Theme Of Wit In The Great Gatsby
Gatsby Analytical Essay
F. Scott Fitzgerald presents many themes in this novel, The Great Gatsby. One of the themes is that a person’s lies and deceitful actions expose each person’s disposition. This theme is developed throughout the book by Fitzgerald implementing deceptive natures of characters in the time period 1920’s. The motif of cheating represents the shallow quality of the character’s lives, indicating the emptiness of the American Dream.
The first reference demonstrating the link between cheating and deceit is when “She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye” (Fitzgerald 26). Myrtle is flirting with Tom directly in front of her husband and reveals her …show more content…
boldness to cheat with no remorse. What’s even worse is that Mr. Wilson hasn’t caught on to Myrtles cheating and lies.
Gatsby frequently lies and deceives many people to cheat success throughout the book. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear”… “I’m the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now” (Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby blatantly lies to Nick about his family and his up comings.
His name isn’t Jay Gatsby, his family wasn’t wealthy, and all his family isn’t dead. This really shows Gatsby’s deceitful nature of hiding his true background of poverty and the unwillingness to control rumors circulated from people who don’t even know him.
Jordan baker instantly seemed like a cynical dishonest person when Nick laid eyes on her. She sat “completely motionless, with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall.”(Fitzgerald 8). Later on in the story it is revealed that there was a rumor “moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round” of golf to later on be a champion
(Fitzgerald57). The rumor then drifted away but the dishonesty of Jordan in day to day life still existed as she left a borrowed car “out in the rain and lied about it (Fitzgerald57). The dishonesty of the wealthy in The Great Gatsby really exposed how hollow the American dream really was back then.
The way how the characters continuously lie and flirt with quickness shows that the characters were truly careless and had no morals. Fitzgerald uses the motif of cheating as a way to depict the typical person by using their deceptive natures as a
tool.
F. Scott Fitzgerald presents many themes in this novel, The Great Gatsby. One of the themes is that a person’s lies and deceitful actions expose each person’s disposition. This theme is developed throughout the book by Fitzgerald implementing deceptive natures of characters in the time period 1920’s. The motif of cheating represents the shallow quality of the character’s lives, indicating the emptiness of the American Dream.
The first reference demonstrating the link between cheating and deceit is when “She smiled slowly and, walking through her husband as if he were a ghost, shook hands with Tom, looking him flush in the eye” (Fitzgerald 26). Myrtle is flirting with Tom directly in front of her husband and reveals her …show more content…
boldness to cheat with no remorse. What’s even worse is that Mr. Wilson hasn’t caught on to Myrtles cheating and lies.
Gatsby frequently lies and deceives many people to cheat success throughout the book. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear”… “I’m the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West – all dead now” (Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby blatantly lies to Nick about his family and his up comings.
His name isn’t Jay Gatsby, his family wasn’t wealthy, and all his family isn’t dead. This really shows Gatsby’s deceitful nature of hiding his true background of poverty and the unwillingness to control rumors circulated from people who don’t even know him.
Jordan baker instantly seemed like a cynical dishonest person when Nick laid eyes on her. She sat “completely motionless, with her chin raised a little, as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall.”(Fitzgerald 8). Later on in the story it is revealed that there was a rumor “moved her ball from a bad lie in the semi-final round” of golf to later on be a champion
(Fitzgerald57). The rumor then drifted away but the dishonesty of Jordan in day to day life still existed as she left a borrowed car “out in the rain and lied about it (Fitzgerald57). The dishonesty of the wealthy in The Great Gatsby really exposed how hollow the American dream really was back then.
The way how the characters continuously lie and flirt with quickness shows that the characters were truly careless and had no morals. Fitzgerald uses the motif of cheating as a way to depict the typical person by using their deceptive natures as a
tool.