Examples Of Irony In The Great Gatsby

Spike Milligan, an Irish comedian and writer implies, “ Money cannot buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery.” In the quote, Milligan clarifies the desire for money will never be able to obtain genuine contentment in life: rather it brings the individual a grim dissatisfaction. In the “ Great Gatsby”, Scott Fitzgerald implies a similar aspect on how the pursuit and greed of money and wealth, leads to an isolated path- as it bears unhappiness to one’s character. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes key elements including imagery and diction, to convey a message towards the audience of how the richness and revenue in life, will only bring one discomfort and misery: regardless of the materialistic success they

In the end, Daisy would still remain with Tom, even though the two would share an unstable relationship: “ They weren’t happy, and neither of them had touched the chicken or the ale- yet they weren’t unhappy either. (145)” Daisy ultimately chose Tom over Gatsby, as she believed he would provide a much better status quo- economically, Tom symbolizes the old money, and is part of the elite class, thus making her stay with him to maintain her affluent status as well. Although Daisy has always lived a life full of affluence and luxury, she was never truly satisfied with what she beared: obsessing over obtaining more wealth to compliment her greed. Her unending lust for wealth ultimately led to her own demise, as now she remains in a emotionless relation with Tom: a man whose had constant affairs with various women. For Gatsby’s case, his lavish lifestyle would not give him the pleasure in which he had hoped for. In the quote, “ Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock... his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.(148)”, the author describes Gatsby’s ultimate failure to achieve his one true happiness: a life with Daisy. Throughout the novel, Gatsby has only focused on achieving materialistic success in order to win the love of his life back- as he threw many luxurious parties and frequently flaunted his lavish lifestyle for others to perceive. Money only matters to Gatsby as he believes it will help him win Daisy back. Unfortunately, he fails to win back his true love’s heart, as Daisy chooses Tom over him, which ultimately leads to his failure to find genuine happiness. Fitzgerald implements in diction to describe the concept of how wealth does not always lead to happiness, as for both Gatsby and Daisy- they possessed enormous