Examples Of Betrayal In The Great Gatsby
Bryson Wester
A P Lang & Comp
19 March, 2014
Mr. Corey Albert
Dante’s Representation on the severity of Betrayals as Seen Throughout Modern Literature.
Dante’s view on betrayal is fundamentally identical to today’s standards. While he views betrayal as the worst sin, and most countries today have policies that enforce the death penalty for treason, the Latin saying “Mors Ante Infamiam” or “Death before Dishonor” means to rather die than to dishonor your country, a belief that Dante must have shared judging by his placement of Brutus and Casius in the fourth ring of the ninth circle Cocytus with Judas Iscariot in Satan’s mouths. Even though The Divine Comedy predates Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the tale of the betrayal of the Emperor of Rome was notorious enough for commoners to be knowledgeable of it, allowing Dante to reference it and remind the public to be good citizens and not to assassinate the head of the Italian government(even if he does sleep with prostitutes). …show more content…
There are many different types of betrayal portrayed in F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. From adultery and gossip to the American dream and jealousy, betrayal is the underlying if not main theme to the entire novel. Let’s start with adultery; it is clear from the start of the book that Daisy’s husband, Tom is cheating on her. With his history of being a football superstar combined with the fact that their marriage was unstable made perfect conditions for acts of adultery in his and her cases. Daisy only cheats on Tom after she finds Gatsby is alive through her cousin Nick Carraway and only because she is knowledgeable of her husband’s betrayal with Myrtle Wilson who is cheating on her husband George with
Tom.
Now for Gossip; While in the case of Gatsby the gossip is not meant to be negative towards him it is a small betrayal none the less. Gossip is the exchanging of false or stretched truths willingly without question like they are the whole truth. This is primarily found in Gatsby’s party guests who make their own truths and spread them without permission or regard for Gatsby at all. Although small, gossip is a betrayal in its own right and should be kept to yourself or between you and the party who is the subject of the gossip.
When you dig deep into its meaning, jealousy, in a certain context, is betrayal. To be jealous of someone, especially someone who is charming or flirting with a loved one, is a betrayal of the said loved one. Generally speaking, when you are jealous, it says you don’t trust that person to be alone with the person you are jealous of. And to not trust someone is a betrayal all its own.
In a way, the “American Dream” is a betrayal to the people leaving their homes to chase The Dream. The Dream is a dream yes, but is presented as a sure thing. The dream is to come to America and make it big; now that’s all fine and dandy, but when someone packs up and moves out, they are full of the dream, but when they get here they find life is the same if not worse than it was home; and they feel betrayed. That does not mean that the possibility is nonexistent, but it is a slim margin of people who make it big without having the money for it first.
The betrayal of Holden Caulfield is mostly psychological and thought up by Holden himself to explain why his mind works the way it does. He feels betrayed by everyone in his surroundings except for his sister Phoebe, and his brother Allie. Neither of which have been given the chance to betray him due to Phoebe’s youth and seldom interaction, and Allie’s premature death. Due to his psychological state, Holden feels betrayed by the members of society; however, the betrayal is only to himself for allowing his resentment to spread to everyone and not allowing himself true interaction without feeling judgmental of who he is with or feeling judged himself.
Throughout the book Holden talks about everyone being “Phony” when the true phony is him for believing it. Holden is a self pitying teen who enjoys drinking, smoking and sex, though he is an admitted virgin, and is notorious for getting flunked out of every school he ever attended. When he lost his brother Allie he was very young and it obviously traumatized him enough to cause psychological damage which wasn’t helped by the fact he almost watched one of his friends jump out of a fifth story window to his death not long after he lost his brother to leukemia in 1946 when he was 13. The need for mental help was apparent early in the book when he chose to go it alone in the city rather than go home; all the while smoking, drinking and staying hidden from friends and family. Another clue is his obsession with his friend Jane Gallagher whom he attempts to call and chickens out at the last second to avoid the embarrassment.
