaws, whilst also
recognising the pivotal role of society in facilitating the suffering and fall of the tragic
hero. This can be seen in the ‘shirts of linen’ Gatsby flaunts before Daisy in a
consumerist performance designed to win her love, and Nick’s heartbreaking
observation that Gatsby ‘seemed to revalue everything in his house according to the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
extent do you agree?
Both Jay Gatsby in Fitzgerlad’s The Great Gatsby and Richard in Shakespeare’s
Richard II embody tragic protagonists whose inescapable flaws precipitate their tragic
downfall. However, while their tragic flaws are undeniably detrimental to their aspirations
and status, they are also afflicted by the actions of the tragic villains, whose calculated
pursuit of personal and political control leaves the eponymous heroes tragically isolated
and psychologically tormented, culminating in intense suffering, and ultimately, their
deaths. Thus, while both protagonists are partially the architects of their own ruin, their
suffering is catalysed and intensified by the characters and societal forces that surround
them.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald emphasises Gatsby’s flaw as his tragic blindness to the
futility of his dreams, yet also presents his psychological suffering as not purely
self-inflicted, but also a result of the performative culture surrounding him, embodied by
Daisy Buchanan. In Chapter 5, we see Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion after ‘five years’ had
passed, which is marked by comic bathos and symbolically charged mishaps, with the
near-smashing of ‘the clock’ reflecting Gatsby’s futile desire to ‘repeat the past’, and the
fact that he catches it with ‘trembling fingers’ evokes both fragility and desperation,
positioning Gatsby as a tragic figure blinded to the reality that the passage of time has
created irreconcilable differences between him and Daisy, illustrating the tragic
inevitability of his doomed love affair. Fitzgerald also presents Gatsby’s psychological
suffering through his swiftly oscillating mood throughout the chapter, from moments of
severe doubt and insecurity exemplified by the repetition of ‘this is a terrible, terrible
mistake’, to radiant elation as he ‘literally glowed’ ; this is further reinforced by
Fitzgerald’s use of pathetic fallacy to convey Gatsby’s fickle nature and his internal
turmoil as the ‘colossal vitality’ of his dreams have all lead up to this moment, shown by
the contrast between the ‘rain’ and the ‘twinkle-bells of sunshine.’ This demonstrates
how fleeting and superficial Gatsby’s happiness is - rendered bright only by the shallow
affections of Daisy, which arguably represents Gatsby’s true desire to be accepted into
the upper-echelons of American ‘East Egg’ society - thereby underscoring how Gatsby’s
suffering is not merely self-inflicted, but emblematic of romantic idealism corrupted by a
rigid social order and class hierarchies that Gatsby is unable to transcend. As such,
Fitzgerald’s use of the intradiegetic narrator Nick is crucial for distancing the reader from
Gatsby’s private breakdown and thus allowing us to critique his flaws, whilst also
recognising the pivotal role of society in facilitating the suffering and fall of the tragic
hero. This can be seen in the ‘shirts of linen’ Gatsby flaunts before Daisy in a
consumerist performance designed to win her love, and Nick’s heartbreaking
observation that Gatsby ‘seemed to revalue everything in his house according to the
© Humanities Unlocked. | AQA A-Level English Literature 2025 | For personal use only. Redistribution is
prohibited.
