9 Great Lessons To Learn From The Great Gatsby

Many people consider The Great Gatsby a cliched romance novel. And when you read it for the first time, you may think the same. However, that is not the case. 

This book is a timeless piece written by Fitzgerald. When you read the text carefully, you'll find some hidden lessons. These lessons not only make the book exciting, but they are also valuable.

The Great Gatsby has much more to it than just clichéd romance. And that is what makes it exceptional. Not only that, but the book has been adapted into a movie as well.

Leonardo Dicaprio brought Gatsby to life and gave an exceptional performance. With that said, if you’re wondering about the lessons this novel teaches, you’ve come to the right place. Here are the nine great lessons you can learn from The Great Gatsby:

1.Always Pay Attention To Advice

The Great Gatsby opens with an impactful and strong line. During this scene, Nick Carraway speaks about the best advice his father gave him. And this was that he should always see the good in people.

In our lives and society, we primarily focus on the flaws of other people. Not only that but even when considering ourselves, we focus on the negative things first. And that is why the advice of Nick's father was touching.

Whenever we are in a relationship, it's pretty easy to figure out the flaws of the other person. Sometimes we even criticize people without knowing their stories. This, of course, is easy but can have a significant impact on our personality.

By choosing to see the good in the people, you will be giving someone the benefit of the doubt. This is essential in the society we live in. That is because most people don’t prefer to give a chance.

While it is true that parents don't always give good advice. Not only that, but many times, the advice you may receive might not be good. But that does not mean you should disregard it altogether. 

Listening to others will do you no harm and will not hurt the other person. After hearing the advice, you can decide whether you want to follow it or not. If it does not work, then you can learn a lesson from it.

2.Understand Yourself

We all have some things that we want to be remembered by. Everyone wants their identity to be associated with a specific thing. For some, it may be their career, while for others, it may be their dreams. It varies from person to person.

The critical thing to keep in mind is that you understand yourself and society. You must remember that whatever you do in your life will allow people to have a particular impression of you. Some may even judge your decision. Of course, this does not mean that you should let others have control over your actions.

The fact that people judge just means that they consider you as a brand. Therefore, you should understand yourself to project your actual image. Gatsby also understood this thing but only to some extent. He chased behind something that could never be restored.

Thus, you should learn from the mistakes of Gatsby. Knowing yourself is an excellent tool. Once you master the art of self-discovery, you shape your present and future accordingly.

3.Focus On Yourself

The one constant thing that you’ll find in The Great Gatsby is that every focused on themselves. You may fear that people will call you selfish. However, that is where the problem lies. As an individual, you don’t owe anything to anyone but yourself. 

In the story, every character focused on what they wanted. For example, Gatsby wished to restore his love. Similarly, some wanted to find out the truth and others desired to protect people they loved. The critical thing is that the motives and purpose of each individual drive their actions.

Hence, in this life, you should focus on your wants and dreams. Once you do that, you can prevent yourself from having regrets in the future. To pay attention to your desires, you can do a lot of things.

For example, if you want to achieve success, you can get a motivational pop canvas. By hanging the art in your room or home, you can remind yourself about your goals. After all, we live busier lives in today's era and can forget about what we truly want.

You can even get this Great Gatsby canvas to remind yourself of this lesson. By looking at the main character, you can remember his story from time to time. And of course, this will allow you to keep all the lessons in your mind quickly.

4.Fate Can Be Changed

One of the most important lessons this novel teaches us is that we can always change our fate. Jay Gatsby did not allow his circumstances to have power over his life. He did not let them define his identity and who he was.

Gatsby was born to a low-income family, but he turned around his fate. As a kid, he believed in the power of dreaming. He was an optimistic person and held on to hope during his early years. As a result, he achieved his goals and created a new life according to what he wanted.

The character of Gatsby is an inspiration for all individuals who want to bring their dreams to life. Success is never impossible to achieve as long as you work hard for it. This is one of the most critical lessons of this story.

If you're in a similar situation as Gatsby, then you should be inspired by him. You should always keep your goals in mind and hold on to hope. Once you do this, you can turn around your life. Additionally, you can reach new heights too by believing in your dreams.

5.Enjoy Life

The lavishing parties that Gatsby used to throw every Saturday night had quite the importance. That is because the guests used to arrive with only one objective. And that was to celebrate and enjoy life. So the parties were a chance for people to come and live to their fullest.

