Fools In The Great Gatsby

“Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with, that it is compounding a felony” (Robert Benchley). The average person does not always make smart decisions, and alcohol tends to worsen that issue. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, many characters cope with their problems by drinking their lives away. But, what they do not realize, is that drinking makes their problems worse and makes their behavior portray them as unintelligent. Through the poor decisions made at social events, Fitzgerald conveys his agreement that drinking makes people more of a fool than they already are.
After drinking at Myrtle’s apartment, guests’ became unstable, disoriented, and lost judgement. Everybody was confused and lost by the end of the party. After losing focus due to being drunk, “People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away”
(Fitzgerald 37). At the party, everyone became careless and drank until they were unable to anymore. They became unstable and unaware of their surroundings, which made them forgetful. While drinking, Tom lost his sense of judgement when “Making a short deft movement, [he] broke her nose with his open hand” (Fitzgerald 37). Tom was known for having more abusive behavior towards Myrtle since she was only there for convenience. But while drunk, he lost all control when he put his hands on her in front of others. While sober, he may have gotten angry, but he never would have hit her. Being forgetful and making irrational decisions while drinking affected their whole lives without them even knowing.
At the luncheon in the hotel, the visitors become very annoyed and were being irrational after having a couple of drinks. While leaving the luncheon, Nick explains, “We were all irritable now with the fading ale, and aware of it we drove for a while” (Fitzgerald 122). Their decision to drink before driving conveys how alcohol clouds their judgement. They were all acting irrational and making decisions they would not normally make. Fitzgerald exhibits the effects they all experience when they continue to make the wrong decisions. While drunk and more delusional than ever, Gatsby argues with Tom about his and Daisy’s love affair: “No, we couldn’t meet. But both of us loved each other all that time, old sport, and you didn’t know. I used to laugh sometimes [...]” (Fitzgerald 131). The alcohol made Gatsby spill all of his obsessive thoughts about Daisy proving that he was still in denial. The fact that he is still attached to her is unhealthy. Now that he is drunk, his obsession is being made public which hurts him. Getting drunk, having their judgement clouded, and spilling secrets will ultimately ruin them.
At Gatsby’s parties, drinking leads people to irregular behavior, deplorable decision making, and loss of focus.
After getting drunk, Owl Eyes crashes his car, and afterwards he “stood in the middle of the road, looking from the car to the tire and from the tire to the observers in a pleasant, puzzled way” (Fitzgerald 53). At the party, he made the poor decision to drive, which really could have hurt him and others. While trying to leave, he was so drunk that he crashed and had no clue what was going on. At Gatsby’s party, everyone’s judgement was clouded and they became irritable, so “Most of the remaining women were now having fights with men said to be their husbands” (Fitzgerald 51). Usually, people do not want to fight in public, and they want to be seen as classy and presentable. But while drinking, their judgement was not the same, and they started arguing and saying things they did not mean. Under the influence, visitors at the parties are unaware of the harm they are doing to themselves and to
others.
Undoubtedly, F. Scott Fitzgerald would agree with Robert Benchley’s statement that humans do not always make the best decisions, and alcohol amplifies that. The social events where all the characters are violent, argumentative, and disoriented highlight the fact that drinking clouds judgement. A lot of the characters made poor decisions that ruined them by the end of the novel. Many people do not realize the effects of drinking and how it can harm lives. Alcohol causes us to have bad judgement and only hurts us in the end. Getting drunk all the time and relying on alcohol creates an unhealthy lifestyle and leaves negative effects.