Through the hustle of everyday life, one undergoes life and the struggles that follow. As time passes by, habitual routines develop, and the mind is opened to understanding the difference between an illusion and reality. Yet, once a new conflict arises, it cannot be avoided. Thus, this creates a false reality; which is what lingers in the mind of many characters in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
First of all, one of the more notable examples of illusion seen as reality in The Great Gatsby involves the title character himself; Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby (also known as James Gatz) is a young man from a poor family in North Dakota. The fact that he lived in poverty all his life bothered him to such great extent in which he decided to drop out of St. Olaf College in Minnesota after only a couple weeks; he was shameful towards the janitorial job he was forced to take in order to pay
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A notable example of this is when NIck says: “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.” (Page 162). This statement reveals how he understands the major role money plays in corrupting an individual. Unlike the whole West Egg crowd, Nick does not let money, dishonesty, or materialistic items dominate his life. Instead, Nick portrays an honest person who resides in an average house; poles apart from the size of Gatsby and Daisy’s mansion-like homes
In the end, even the greatest of the characters in The Great Gatsby are conformed by illusions; whether it roots from society, or the fact that they lived in an era of drunkenness and mischief. The things seen as illusions by someone in a sober state were in disarray with the rest of reality. As they turned illusions into their own reality, these individuals created a life of misery and uncertainty. Illusion puts on the mask of reality, and commonly, tears apart the lives and notoriety of those who rely on