Mental Health Issues in the Great Gatsby

The book The Great Gatsby by f. Scott Fitzgerald is a book that is famous for many reasons. Firstly, we know that it's famous because it is still being used in the educational system of today. I believe this book is still being read today because of the lasting impact that resonates with the reader. Personally, I can relate to this book through the character jay Gatsby. Throughout The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I believe that Jay Gatsby is described to try really hard to make others happy, his failing to do so is what eventually leads to his depression. His depression and lack of guidance through his life is what indirectly leads to his death.

In this book Gatsby tries hard to please and make Daisy happy. Throughout the book he does whatever he can do in his power to get her to like him. When Gatsby first meets Daisy she is really fond of him because he was being himself. Once Gatsby goes away for war, he loses sight of who Daisy is and who he actually is. The longer Gatsby is away, the more his perception of Daisy and their relationship gets further distorted. When Gatsby finally gets a chance to be with Daisy again, he realizes how different his idea of her has changed and over projected their relationship to be. Since Daisy, in the beginning, actually liked Gatsby for who he was and now Gatsby has turned lonely. The only thing Gatsby can think of to make Daisy happy is wealth. He believes if he can have a lot of money, this will win her back and restore their relationship as it was five years prior. as a result of this, Gatsby is desperate to obtain a lot of money. This is why he ends up having to turn to smuggling to try to acquire money. Smuggling does give Gatsby the money that he hopes for, but it is not enough for Daisy to like him again.
This is quite similar to how I view our society today. The people in which I have a close connection/relationship to are always trying to make others happy.

In the book, Gatsby works very hard to get Daisy's approval/trying to make her happy. He is not successful in doing this. Many people, in my opinion, are often trying to get the attention/approval/praise that they seem hungry for. I honestly see this attitude as a thirst/hunger. Eating is a necessity and from what I've seen, the depth in which people will go to get the approval of others is substansial. If/when these people don't get the approval of others, much like Jay Gatsby, they get depressed. Once Gatsby got depressed about losing Daisy, he turned to money to try to make himself happy. Like many other people who are smuggling money seems to be the pathway to happiness, but as we found out with Mr. Gatsby money certainly does not buy happiness. after Gatsby realizes he lost Daisy for a second time, I believe that's the turning point of his depression, after Daisy is gone, he doesn't have another purpose in his life. All the time he had to spend in his life, he spent on trying to get Daisy to love him. Since he is unsuccessful, he believes he has no self worth and no real reason to live, so I believe his death was a direct result of this.

Mental health is a big topic of general interest in today's society, especially within the teen population. approximately 20% of teenagers experience or have experienced depression and its symptoms by the time they reach 20. This has a great effect on more than just that twenty percent of people. There are many people that have to help these people struggling with depression get through their struggles every day. I am personally not affected by depression, but I have several friends that turn to me when they need help. The idea of helping others through their struggles is one of the more prominent things that I think about on a daily basis.

I believe there are people my age that don't know the true causation of depression and truly don't comprehend what kind of effect depression has on people. Because of this people are underestimating the power depression has on people. I have personally felt the effects of depression through the loss of my brother's best friend. He took his own life because he felt like his voice was being unheard. This is not an uncommon thought through this age of injustice and political griping. This is an age where political candidates are more worried about exploiting every single blemish of someone's life, rather than the topics that actually concern the people that are voting for them such as mental health.

Although I'm not saying everyone isn't caring or understanding. But I have seen enough comments and sayings that I know that there is enough of a problem looming around this topic that there is something that needs to be done about mental health among the human population in general, but specifically the teenage population. If politicians and the general public focused more on stabilizing the overarching problem/epidemic of mental health issues, I believe the USA and the earth overall would be much better place.

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