Examples Of Illusionary Realities In The Great Gatsby

Throughout The Great Gatsby (1925), material possessions are shown to be empty of meaning as their perceived capacity for fulfilment is illusory, giving way to a meaningless reality. This holds significance in the 1920s as it symbolises the ineffectuality of the American Dream, represented through the unattainable illusionary realities that characters create and associate with material culture. Evidence of this is explicit within the novel as material possessions are given the meaning of relationships, status and wealth as well as are used as a mask of character. The foremost example of illusion giving way to reality, however, arrives from Owl Eyes and his remark that illusionary structures, such as Gatsby’s realistic library, are “liable to

This novel deconstructs the notion of the American Dream and its promise of liberty (Weinstein 28) as its assurance of a future of fulfilment is exposed as a deceitful and withering premise (Pidgeon 179). This is primarily achieved through false realities and illusions as Jay Gatsby and his dreams symbolise the collapse of the American Dream. His constructed realities, based in material culture, ultimately demonstrate him as the embodiment of the American Dream (182). Gatsby gives his life to this dream, replacing “the given world by a construct of his own” in order to illustrate American freedom through an “imperious desire to make reality rather than to undergo it” (Weinstein 38). Therefore, the American Dream’s false pretence of freedom and liberation is a modernist feature as Gatsby’s characteristic belief reveals that reality is empty of meaning and therefore alienating. Such an examination of Fitzgerald’s novel thus exhibits the true greatness of Gatsby, demonstrating his incessant faith in fiction as the conceptual foundation of the American Dream (Weinstein). This manifests within The Great Gatsby as the meaning placed on material possessions is symbolic of the false meaning of the American

These become deceptive fronts for Gatsby’s dissatisfaction throughout the novel, as the illusion of grandeur hides his desire to impress Daisy with new wealth. His underlying determination here is conveyed through Jordan’s suspicions that Gatsby’s house is strategically placed across from Daisy’s as he half-expects “her to wander into one of his parties, some night", and see his splendour (Fitzgerald 79-80). However, to Gatsby’s disappointment, Daisy is not impressed by his party and thus he feels “far away from her” (110). Therefore, as Gatsby’s ostentation is for Daisy’s benefit, his status becomes meaningless without her approval. This is further consolidated as Tom exposes it as a front for corruption, demonstrating Gatby’s constructed reality of wealth as no match for Tom’s aggression (Kerr 421). Thus this party “actually marks the beginning of the end for Daisy and Gatsby” as the reality of their relationship is exposed (Donaldson 209). Gatsby sees it as essential, when Daisy is concerned, to ensure he is not thought of as “just some nobody” and thus material culture is used for his display of status and wealth (Fitzgerald 67). Fitzgerald thus reveals these qualities as an illusion, a trend consolidated through his