The modern world showed its true beliefs on betrayal in the summer of 1953 when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on 19 June, 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage. The Rosenberg’s were not the only conspirators caught and convicted but they were the only ones executed. The other four caught offered confessions and got off with a max sentence of 30 years. The names of the other conspirators were Ethel’s brother David Greenglass, who confessed to giving papers to Julius on Los Alamos and served 10 years of a 15 year sentence. Harry Gold identified Greenglass served a full 15 year sentence. The third was German scientist Klaus Fuchs served 9 years and 4 months. The last was Morton Sobell, who confessed to being a spy in 2008 and served 17 years and 9 months of his 30 year sentence after he was tried with the Rosenberg’s in the 50’s.
The portrayal of betrayal is still self evident in present day culture, represented by the recent sprees of trails and executions around the world, not just in the primarily Christian culture. Treason is fundamentally considered a severe act of betrayal against one’s country, much of which occurs through the modern media mediums. Repeated occurrences include the scandalous Wikileaks.org, a website purely dedicated to the cause of spreading countries’ secrets to the population and allow them to become informed. Holding true to the tradition of Dante Alighieri, this act is the most dishonorable, and will likely result in a life sentence, or execution.
A great example of these consequences is the conviction of WikiLeaks.org informant, Bradley Manning. Manning, a 26 year old Army veteran who was reduced in rank to Private E1, forced to forfeit pay and will be dishonorably discharged following his release of his sentence to 35 years in military prison. This sentence followed the leaking of 700,000 highly classified documents and videos by Manning to WikiLeaks.org. This sentence is the longest ever given to a government leaker and followed a protracted 3 year investigation that was ended in less than two minutes on Wednesday 21 August, 2013. Manning was arrested on base while stationed in Iraq in May 2010.
The epitome of betrayal in literature is shown in Shakespeare’s historical play, Julius Caesar. In the play, Caesar is assassinated by his own senate who are led by Cassius in an attempt to gain power over the Roman Empire. His misled co-conspirator, Brutus, is tricked by Cassius into believing that Caesar has to die for the good of the public. In the case of Brutus, betrayal is a necessary evil, while in the case of Cassius; betrayal is the means to gain power. The view of betrayal in Julius Caesar contrasts to the views in Dante’s Inferno entirely.
In Dante’s Inferno betrayal is the worst sin you could commit over even murder and suicide. In Julius Caesar, however, betrayal is seen as ok as long as it is justified. The weight of Brutus’ and Cassius’ betrayal of Caesar in Dante’s eyes is made apparent in the last canto of the inferno where Brutus and Cassius are held in two of Satan’s three mouths along with Judas Iscariot, where they are forever ripped apart but never killed which seems like a fitting sentence for Cassius but maybe too harsh for Brutus if the play is to be trusted for historical accuracy. Dante likely placed Brutus and Cassius in the mouths of Satan because next to Judas, these were the biggest know traitors at the time. As Shakespeare’s work is not entirely historically accurate, it is likely they were only romanticized through the play, and were actually quite devious in their planning and literal execution, thus deeming them worthy of having the devil gnaw their torsos off, hopefully while his breath stunk of pickled herring.
Works Cited
Goodreads “Popular AP Reading List Books”2014 https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ap-reading-list Web. 16 March, 2014
Jull, Amanda “Betrayal in the Great Gatsby” 17 June, 2013 http://prezi.com/bq2blnfvndzl/betrayal-in-the-great-gatsby/ Web. 16 March, 2014
Shakespeare, William “The life and Death of Julius Caesar” 1599 http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.html Web. 16 March, 2014
CITR-Holden “Betrayal” 2014 http://citr-holden.wikispaces.com/Betrayal Web. 16 March, 2014
Fitzgerald, F. Scott “The great Gatsby”10 April, 1925 Scribner Classics, Book. 16 March, 2014
Lewis, Paul “Bradley Manning given 35-year prison term for passing files to WikiLeaks”21 August, 2013 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/bradley-manning-35-years-prison-wikileaks-sentence Web. 18 March, 2014
Various “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg”17 March, 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg Web. 19 March, 2014
Word count: 1585
A P Lang & Comp
19 March, 2014
Mr. Corey Albert
Dante’s Representation on the severity of Betrayals as Seen Throughout Modern Literature.
