The posture of his arms outspread is an image of Christ on the cross trembling from the pain of those who He is trying to save (Quieto 1). .
In Gatsby's case, he is trying to save Daisy from her husband, Tom. The neglect that Daisy feels is overwhelming. At some parts she sounds as though her whole life is tragically falling apart and there is no way to reclaim her life. Gatsby tries to save her from her distressful life but unlike Christ his reasons are merely selfish. His motives are based purely on lust, pride, or on his own happiness. These intentions become apparent in the scene that Gatsby pressures Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him. His pride will not settle for only her present love but must also have her complete love. Gatsby demands that she deny having ever loved her husband. When she can not truthfully admit that she did not always love only him his world is momentary thrown into chaos. When Daisy discovers that Gatsby is indeed a bootlegger she draws further away from him. Everything that he worked for was lost because he was only thinking of himself; "he began to talk excitedly to Daisy, denying everything, defending his name against accusations that had not been made. But with every word she was drawing further and further into herself, so he gave that up and only dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible struggling unhappily, undespairingly toward that lost voice across the room" (Fitzgerald 142). The confrontation shows the readers Gatsby's total greed for Daisy's love. Never would a Christ figure act out of greed or lust because this goes against the true nature of God.
Also going against the Christ figure, Gatsby has a record of dealing with shady people. It is rumored that he was a spy in past wars and that now he is making his fortune through bootlegging. His relationship with Wolfshiem only furthers the reality of Gatsby's involvement with illegal activities.