The Great Gatsby Naivete Analysis

The Illusion of Gatsby:
A Study of Naivete and Corruption in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
Although Jay Gatsby is understood to be “great” in the title of the novel, he ultimately represents this in an ironic sense, as he portrays a deceitful image and is tainted by his own naivete.
Gatsby is a man who strives for the great American Dream, often associated with the notion that money equals happiness, however, to attain this wealth and image, he puts on a facade of greatness. There is an image surrounding Gatsby, as people claim that he has “killed a man,” or that he was “a German spy during the war” (Fitzgerald 44). Gatsby’s trail of deceit begins with these rumours, as he seems uninterested in resolving the rumours surrounding him.

It reveals how Gatsby uses his words to manipulate Nick by appearing accommodating. The repetition of “I don’t want to put you to any trouble” is completely intentional by Fitzgerald and Gatsby as a character. Gatsby’s willingness to use his friend for his own benefit whilst perceiving to be genuine is a direct testament to his cunningness. He himself cannot be great when who he is, is a deception; his reality is a desperate man chasing after an impossible love and deceiving others whilst he does

Gatsby has always wanted to provide Daisy with “a sense of security,” and convince her that “he was a perfection much as the same stratum as herself” (Fitzgerald 149). This is where Gatsby goes wrong because he perceives himself to be something that he is not; the “old money” stature that both Tom and Daisy are. Gatsby belongs to the “new money” group, which consists of individuals who have recently acquired wealth and live in West Egg. Gatsby has the means to make himself great, and he has the wealth of what society considers great, but his refusal to let go of the past causes him to be blind to Daisy’s true character. Both Tom and Daisy’s inherited wealth secures them into a prestigious society, one that they both value and want to stay apart of. Gatsby, on the other hand, does things such as throw extravagant parties because he “half expected [Daisy] to wander into one,” however, this proves his limited understanding of her (Fitzgerald 79). He is naive to the fact that money and other materialistic possessions cannot always buy love; image is most important to Daisy. She wants to attain the status associated with Tom, rather than be surrounded by “new money” people. When Daisy and Tom attend one of Gatsby’s parties, Daisy indicates she “was appalled by West Egg . . . by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to