Dante’s view on betrayal is fundamentally identical to today’s standards. While he views betrayal as the worst sin, and most countries today have policies that enforce the death penalty for treason, the Latin saying “Mors Ante Infamiam” or “Death before Dishonor” means to rather die than to dishonor your country, a belief that Dante must have shared judging by his placement of Brutus and Casius in the fourth ring of the ninth circle Cocytus with Judas Iscariot in Satan’s mouths. Even though The Divine Comedy predates Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, the tale of the betrayal of the Emperor of Rome was notorious enough for commoners to be knowledgeable of it, allowing Dante to reference it and remind the public to be good citizens and not to assassinate the head of the Italian government(even if he does sleep with prostitutes). …show more content…
There are many different types of betrayal portrayed in F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. From adultery and gossip to the American dream and jealousy, betrayal is the underlying if not main theme to the entire novel. Let’s start with adultery; it is clear from the start of the book that Daisy’s husband, Tom is cheating on her. With his history of being a football superstar combined with the fact that their marriage was unstable made perfect conditions for acts of adultery in his and her cases. Daisy only cheats on Tom after she finds Gatsby is alive through her cousin Nick Carraway and only because she is knowledgeable of her husband’s betrayal with Myrtle Wilson who is cheating on her husband George with
Tom.
Now for Gossip; While in the case of Gatsby the gossip is not meant to be negative towards him it is a small betrayal none the less. Gossip is the exchanging of false or stretched truths willingly without question like they are the whole truth. This is primarily found in Gatsby’s party guests who make their own truths and spread them without permission or regard for Gatsby at all. Although small, gossip is a betrayal in its own right and should be kept to yourself or between you and the party who is the subject of the gossip.
When you dig deep into its meaning, jealousy, in a certain context, is betrayal. To be jealous of someone, especially someone who is charming or flirting with a loved one, is a betrayal of the said loved one. Generally speaking, when you are jealous, it says you don’t trust that person to be alone with the person you are jealous of. And to not trust someone is a betrayal all its own.
In a way, the “American Dream” is a betrayal to the people leaving their homes to chase The Dream. The Dream is a dream yes, but is presented as a sure thing. The dream is to come to America and make it big; now that’s all fine and dandy, but when someone packs up and moves out, they are full of the dream, but when they get here they find life is the same if not worse than it was home; and they feel betrayed. That does not mean that the possibility is nonexistent, but it is a slim margin of people who make it big without having the money for it first.
The betrayal of Holden Caulfield is mostly psychological and thought up by Holden himself to explain why his mind works the way it does. He feels betrayed by everyone in his surroundings except for his sister Phoebe, and his brother Allie. Neither of which have been given the chance to betray him due to Phoebe’s youth and seldom interaction, and Allie’s premature death. Due to his psychological state, Holden feels betrayed by the members of society; however, the betrayal is only to himself for allowing his resentment to spread to everyone and not allowing himself true interaction without feeling judgmental of who he is with or feeling judged himself.
Throughout the book Holden talks about everyone being “Phony” when the true phony is him for believing it. Holden is a self pitying teen who enjoys drinking, smoking and sex, though he is an admitted virgin, and is notorious for getting flunked out of every school he ever attended. When he lost his brother Allie he was very young and it obviously traumatized him enough to cause psychological damage which wasn’t helped by the fact he almost watched one of his friends jump out of a fifth story window to his death not long after he lost his brother to leukemia in 1946 when he was 13. The need for mental help was apparent early in the book when he chose to go it alone in the city rather than go home; all the while smoking, drinking and staying hidden from friends and family. Another clue is his obsession with his friend Jane Gallagher whom he attempts to call and chickens out at the last second to avoid the embarrassment.
