Gatsby: The Great Gatsby and Gatsby Essay

Danielle Gromet
Mr. Brobeck
English 11 (3)
22 April 2013
Lies and Deceit Frederick Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby portrays a rich man who obsesses over the love of his past and as a result ends his life. Lies and deceit take a major role during the novel, the biggest lie of them all being Mr. Jay Gatsby himself. All humans are innately dishonest and superficial which reveals the characters true disposition and as a result leads to discontent and in Gatsbys case, death. Frederick uses Symbolism, Characterization, and Diction to reveal the characters true identities. Frederick uses many symbols to demonstrate Gatsbys built up image of himself because of his obsession of trying to be with Daisy. Gatsby moved into his enormous mansion in West Egg to be across the bay from Daisy so he could see the green light on her dock. Gatsby really over does his mansion to impress Daisy. Gatsbys neighbor, Nick, explains, “a crop of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsbys enormous garden.”(39). Gatsbys mansion and all of its accessories symbolizes his fake character and made up lifestyle that he lives just for Daisy. Gatsby is so caught up in trying to stand out to Daisy; he loses his true self in his ridiculous, over done mansion. When Jordan and Nick attend Gatsbys party, they run into a man named Owl Eyes in the library. He appears astonished by Gatsbys books and how they are “absolutely real.”(46). Owl eyes states that Gatsby “didn’t cut the pages.”(46). Gatsbys “real” books express that Gatsby is a fraud. The fact that Gatsby did not cut the pages means he did not even read the books. He wants to appear to everyone as a well-educated man, an Oxford man, when in fact he isn’t. Frederick uses the word yellow repeatedly throughout the novel to symbolize fake things. On weekends Gatsbys car “scampered like a brisk yellow bug.”(39). Yellow symbolizes fake gold and Gatsbys fake wealth. Gatsby considers Daisy his “golden girl”, and Frederick overuses the word yellow to express how everything Gatsby has is a fake gold. Fitzgerald uses characterization to reveal characters dishonesty and deceitfulness. Daisy appears to always be wearing white or associated with white. The windows in her house were “gleaming white.”(9). White affiliates with purity, cleanliness, and honesty. Frederick associates her with white to create irony. Daisy sneaks around and cheats on Tom and if anything is not pure. Tom also exposes dishonesty in the novel. Tom has an affair with Myrtle Wilson and sneaks off with her in her apartment in the beginning of the novel. Tom drags along Nick and introduces him to Myrtles sister, Catherine. Myrtles sister makes comments about how Myrtle and Tom are both unhappy with their marriages. Catherine then states that Daisy is “ a Catholic, and they don’t believe in divorce.”(34). This is a false statement and Tom knows it but he does not say anything about it and he leaves the lie alone rather then clarifying the truth. Although Nick considers himself “one of the few honest people”(60) he has ever known, he doesn’t appear this way. In the beginning he says he is “inclined to reserve all judgments”(1). However, throughout the novel he seems to always be judging everybody. Throughout the novel diction unveils the theme of lies and deceit. In the beginning of the novel, Gatsby appears mysterious and obscure to all of his guests. They all exchange rumors of him that he is a German spy, a murder, or even a bootlegger. Nick explains how “there were whispers about him from those who had found little to whisper about in the

Show More