What Does Identity Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
Beneath the Mask
“How strange or odd some'er I bear myself
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on—
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake…
That you know aught of me: this not to do,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear” (I, v, 169-174, 179-181)
In the dark guard tower of Elsinore, the young Prince Hamlet discovers the truth that his father, King Hamlet, has been poisoned by the King’s brother Claudius. The King’s ghost reveals this truth and beseeches Hamlet to avenge his unjust murder. A deluge of sadness, fury, and animosity falls upon Hamlet. Amidst these overpowering emotions, the prince is able to plot his revenge, yet he knows that …show more content…
The quintessential American novel, The Great Gatsby, says, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself … he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 98). In this classic rags-to-riches tale, a poor young man sees what the world has to offer, and he does everything he can to have it all. He constructs a new identity, one that embodies wealth, class, and power. He acts like royalty and is treated appropriately. Gatsby constructs a version of himself that is mysterious, wealthy, and superior; this facade enables him to rise to an elevated stratum. Elsewhere in American literature, masking and deception are used in a more practical matter. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck pretends to be a young girl to avoid being turned in to the police. Naturally, he gets tangled up in this lie when the woman who is helping him says, “‘What did you say your name was, honey?’" ‘M—Mary Williams.’ ‘Honey, I thought you said it was Sarah when you first come in?’ ‘Oh, yes'm, I did. Sarah Mary Williams’" (Twain 66). To avoid capture and get the help he needs, Huckleberry Finn quite literally puts on the costume of a girl. He simply needs a place to hide and uses a disguise so that he can get what he
“How strange or odd some'er I bear myself
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on—
That you, at such times seeing me, never shall,
With arms encumber'd thus, or this head-shake…
That you know aught of me: this not to do,
So grace and mercy at your most need help you,
Swear” (I, v, 169-174, 179-181)
In the dark guard tower of Elsinore, the young Prince Hamlet discovers the truth that his father, King Hamlet, has been poisoned by the King’s brother Claudius. The King’s ghost reveals this truth and beseeches Hamlet to avenge his unjust murder. A deluge of sadness, fury, and animosity falls upon Hamlet. Amidst these overpowering emotions, the prince is able to plot his revenge, yet he knows that …show more content…
The quintessential American novel, The Great Gatsby, says, “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself … he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 98). In this classic rags-to-riches tale, a poor young man sees what the world has to offer, and he does everything he can to have it all. He constructs a new identity, one that embodies wealth, class, and power. He acts like royalty and is treated appropriately. Gatsby constructs a version of himself that is mysterious, wealthy, and superior; this facade enables him to rise to an elevated stratum. Elsewhere in American literature, masking and deception are used in a more practical matter. In Huckleberry Finn, Huck pretends to be a young girl to avoid being turned in to the police. Naturally, he gets tangled up in this lie when the woman who is helping him says, “‘What did you say your name was, honey?’" ‘M—Mary Williams.’ ‘Honey, I thought you said it was Sarah when you first come in?’ ‘Oh, yes'm, I did. Sarah Mary Williams’" (Twain 66). To avoid capture and get the help he needs, Huckleberry Finn quite literally puts on the costume of a girl. He simply needs a place to hide and uses a disguise so that he can get what he