Illusion And Reality In The Great Gatsby

There are various passages regarding the effects of characters struggling with illusion and reality. As Nick and Gatsby are driving, Gatsby tells Nick all about his worldly lifestyle and about all of his accomplishments, such as being educated at Oxford and receiving a war decoration from “every Allied government - even Montenegro, little Montenegro down on the Adriatic Sea!” (Fitzgerald). Gatsby also describes how he “lived like a young rajah in all the capitals of Europe — Paris, Venice, Rome — collecting jewels, chiefly rubies, hunting big game, painting a little” (Fitzgerald). Nick believes Gatsby to be lying; he thinks that all of his accomplishments and experiences sound too outrageous to be true. However, Gatsby proves that what he is saying is true by presenting Gatsby with the war decoration from Montenegro and a photograph of him with his cricket team at Oxford. Although Nick thinks that Gatsby is exaggerating and lying at first, Nick then believes all of Gatsby’s stories and starts to trust Gatsby a bit more.

Gatsby is in love with Daisy, and bought his mansion across the bay from hers and throws these extravagant and large parties as a way to capture her attention. Gatsby has been trying to get into contact with Daisy for quite a bit of time, all without her knowledge. Although Gatsby wishes to be with Daisy, she is married to Tom and so far has expressed no desire to end her marriage, despite how badly Tom treats her. Gatsby enlists the help of Jordan Baker and Nick as a way to reunite him and Daisy.

Characters also struggle with illusion and reality when they spread rumors about how Gatsby killed a man. These rumors make Gatsby appear as a dangerous person who is not to be messed with. Although those who spread the rumors still attend his parties, these people do not want to get on Gatsby’s dark side; they are intimidated by