Everyone lies. It is the truth, and it is explained with great depth in Stephanie Ericsson’s essay. She claims, “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, and we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” (Ericsson 159). In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, lying is shown by similar ways that were explained in Ericsson’s essay “The Way We Lie” including façades, deflecting, the white lie, omission and delusion. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby portrays a façade, “These can be destructive because they are used to seduce others into an illusion.” (Ericsson, 161) Jay Gatsby is a fraud. It can be inferred that his past
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He is not rich. He doesn’t use money to manipulate or play other people. He is not wealthy enough to be arrogant; like Tom. Nor is he selfish, like Daisy. For the most part, he is the nicest and most honest of all the characters. He does tell a few lies, as explained in Ericsson’s essay. He displays omission of very important details that could have saved Gatsby from impeding death (Ericsson 160-163). Years after Gatsby’s death, Nick sees Tom in the streets and he asks him about that day. Nick asks Tom, “What did you say to Wilson that afternoon?” Tom answers, “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one.” (Fitzgerald, 178) At this point in the book, Nick knew who killed Wilson – it was Daisy. Immediately, he could have cleared Gatsby’s name, but instead he did not answer, “There was nothing I could say, except the one unutterable fact that it wasn’t true.” (Fitzgerald 178) Nick omitted what really happened that night to Myrtle and because he kept this secret it changed how the author portrayed him. As a character, Nick became the same liar and cheat that the rest of the wealthy characters in the book were. The reason that Fitzgerald included this in the book was to show that even if someone seems completely fair and honest, they are not. Once again showing the impeding downfall of both the …show more content…
She was developed to make the reader believe she would leave Tom for Gatsby. As a reader, we believed her happiness and love for Gatsby was more important than her security and that she would desire this happiness over big cars, mansions and popularity. Daisy’s position on the prominence scale would always fall under the most important thing in her life. As a character, she is a believable liar. She was built that way to entertain the reader and push the boundaries. This seduces the reader as we cannot push boundaries in our everyday lives. During the harsh fight of affection between Tom and Gatsby, Gatsby begins to state that Daisy is leaving Tom, but Tom answers, “She is not leaving me! Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger.” (Fitzgerald, 132-133) Daisy never actually says she will not leave Tom. It is her actions that shows she is lying. After Gatsby dies, Tom and Daisy pack their bags and leave. We do not read about remorse. Daisy never calls Nick for details. She just scuttles out of her life to get away from the ruined and distorted life she has made for herself. She is delusional. It was easier to believe her lies and run away from the chaos she
He is not rich. He doesn’t use money to manipulate or play other people. He is not wealthy enough to be arrogant; like Tom. Nor is he selfish, like Daisy. For the most part, he is the nicest and most honest of all the characters. He does tell a few lies, as explained in Ericsson’s essay. He displays omission of very important details that could have saved Gatsby from impeding death (Ericsson 160-163). Years after Gatsby’s death, Nick sees Tom in the streets and he asks him about that day. Nick asks Tom, “What did you say to Wilson that afternoon?” Tom answers, “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one.” (Fitzgerald, 178) At this point in the book, Nick knew who killed Wilson – it was Daisy. Immediately, he could have cleared Gatsby’s name, but instead he did not answer, “There was nothing I could say, except the one unutterable fact that it wasn’t true.” (Fitzgerald 178) Nick omitted what really happened that night to Myrtle and because he kept this secret it changed how the author portrayed him. As a character, Nick became the same liar and cheat that the rest of the wealthy characters in the book were. The reason that Fitzgerald included this in the book was to show that even if someone seems completely fair and honest, they are not. Once again showing the impeding downfall of both the …show more content…
She was developed to make the reader believe she would leave Tom for Gatsby. As a reader, we believed her happiness and love for Gatsby was more important than her security and that she would desire this happiness over big cars, mansions and popularity. Daisy’s position on the prominence scale would always fall under the most important thing in her life. As a character, she is a believable liar. She was built that way to entertain the reader and push the boundaries. This seduces the reader as we cannot push boundaries in our everyday lives. During the harsh fight of affection between Tom and Gatsby, Gatsby begins to state that Daisy is leaving Tom, but Tom answers, “She is not leaving me! Certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger.” (Fitzgerald, 132-133) Daisy never actually says she will not leave Tom. It is her actions that shows she is lying. After Gatsby dies, Tom and Daisy pack their bags and leave. We do not read about remorse. Daisy never calls Nick for details. She just scuttles out of her life to get away from the ruined and distorted life she has made for herself. She is delusional. It was easier to believe her lies and run away from the chaos she