One that shows many signs of mild autism through social behaviors is James Gatz, also known as Jay Gatsby, the titular character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Autism affects three major categories of behaviors: social communication, social understanding, and flexibility of thought (NAMI n.d.).
Gatsby's tragic flaw is his inability to wake up from his dream of the past and accept reality. His obsession with recapturing his past relationship with Daisy compels him to a life of crime and deceit.
Also, it should be noted that though Nick was in a sanitarium, he wasn't "crazy." He was diagnosed with things such as anxiety and depression.
Fitzgerald scholars and fans of The Great Gatsby frequently interpret Nick Carraway as being gay or bisexual. Many queer interpretations of Nick's character hinge on a scene at the end of Chapter 2, in which an elevator lever is used as a phallic symbol.
He sees both the extraordinary quality of hope that Gatsby possesses and his idealistic dream of loving Daisy in a perfect world. Though Nick recognizes Gatsby's flaws the first time he meets him, he cannot help but admire Gatsby's brilliant smile, his romantic idealization of Daisy, and his yearning for the future.
This is at the very end of the novel. Of the late Gatsby, Tom says, “That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust in your eyes just like he did in Daisy's….” And that's why it matters that Nick is gay and in love with Gatsby: because Tom's assessment is spot-on, but Nick will never admit it.
In the passage, as you can see, Fitzgerald makes a flamboyant phallic pun ("Keep your hands off the lever" indeed), and then shows us McKee and Nick virtually in bed together. Many people skim over that scene—as I did more than once. But once it's been pointed out, it's difficult to see it as anything but post-coital.
Relationship 1: Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. The relationship at the very heart of The Great Gatsby is, of course, Gatsby and Daisy, or more specifically, Gatsby's tragic love of (or obsession with) Daisy, a love that drives the novel's plot.
The Great Gatsby displays various aspects of feminist philosophy by reflecting opposing principles of society's model through very different female characters. By using a range of characters who respond to the figure of the New Woman, the novel shows how difficult it was to defy the norms of the time.
In The Great Gatsby, three versions of New Women are portrayed in Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker and Myrtle Wilson. These female characters are portrayed differently but they all violate the norms of patriarchal society in certain ways.
Daisy is a beautiful, well-groomed young woman whose only real outward sign of her illness is being reclusive and unwilling to socialize. However, she suffers from severe obsessive compulsive disorder and a laxative addiction, and is also deeply traumatized from a lifetime of abuse at the hands of her father.
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Daisy makes several attempts to retrieve attention. Even at Gatsby's parties, she seems to single herself out and make it all about her.
Scott. Fitzgerald's famous novel The Great Gatsby starts with the story of the narrator, Nick. Nick Carraway, a World War I veteran, underwent treatment at a mental hospital in December 1929. He tells his doctor about the most positive guy he's ever met, Jay Gatsby.
Although he may have befriended Nick Carraway genuinely, there is a high likelihood that he did it to get close to Daisy, which is exploiting Nick Carraway. Jay Gatsby suffers from bipolar disorder.
The film shows that Daisy visits the clinic annually from Thanksgiving to Christmas. However, the scene at her new home presents that she still suffers from Bulimia Nervosa and Persistent Depressive Disorder.
His death symbolizes the loss of his pursuit of a higher social class and his lost love of Daisy. Nick Carraway mourns the loss of his friend and his ties to the elite class. He abandons his dreams of wealth and status. Gatsby's death symbolically marks the end of the American dream.
The Great Gatsby was challenged and banned for a few reasons: sex, violence, adultery, and language. The affair between Daisy and Gatsby along with Nick's language regarding Jordan Baker make up most of the sex and adultery reasoning behind the challenging and banning of the book.
Gatsby is a clear embodiment of the American Dream: he was born poor and rose to achieve a higher wealth and social status. Nick explains, “[Gatsby's] parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people…
In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is considered an antihero. Students can create storyboards that track the protagonist's actions, and support categorizing him as an antihero. An antihero is a central character who lacks conventional attributes that would make them “good”.
The analyzes of the novel shows that it is through Daisy Buchanan's influence that Gatsby is transformed into the man we meet in the novel. It is Gatsby's longing for the American dream that will lead him into the arms of Daisy Buchanan, who symbolizes both wealth and social standing, a woman beyond Gatsby's reach.
Although Daisy may have loved Gatsby once, she does not love him more than the wealth, status, and freedom that she has with Tom.
Daisy isn't really talking about—or weeping over—the shirts from England. Her strong emotional reaction comes from the excitement of Gatsby having the proper wealth, and perhaps remorse over the complexity of the situation; he is finally a man she could marry, but she is already wed to Tom.
The first thing that attracted Gatsby was Daisy's wealth – her house in particular ('there was a ripe mystery about it'). This removes the idea that he was attracted to Daisy in herself. He was – and still is – attracted to the 'money' in her.
This inner conflict is symbolized throughout the book by Nick's romantic affair with Jordan Baker. He is attracted to her vivacity and her sophistication just as he is repelled by her dishonesty and her lack of consideration for other people.
While at a party in New York City, Nick goes off with Mr. McKee, eventually ending up in his bedroom. Readers are left to infer on their own, but it is obvious the two men had a sexual encounter. Readers are able to see Nick struggle with his sexuality throughout the entire novel.