Examples Of Deception In The Great Gatsby

Masks of Deception The Great Gatsby, written by Scott F. Fitzgerald, portrays the life of a man who is created by one person’s desired image. This man, James Gats, has created an alternative version of himself that meets the standards of a woman he is in love with; Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald’s purpose in displaying these characters is to show that a person may change everything about them in order to meet the standards of someone or something else. Fitzgerald conveys the effects of these characters through themes and symbols. Jay Gatsby, who was once James Gats, is a character created by James Gats in order to please Daisy Buchanan. Daisy is intrigued by wealthy men, and Gatsby was not one of them. Fitzgerald attempts to exhibit how

One can relate Gatsby’s unhappiness to the fact that he is wearing a “mask”. This connection can be made through a poem written by Paul Laurence Dunbar that states, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes” (Source B). Gatsby’s new image “grins and lies” by masking his unhappiness. His unhappiness resulted from not being with Daisy, so by putting on a mask of lies, he seems to be a new person with a stronger likelihood of being with Daisy. This connects to the theme of deceit in relationships. Gatsby can never truly be happy without Daisy, which forces him to lie by basically not being who he says he is. The deceit and lies lead to an even more immense issue overall. It can be said that one should not change their true self in order to achieve a well-desired dream, and for Gatsby, that dream is Daisy. The deceit

One extremely evident symbol in the novel is the valley of ashes. It represents the lack of morals and deteriorating selflessness. These representations have resulted from the overwhelming desire for wealth and having money as an only source of happiness. Daisy is a clear example of this, as she refuses to marry Gatsby because of how poor he was before he obtained such wealth. Therefore, it lead to Gatsby becoming someone he is not and masking his true identity. As Gatsby’s true character fades away and he too is consumed by the desire for wealth, one can make a connection to a line from “The Hollow Men” ,by T.S. Elliot, in which Elliot states, “And voices are In the wind's singing More distant and more solemn Than a fading star.” (Source C). The “voices” can represent the characters in The Great Gatsby who are hiding their true selves and have become obsessed with wealth. The characters can also be related to being “distant” because they are hidden under a lie; the lie being the person they want to believe they are. This quote can also indirectly be related to the Valley of Ashes. “The Hollow Men” that are described in Elliot’s poem are the wealthy, and the Valley of Ashes is the desert that “The Hollow Men” walk among. Another symbol that Fitzgerald suggests are the eyes of doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The eyes are suggested to be