Of course, you don't need to have a large mansion like Gatsby or throw parties to enjoy life. Each individual is different and has unique ways of celebrating life. For example, you prefer to enjoy a day with your family. Or you may love to go out with friends to celebrate life.

What you should learn from Gatsby's parties is that they provided a moment for everyone to feel abundant and joyful about life. So figure out the things that make your life complete and offer you joy. Once you do them frequently, you'll become content with what you have.

Again you can also get the Great Gatsby canvas to remind yourself of celebrating life. This piece of art displays Gatsby holding a glass of drink. It has an impactful meaning because this is the scene where the character is welcoming the guests. That is why it is an effective way to remember that life should be celebrated.

6.Money Can't Buy Everything.

In today's era, we work hard to earn money and live a content life. And that is where we forget that money cannot buy everything. The Great Gatsby is a perfect reminder of this statement.

Gatsby lived a lavish life. He had a huge mansion and everything that anyone would desire. Yet, he lacked the most important thing that life can offer – happiness. Gatsby achieved success and tried to delve into luxuries to find joy. But he simply couldn't.

Even the parties that the character used to throw were to reunite with lost love, Daisy. Their tale was tragic but mirrored reality. It showed us the truth you cannot buy happiness with money.

By adopting a lavish lifestyle, Gatsby had hoped to win Daisy. But of course, he fails as she learns how he earned the fortune. Besides that, the story also showed us that money does not help you gain friends.

The most important scene that taught this lesson was Gatsby’s funeral. During the proceedings, no one came except for Nick. Not even one person who used to attend his parties dropped by for the funeral. And this showed that money does not help you achieve the empathy of people.

7.Don’t Criticize Others

Nick was one of the most important characters in The Great Gatsby. His scenes always had an impact and meaning. For example, in the story, he confessed to not criticizing people who were less fortunate than him.

Due to his personality and open-mindedness, he won our hearts. His knowledge and belief allowed him to look at life with a deeper perspective. This is what prevented him from falling prey to the glamorous and materialistic life of that period.

Hence, if you think you are better than others or criticize them, we suggest you think again. That is because looking down on people will never allow you to live a content life. Additionally, you can take lessons from the many side stories of Th Great Gatsby.

Even Gatsby himself was materialistic and believed that money would help get back his love. But of course, truth always comes out no matter how hard you try to hide. Besides that, if Nick had been able to criticize people, he would have never formed a fantastic friendship with Gatsby.

So you should remember this lesson at all stages in your life. You can lose out on friendships and essential people due to your attitude.

8.Never Assume Things

As the story of Gatsby progresses, it gets sadder. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the novel is considered timeless. Nevertheless, one essential lesson that you can never miss from The Great Gatsby is about assumptions.

Many terrible events take place in the tale, and later we learn that most of them happened due to false assumptions. For example, George decides to take revenge on Gatsby because his wife was hit by a car. He assumed that Gatsby was driving the vehicle.

However, we learn that Daisy was the one who hit the lady. To protect his loved one, Gatsby took the fall. That was why you should never assume something. Sometimes even what we see can betray us.

This fact of making false assumptions was also highlighted by Nick in the book later. So never assume something and always give the other person the benefit of the doubt. To remember this lesson, you should get a pop canvas about it. Once you see it every day, it will be engraved in your mind.

9.Leaving Your Past Behind Can Be Difficult

You may think that the present defines you, but it is not the case every time. Our past actions can have a severe impact on our lives. This is something that you can learn from The Great Gatsby.

Gatsby earned a fortune and created a lavish lifestyle for himself. Despite that, he could not get rid of his reputation of being a bootlegger. Not only that, but his past caught up to him. He failed to win daisy because she learned how Gatsby created his fortune.

The moral of this lesson is that you should always keep in mind that your past actions can have consequences. That is why you should never do something that can cause you to lose your happiness. Even the closing lines of The Great Gatsby highlights that it is messy to escape one’s past.

Final Words

These are the nine great lessons that you can learn from The Great Gatsby. If you haven’t already read the book, then we suggest you do so. You can even watch the movie if you prefer films over books.

By remembering these lessons and avoiding the same mistakes, you can live a content life. Besides that, you can get the Great Gatsby canvas as a reminder not to follow in his footsteps.