The Great Gatsby: Jay Gatsby is A Pathetic Character Pathetic is a term used to describe someone who is pitifully unsuccessful. Success is not necessarily measured in wealth or fame, but it is measured by how much one has accomplished in life. A successful person is one who has set many goals for himself and then goes out in life and accomplishes some of them, but goes on living even if failing on others. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a pathetic character because he wasted his whole life chasing an unrealistic dream. Gatsby's dream is unrealistic because "it depends for its s