Themes In The Great Gatsby

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Santina Trupiano Mr. Helms English 3, per. 5 November 11, 2014 The great Gatsby: main theme essay "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." these words of nick caraway, the narrator of the novel the great Gatsby, perfectly describe the exact opposite of the main characters in the novel. While there are many themes to the great Gatsby the most evident themes are lies and deceit. The book the great Gatsby by Fitzgerald utilizes the main characters to show how lying to their friends, family, and to themselves about personal affairs will expose their true…show more content…
Gatsby tells nick other stories involving topics like awards given to him and the prestigious education he received. The details Gatsby leaves out is how he earned his fortune and his passion for Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby never told the truth simply because he was ashamed. Gatsby always dreamed of being rich but he is ashamed of how he earned his fortune through bootlegging alcohol. In the 20s bootleggers were the only way to get alcohol because of prohibition. The people liked having alcohol but they saw bootleggers as low life’s. All of Gatsby’s lies were just a way for him to get away with showing off all his riches without people asking how he obtained it. Daisy Buchanan is the reason why Gatsby does what he does in the book. Like Gatsby she becomes known to the reader as a liar as the book goes on. Daisy lies to her husband Tom Buchanan by starting an affair with Gatsby and not informing him. At the beginning of chapter seven, Gatsby is over at Tom and Daisy’s house joining them for drinks with Jordan and Nick there also. When Tom exits the dining room Daisy kisses Gatsby and states “I don’t care!” (116). She means that she doesn’t care who knows of her love for Gatsby at this point and she is ready to tell Tom.…show more content…
Deeper into this chapter, Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom get into an argument. Gatsby tries to get Daisy to “just tell him the truth---that [she] never loved him” (132). Daisy hesitantly says “I never loved him.” (132) but after Daisy rethinks the statement she just said for Gatsby she sobs, “I did love him once ---but I loved you too.” (132). Even though daisy has lied to both of them, it’s feasible that this lie daisy is saying is for herself. The mixture of lies that daisy has told herself, Tom, and Gatsby show the reader that Daisy lies because she is ashamed. In the 1920s a women having a divorce or an affair would be shunned and frowned upon. It can also be said that Daisy deceptions are constructed on her turmoil. Fitzgerald wrote the great Gatsby’s main characters in a way that shows the behavior of typical people in the 1920s, and uses there compulsion to deceive as a way to send a message. Jay Gatsby seems near to making his dreams come true but his way of getting to the top is a web of lies he will be tangled in for eternity. Jay Gatsby tells stories that are lies about his past because Jay Gatsby is ashamed of his past as “James Gatz”. While Jay is ashamed of his deep past, Daisy is ashamed of her actions recently,
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