The word “great” has many meanings – exceptional, eminent, grandiose, important, extraordinary, and noble – which vary depending on the speaker's intent and interpretation of the listener's speech. Someone might perceive something as great, while someone else might consider it awful. The greatness of a being is not determined by the individual, but by those around him who experience and perceive his greatness through actions and words. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator, Nick Carraway, believes that Gatsby is an exceptional person with a "splendid" personality. It is Nick's perceptions of Gatsby that encourage the reader to find him "awesome." Gatsby, through his actions, his dreams, and his heart, stands out from the "foul dust" and makes himself "worth the whole damn lot put together." Gatsby creates an illusion for others, as he manages to appear to be of a higher class than he actually is. He deceives "the spectators" around him by throwing extravagant parties that exude a sense of great wealth and stature. While the persona of Jay Gatsby himself is a masterful illusion, James Gatz, though a flawed character, is essentially fantastic. Gatsby is a man shrouded in a cloud of mystery. He has a large amount of money and some people speculate on how he got it. There are also several rumors circulating about him; some even say that Gatsby appears to have killed a person. Gatsby throws some of the most extravagant parties and anyone who is anyone must be seen at one of them. He never reveals anything about himself to people; however, he reveals his true nature to Nick, who explains Gatsby to us. According to Dan McCall, a professor at Cornell University, “The ti...... middle of paper...... man touches few people, but those he reaches, like Nick Carraway, he touches in lasting and meaningful ways . Works Cited Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner, 1996. Print.Hickey, Angela D. “The Great Gatsby.” Masterplots, fourth edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center Plus. Network. 20 April 2014. Levitt, Paul Michael. "THE GREAT GATSBY AND THE LADY WITH THE DOG." Explainer 70.3 (2012): 157-160. Academic research completed. Network. April 20, 2014. McCall, Dan. “On the Great Gatsby.” About the Great Gatsby. New Cornell University Student Reading Project, n.d. Web. April 17, 2014. “The Great Gatsby: Fitzgerald's Opulent Synthesis (1925).” Winding Road to West Egg: The Artistic Development of F. Scott Fitzgerald. 155-169. np: Associated University Presses, 1995. Literary Reference Center Plus. Network. 20 April. 2014.