Ambition In The Great Gatsby

Napoleon Bonaparte once said "Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them". This is an idea that is explored in both The Vendetta by Guy De Maupassant and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald through the characters of Ms. Saverini and
Jay Gatsby. Ms. Saverini is a widow who has just lost her only child, killed by Nicolas Ravolati. She swears a vendetta to kill Nicolas. Jay Gatsby is a man who becomes very rich through illegal means in order to be with Daisy, a girl he loves but cannot be with due to class differences. In both of these readings, the reader learns how one can be pushed by strong emotions to do things they …show more content…
Saverini both have strong ambitions that drive them to find any means to achieve their goal. Jay Gatsby in his ambition to be with Daisy, obtains a great deal of money through selling illegal alcohol. Tom because of his suspicion researches on Gatsby and finds this out, telling Daisy and the group:” He and Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (133). Here it is evident how far Jay is willing to go to become wealthy; especially risking the chance of being caught. To some extent Jay does achieve his goal of being with Daisy. However, this is short lived as Daisy learns how Jay became so wealthy. This reveals how far ambition may take an individual to achieve their goal. To continue, Ms. Saverini’s ambition drives her to train her dog to kill and actually kill someone. “For three months she trained the dog to this struggle, the conquest of a meal by fangs” (5). Ms. Saverini finds any means to achieve her vendetta against Nicolas. Even to train her belated son’s dog to kill, through the process of starving it of food. She goes to the extreme by dressing up as a man, bargains with a fisher man to cross the straits, found Nicolas in his home and kills him in broad day light. This displays how little Ms. Saverini cares about the consequences she may face if she is caught. In comparison both Jay Gatsby and Ms. Saverini use immoral methods to achieve their goals. Jay Gatsby became involved in selling illegal alcohol in order to become very wealthy to be with Daisy. Ms. Saverini kills Nicolas to avenge her dead son and to have peace. Both of these character use immoral means in order to accomplish personal goals. There are ways to complete these goals morally. However, they don’t have the opportunity to do so, so they have strong ambitions that lead them to find their own

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