Honesty In The Great Gatsby Essay

Lying has deadly effects on both the individual who lies and those around them. This concept is demonstrated in The Great Gatsby. Although Gatsby, Tom and Myrtle have different motives for being deceitful, they all lie in order to fulfill their desires and personal needs. Myrtle’s desire to be wealthy is illustrated when she first meets Tom, dressed in his expensive clothing, as her attitude changes when she puts on the luxurious dress and when she encourages Tom to buy her a dog. Tom’s deception is clear when he hides his affair with Myrtle by placing Myrtle in a different train, withholding the truth from Mr. Wilson of the affair and convincing Myrtle and Catherine that he will one day marry Myrtle. Gatsby tries to convince himself and

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. It is recognized as the “Great American Novel” as it shows great wealth, partying, jazz music and many other aspects of the “American Dream”. In his novel, he displays a lot of symbols, and themes including wealth, greed, and the most vivid, betrayal. Betrayal can upset many people and ruin many people. Betrayal was demonstrated throughout the entire novel with a lot of connections. Three situations will be examined, and they will be: Gatsby betrayed by Daisy, Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle and no one attends Gatsby’s funeral.

Gatsby and him became great friends, in fact her is Gatsby’s closest. On the contrary, Tom and Gatsby are fighting for the same girl. He is portrayed in the story as an honest, fair-minded individual. For example; he shows that he isn’t one to judge when he says, "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores". Out of all the Character in this novel, Nick is the only to see Gatsby’s greatness. Gatsby revealed the truth of his life to his dear friend

Deception is an act intentionally inflicted upon others in order to, satisfy one's wants and needs. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby deceives others for both his personal gain and love. While Jay Gatsby lives day by day deceiving others, he thinks not much of it. Gatsby sees himself has merely just moving on from the past and onto a new life. However, through his acts of deception he is stirring up a fatal situation. Fitzgerald portrays Jay Gatsby as a man who is wealthy and as some may say “living the life”. Jay Gatsby however, is merely a mask put on by James Gatz, the same man, to live the life he has always desired. Once settled in as Jay Gatsby, he starts to find it difficult to maintain an image expected by others. In this novel, James Gatz lives a false life as Jay Gatsby to satisfy his wants and needs, but has his act of deceiving others comes to an crumble Fitzgerald is able to showcase the struggle and cost of deception.

     Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby explains the type of character he is, through his lies. Gatsby acts out to be a man who has it all. The only item missing from Gatsby’s life is love. Love is the only true key to happiness with out it you are lost. Gatsby goes all out to be loved even if it means lying.

Nick’s behavioural changes are one the most evident changes that the reader is able to notice after he is invited to Gatsby’s house. These changes could be regarded as either negative or positive depending on how the reader interprets them. “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.”(pg. 59), this is one of Nick’s quote from the beginning of the story before he meets Gatsby, he states that he is very honest to himself and to others but the reader soon finds out that is not the case. Nick is not an honest individual because after Gatsby is accused for Myrtle Wilson’s murder he does not speak up and tell Tom Buchanan and George Wilson (Myrtle’s husband) as to whom committed the crime. This misunderstanding ultimately leads to the death of  Jay Gatsby as he shot my George at his Mansion. These series of events are important to Nick’s behavioural changes as the reader to notice how being in Gatsby’s mansion had affected his honesty. Another behavioural change the reader is able to notice is Nick’s drinking habit as he starts to drink more when he first enters one of Gatsby’s parties. Chapter two of “The Great Gatsby” is where the

Lies are a treacherous thing, yet everyone tells a few lies during their lifetime. Deceit surrounds us all the time; even when one reads classic literature. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald makes dishonesty a major theme in his novel The Great Gatsby. The falsehoods told by the characters in this novel leads to inevitable tragedy when the truth is revealed.

“Is Tom most responsible for Gatsby’s death? Daisy? Myrtle? Gatsby himself? Give reasons why or why not each character is implicated in the murder.”

Tom thinks of Gatsby as a “home wrecker” and a criminal. He cannot see any of Gatby’s virtues, but rather focuses on and exaggerates his questionable behavior (pursuing Daisy and bootlegging). Nick, on the other hand, sees both Gatsby’s virtues and faults and presents them to the reader from a neutral point of view.

We are all taught at a young age that lying is bad and we should always tell the truth, the truth shall set you free. Certainly characters from the movie Chicago directed by Rob Marshall and the book The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald had a lot of trouble with the truth. They did not seem to stop lying in particular the female characters. They lie for their own benefit, but also lie because of their fear what society will think of them as a result of their sins.

Literature can often reflect ways in which humans idealize, or even deny, certain truths about their world. It is common for humans to dismiss their realities, as it is easier to have false hope in something, than accept the harsh truths of life. In The Great Gatsby, author F.Scott Fitzgerald’s characters Tom Buchanan and James Gatsby, both reject undeniable truths about their lives. Gatsby, despite what other people have told him, delusionally believes that Daisy loves him, and that nothing can stop him from achieving his desire of love. Comparatively, Tom rejects the fact that Daisy only married him because of his wealth, and social power. In other words, Tom refuses to believe that she doesn't love him. Together, Tom and Gatsby both reject the underlying truth of their realities to the extent that it hinders their ability to make good decisions in life.

In the novel, Nick is portrayed as a careful and considerate individual. He helped get Gatsby and Daisy together, showing he cares for both of them. Therefore, showing how considerate Nick is. Although, in the movie, Nick is portrayed in both past and present tense. In present tense, we have a broken Nick Carraway. He admitted himself into a sanitarium because he is “morbidly alcoholic”. From that moment on, Nick opens up to his doctor about the moment he met Gatsby till present day. In flashback scenes, Nick is happy and unconflicted. He also had a sense of innocence. In a way, Tom corrupted him by taking him to his apartment to get drunk. Then, continuously shoving drinks into Nick’s hands and encouraging him to drink more and hook up with

Throughout the novel, Nick reserves his judgements till he reaches the end. The first sign of Nick’s changing “attitude” and outlook would be when he had become practically repulsed by Jordan’s literal lack of empathy and care (which he initially pinned as being a tactic of self preservation). Then, by “complementing” Gatsby, he gave judgement to his wealthy friends -- Tom, Daisy, and Jordan -- saying that all of them combined are no better. This goes to show that Nick does in fact like Gatsby, as he mentioned very early on, but not for any “normal” reason. He never approved of Gatsby’s lies, lifestyle, etc., but rather found something genuine and caring in Gatsby that he had not found in any of the rest. Unlike them, Gatsby didn't necessarily

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, readers are introduced to some of the richest people in 1922 New York City, including husband and wife Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Jay Gatsby. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, a man from Minnesota who moves to the city, forms relations with the characters mentioned previously, and finds himself entangled in a web of lies and secrets. Towards the end of the story, as Nick reflects on his entire experience in New York City, he claims that the novel is actually a Western story. This passage is very significant, meaning that it is insightful to the human experience, because it claims that cultural progress is impossible when old and new ideas exist and that the American Dream is impossible

These rumors are all made by Gatsby in order to hide his humble beginnings, so people do not think less of him. On the other hand, Tom may show his part identity, but hide’s his villainous self behind his appearance. "Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that body...-a cruel body." (Fitzgerald 12). This initial description of Tom from Nick shows the facade of how Tom hides his cruel self through his clothing and physical appearance. Tom and Gatsby’s hate for one another continues to be hypocritical on both sides since they both too have a facade to cover up an unappealing aspect of themselves. This hypocrisy continues to add depth to both characters, while adding another layer of controversy and conflict to the plot.