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The Theme Of Reality In The Great Gatsby

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Iris Murdoch once wrote, “We live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.” The theme of illusion versus reality is common in many novels and plays, two of them being, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. Both of these books illustrate the ways in which one can create an illusion of him/herself to deceive those around them in comparison to the reality of their lives. These two books both display portrayals of illusion, dismissal of inappropriate behaviour and blindness by charm. The portrayal of illusion is displayed with Blanche’s need to hide the truth in order to paint an image of herself in the minds of others. An example of this would be in Scene Three when Blanche buys a lamp shade to ‘cover her flaws’. Blanche says, “I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action” (Williams 60). Blanche doesn’t want Mitch or anyone else to see her face up close and in the light …show more content…

In chapter 5, daisy tells Gatsby, “They’re such beautiful shirts. It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before.” Daisy is so materialistic that she starts crying because of how overwhelmed she is by Gatsby’s wealth. Daisy seems to be aware of her love for materialism which could also be a reason for her dramatic breakdown. Daisy regrets marrying tom for his fortune because in the end, Gatsby became just as rich, if not, richer than tom. Daisy lost her chance for a happy life and she realizes this when Jay overwhelms her with his expensive, elegant shirts. All the charisma that Gatsby puts on display to impress daisy is an illusion to get her to leave tom, however when daisy discovers the reality of Gatsby’s past and his bootlegging crimes, she

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Throughout the story Daisy has been lying about who she loved when she knew that she was still in love with “ Great Gatsby” and that showed when daisy read that letter, she was hysterically crying, it showed that she still cared but she didn't want to put herself out there. She could've fooled everyone with her love lies but she sure couldn't fool “ Great Gatsby”. Tom fell for all these lies, makes Daisy and Gatsby deceitful. This novel is full of love, lies and deceit.

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Daisy coming from wealth and marrying rich, she is very impacted by the amount of money one has. When she realizes the man she once loved but had to cut ties with is now rich, it causes her to become emotional. This shows readers how Daisy represents a greedy personality when she only shows emotion towards Gatsby after discovering his wealth. She expressed these feelings by crying over Gatsby's beautiful shirts. Therefore, Daisy's economic status leads her to show extreme greed in her relationships especially when she found out he is now rich after previously leaving him when he was

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In the book, Gatsby is very foolish, his actions are unreasonable and unrealistic. “He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."” (125) Gatsby had expected Daisy to be the same girl she was five years ago, but the truth is that she isn't. Many things had happened to the both of them and he had set up a foolish expectation that Daisy was willing to leave Tom for him. Gatsby’s foolishness originated with Daisy.

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Unfortunately, he had to leave Daisy to go to war. After the war, he was determined to find Daisy but five years later, his feelings are not reciprocated; Daisy toys with him, uses Gatsby to make her husband jealous, and allows Gatsby to take the blame for the murder of her husband’s mistress. The most tragic of the three protagonists studied is Jay Gatsby because he demoralizes himself in a futile attempt at expired love, he has few genuine companions, and he cannot let go of the past. Throughout the novel, the contrast between Gatsby's pure past and corrupt future illustrates the degree to which he changes to impress his love, Daisy.

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Daisy cries in regret over Gatsby's shirts. In chapter 5 Daisy and Gatsby rekindle by Nick's help, 5 years ago Daisy and Gatbys were supposed to get married but Daisy broke it off because Gatsby didn't have any money. IGatsby thought it would be a good idea to rekindle with Daisy. Gatsby shows off his house to Daisy and his shirts. Gatsby is throwing his shirts one by by showing them to daisy,As gatsby pulled out many shirts daisy begins to cry she thought gatsby had the most nicest shirts and beings to cry in regret

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Daisy is an ignorant woman, she destroys Gatsby’s dream and felt no guilt in leaving him. She feels safe as long as she had her money. She uses her money to cover up her wrong doings. Her ignorance and carelessness cause her to not understand the hard work behind the American

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Take a look at yourself in that worn out Mardi Gras outfit, rented for fifty cents from some rag picker! And with the crazy crown on! What queen do you think you are?” (Williams, 127). Appearance vs reality not only means that the reader/ public can be deceived, but also a person can deceive themselves.

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The readers can grasp that this theme bring up countless similarities and minor contrast in both characters. Both The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire illustrate how this dominant theme portray significant symbols, inner conflicts and how appearances vs. reality impact the leading characters. The authors reveal Gatsby and Blanche as unstable and conflicted throughout their plot. In the end, the past has great importance to both characters as they use it to define their

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“The Great Gatsby” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” both focus on the common theme of pursuing goals and living the American Dream. As well as leaving behind the past and “turn a new leaf”. The main characters in each story, Blanche and Gatsby, both have dreams of wealth and great living.

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The Great Gatsby GEOGRAPHY Throughout the novel, places and settings symbolize the various aspects of the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald depicts. East Egg represents the old aristocracy, West Egg the newly rich, the valley of ashes the moral and social decay of America, and New York City the dissolute, amoral quest for money and pleasure. Additionally, the East is connected to the moral decay and social cynicism of New York, while the West is connected to more traditional social values and ideals. Themes: The American Dream "Whereas the American Dream was once equated with certain principles of freedom, it is now equated with things.

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Imagine living in a perfect world. Nothing in this world can go wrong, nothing can do you harm, and nothing is out of reach. This is the world of an idealist- a person who forms or pursues ideals unrealistically. Although this philosophy would hold its believer in a constant daze of false happiness, when reality hits, it could be devastating. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, main character Jay Gatsby is blinded by the fantasy of transforming himself into a famous figure of wealth and social status and, as a result, winning over his love, Daisy.

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The characters in the novel pretend that they have their lives all figured out, but through their successes their downfalls and emptiness can be seen, to prove that money cannot buy happiness. Jay Gatsby is the newest and upcoming star in New York during the 1920’s. Through his business and inheritance he is one of the richest men of his time. One may think that his abundance of wealth would lead him to be eternally happy, but he is the opposite. Gatsby longs for his love of Daisy, which is his personal American Dream.

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In an attempt to win Daisy back from her lifestyle of “Old Money”, Gatsby becomes excessively greedy with his money. While he himself may not care about wealth, he knows Daisy does. Therefore, when Daisy comes to his mansion, he flaunts his expensive shirts. “‘They’re such beautiful shirts,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. ‘It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.’”

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Pursuing this further, Gatsby shows off his wealth to Daisy again by flaunting his expensive clothing. At this point in the story, Gatsby shows off his money in any way that he can. Daisy states to Gatsby, " 'It makes me sad because I 've never seen such – such beautiful shirts before '" (92; Ch 5). Gatsby 's shirts are part of his lifestyle, they were made to impress others. Daisy 's world is made up of wealth and flashy materials, and when she realizes that Gatsby is now connected to money, she breaks down.

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