Fitzgerald critiques society through his use of language or literary devices in The Great Gatsby.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald critiques people’s tendency to present a false image to the rest of the world. This is shown through the core characters’ illusions, disguising their true intentions revealed over the course of the book. Fitzgerald is trying to help us realise that the false image of a perfect life that Gatsby and the other core characters portray has gone “beyond everything” and often can in real life too. For this essay, I have chosen to focus on the personas of Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan.
One of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s central representations of illusion is Jay Gatsby, who we discover has crafted an entire persona in an attempt to achieve his dreams. This is evidenced by the quote “This fella’s a regular Belasco. It’s a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism!” although this is referring to the books in Gatsby’s library, I believe it can also reference that he has crafted a whole story using his wealth but, like the books, no one really wants to read it. Gatsby can buy the material things that the ‘elite’ social class have, however, there are some things that money cant buy, and he will never have the experience or education behind him that the ‘elite’ have. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that James Gatz no longer exists and that Jay Gatsby has taken over his life. “He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.” This quote shows how Gatsby’s person has been built up over time but not necessarily on purpose. These things come to him by chance, and he has no control over what ‘drifts’ in his direction. It may be luck that has brought these opportunities to him; however he has made sure to take every opportunity that comes his way In an effort to be reunited with Daisy. Since he has grabbed every opportunity with such fervour, his false image/ illusion has gone “beyond her, beyond everything”. What started as a need for Daisy has become an infatuation. He has created a life for them in his mind trying to make himself into what he thinks is her ideal man. This idea of creating one’s persona to fit into a mould is what Fitzgerald is criticising by reminding us that it can happen in real life (though hopefully not to the extent of Gatsby) and shouldn’t.
Daisy Buchanan, the person whom Gatsby’s whole persona revolves around, also presents a false image to the world that is very different from her true self. She is a nightmare dressed like a daydream. We can corroborate this when the “inexhaustible charm” of her voice that is “full of money” is mentioned. Money is attractive, and she has so much of it but just does whatever she wants, she embodies everything that comes with wealth (which is everything Gatsby wants). Her voice draws people like Gatsby in, comparative to a “jingle” but the “cymbals song” of it can be unpleasant, and not what you expected. Her voice, like her whole persona, is an illusion that she puts on. In contrast, a different part of her false image is the way she acts as if she is an adult who can make decisions for herself. This is in no way true as she, although being the mother to a child, hasn’t grown up. For example, she can’t live with the outcome of her actions, attempting to change her mind about marrying Tom the night before their wedding, and later being unable to choose between Gatsby and Tom, saying “I did love him once,… but I loved you too”. This is exactly the type of indecisive behaviour one might expect from a little girl. She doesn’t know any better and is expected to be a “beautiful little fool” like other women of her social standing. Expectations like these what causes people to present a false image to the world and by revealing these, Fitzgerald critiques society.
Nick Carraway is the ideal narrator of the story and a confidant for the Daisy and Gatsby. He is the middle man in all their drama and, without him, their story would not be possible. Nick is nowhere near as corrupt as the other characters, as shown by his modest house and his honesty. However, he is not without his own illusion. Nick’s illusion is that he is the only untainted person in a world where people hide behind lies and secrets – a reality for most characters in The Great Gatsby. Nick believes he is “one of the few honest people that I have ever known.” and also says he is “inclined to reserve all judgements” yet the whole novel consists of him constantly judging others. He calls Jordan “incurably dishonest” and says that Tom and Daisy are “careless people”. These quotes show that Nick isn’t honest with himself or us. Over the course of the novel, Nick gets drawn into the world of his so-called friends Gatsby, Daisy, Tom and Jordan. In turn, he becomes more dishonest and in doing so reveals that he does not have moral high ground over the other characters. This is pointed out by Jordan (who is dishonest herself according to Nick) when she says “I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride”. Nick is not the unbiased moderator of the story that we may have assumed at first. He is so caught up in other people’s lives (or at least the false image they present to the world) that he has let slip of his own and allowed the world to see that even he hides behind his own lies and secrets. Fitzgerald is showing us that everybody hides their true self, puts up a first line of defence against society and its judgemental nature. By exposing this tendency, he is also criticising it
In her book Water for Elephants, author Sara Gruen writes; “The whole thing’s an illusion… and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what people want from us. It’s what they expect.” This quote explains that putting forward an illusion to the world is normal and expected. This expectation and societal norm is what Fitzgerald is trying to criticise through the way he allows his characters to present a facade and how, because of this, the characters’ world begins to implode.