The modern world showed its true beliefs on betrayal in the summer of 1953 when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on 19 June, 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage. The Rosenberg’s were not the only conspirators caught and convicted but they were the only ones executed. The other four caught offered confessions and got off with a max sentence of 30 years. The names of the other conspirators were Ethel’s brother David Greenglass, who confessed to giving papers to Julius on Los Alamos and served 10 years of a 15 year sentence. Harry Gold identified Greenglass served a full 15 year sentence. The third was German scientist Klaus Fuchs served 9 years and 4 months. The last was Morton Sobell, who confessed to being a spy in 2008 and served 17 years and 9 months of his 30 year sentence after he was tried with the Rosenberg’s in the 50’s.
The portrayal of betrayal is still self evident in present day culture, represented by the recent sprees of trails and executions around the world, not just in the primarily Christian culture. Treason is fundamentally considered a severe act of betrayal against one’s country, much of which occurs through the modern media mediums. Repeated occurrences include the scandalous Wikileaks.org, a website purely dedicated to the cause of spreading countries’ secrets to the population and allow them to become informed. Holding true to the tradition of Dante Alighieri, this act is the most dishonorable, and will likely result in a life sentence, or execution.
A great example of these consequences is the conviction of WikiLeaks.org informant, Bradley Manning. Manning, a 26 year old Army veteran who was reduced in rank to Private E1, forced to forfeit pay and will be dishonorably discharged following his release of his sentence to 35 years in military prison. This sentence followed the leaking of 700,000 highly classified documents and videos by Manning to WikiLeaks.org. This sentence is the longest ever given to a government leaker and followed a protracted 3 year investigation that was ended in less than two minutes on Wednesday 21 August, 2013. Manning was arrested on base while stationed in Iraq in May 2010.
The epitome of betrayal in literature is shown in Shakespeare’s historical play, Julius Caesar. In the play, Caesar is assassinated by his own senate who are led by Cassius in an attempt to gain power over the Roman Empire. His misled co-conspirator, Brutus, is tricked by Cassius into believing that Caesar has to die for the good of the public. In the case of Brutus, betrayal is a necessary evil, while in the case of Cassius; betrayal is the means to gain power. The view of betrayal in Julius Caesar contrasts to the views in Dante’s Inferno entirely.
In Dante’s Inferno betrayal is the worst sin you could commit over even murder and suicide. In Julius Caesar, however, betrayal is seen as ok as long as it is justified. The weight of Brutus’ and Cassius’ betrayal of Caesar in Dante’s eyes is made apparent in the last canto of the inferno where Brutus and Cassius are held in two of Satan’s three mouths along with Judas Iscariot, where they are forever ripped apart but never killed which seems like a fitting sentence for Cassius but maybe too harsh for Brutus if the play is to be trusted for historical accuracy. Dante likely placed Brutus and Cassius in the mouths of Satan because next to Judas, these were the biggest know traitors at the time. As Shakespeare’s work is not entirely historically accurate, it is likely they were only romanticized through the play, and were actually quite devious in their planning and literal execution, thus deeming them worthy of having the devil gnaw their torsos off, hopefully while his breath stunk of pickled herring.
Works Cited
Goodreads “Popular AP Reading List Books”2014 https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ap-reading-list Web. 16 March, 2014
Jull, Amanda “Betrayal in the Great Gatsby” 17 June, 2013 http://prezi.com/bq2blnfvndzl/betrayal-in-the-great-gatsby/ Web. 16 March, 2014
Shakespeare, William “The life and Death of Julius Caesar” 1599 http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.html Web. 16 March, 2014
CITR-Holden “Betrayal” 2014 http://citr-holden.wikispaces.com/Betrayal Web. 16 March, 2014
Fitzgerald, F. Scott “The great Gatsby”10 April, 1925 Scribner Classics, Book. 16 March, 2014
Lewis, Paul “Bradley Manning given 35-year prison term for passing files to WikiLeaks”21 August, 2013 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/bradley-manning-35-years-prison-wikileaks-sentence Web. 18 March, 2014
Various “Julius and Ethel Rosenberg”17 March, 2014 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg Web. 19 March, 2014
Word count: 1585