Gatsby's Hubris

Well...Gatsby is dead.  I've reached page 162 of The Great Gatsby  by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the character who give the book it's name has died.  Now, I know this is certainly a tragic event, but I can't say that I didn't see it coming.  Fitzgerald included enough foreshadowing (which I mentioned in earlier blogs) to hint at a tragic ending, and near the end, Gatsby's death seems to be one of the only solutions that would make sense.  Therefore, I'm focusing on the character of Gatsby in this blog, primarily on his hubris, the one tragic flaw that caused him to reach such an end.  In my opinion, Gatsby's hubris is his love for Daisy.  Because of this obsession, he gave up his dreams of working his way to the top of the social pyramid, a feat which he certainly could have accomplished with his good looks, manners, logic, and reassuring smile.  Even after he gave up these dreams, he had the chance to return to them when Daisy married Tom.  However, he chose to spend five years chasing after her and plotting how to bring her back into his life.  As a result, he became involved in Tom's life, caused strife with him and was present at Myrtle's death as an indirect result.  Then, due to his love for Daisy, he decided to take the blame for Myrtle's death, forfeiting any chance if marrying her, making it impossible for him to be happy.  Mick said "He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn't bear to shake him free (148)."  Then, Wilson killed him because he thought that he had killed Myrtle.  If Gatsby hadn't been in love with Daisy, none of this would have happened.  I suppose you could also argue that Gatsby's hubris was actually his desire for riches and the social status that comes with them, since that is what caused his love for Daisy.  Either way, as Nick said on page 161, "He paid a high price for living too long with a single dream."