Honesty In The Great Gatsby

499 Words1 Page

Honesty and truth is very important to Gatsby. He wanted the truth from everyone and what they truly thought about topics. Gatsby himself was not an honest man in the end. Gatsby became a millionaire by being the head of a couple of illegal activities. “Quote” A characteristic of Gatsby’s that is great and bad all at the same time is being too generous to people. Nick Carraway helps Gatsby all throughout the book and he insists that he repay him everytime. If Nick will not accept it, Gatsby will make sure he is repayed either way. After Nick accepts to invite Daisy to tea at his house so Gatsby and her can be reunited, Gatsby tries to repay Nick by cutting his lawn and offering him a job working for him. He is only trying to help when he says …show more content…

He based his whole life on one person, and one person only. This person is Daisy Buchanan. Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan met when Gatsby was in the war. When Gatsby had to leave he told Daisy to wait for him because he would be back for her with all the money she could ever want. But Daisy could not wait her whole life for Gatsby to become rich so she married Tom Buchanan. Gatsby did not give up, he came back to West/East Egg with a lot of money, and moved into an enormous mansion. In a conversation between Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway, Nick Carraway believes that Gastsby’s house being across the bay from Daisy’s house was only a coincidence. Jordan Baker explains, “Gatsby bought that house so Daisy would be just across the bay,” (78). He always wanted to have Daisy close to him and just out of his reach. But this is how Gatsby kept his life meaning close to him. He believed that he needed Daisy to fulfill his dream to stay alive. Jay Gatsby was not willing to just give up on Daisy Buchanan, until the very end when he realizes that his dream of every living happily with Daisy is gone. “I have an idea that Gatsby himself didn’t believe it would come, and perhaps he no longer cared. If that was true he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream” (111). Gatsby believed that he needed Daisy to fulfill his meaning of life. He is killed

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Lies In The Great Gatsby

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    No one truly knows the true story behind Gatsby and his wealth. This adds an intriguing aspect to the life of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lies in order to uphold his image. For example, Gatsby states that he is an Oxford man, however the reader finds that this is not entirely true. The social class that Gatsby strive to be a part of is well educated and proper. Gatsby creates an omission lie, that he is an oxford man. This is because Gatsby refrained from telling the whole truth, Gatsby leaves out certain information to hide the full truth. This deceives characters making them believe that he is well educated and fits in with the high society. In addition Gatsby lied to Nick about how he acquired his money. At first, Gatsby told the tale that he inherited his money, in order to fit in with the old money social class. Gatsby did not want to tarnish his his already vague image by letting it know that he was part of the mob. Gatsby wanted to be viewed as a gentleman not a

    Read More

  • Jay Gatsby's Obsession in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    The character of Jay Gatsby was a wealthy business man, who the author developed as arrogant and tasteless. Gatsby's love interest, Daisy Buchanan, was a subdued socialite who was married to the dim witted Tom Buchanan. She is the perfect example of how women of her level of society were supposed to act in her day. The circumstances surrounding Gatsby and Daisy's relationship kept them eternally apart. For Daisy to have been with Gatsby would have been forbidden, due to the fact that she was married. That very concept of their love being forbidden, also made it all the more intense, for the idea of having a prohibited love, like William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, made it all the more desirable. Gatsby was remembering back five years to when Daisy was not married and they were together:

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Gatsby And Othello

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby is an ambitious and hopeful character. He is the protagonist of the novel and he is pursuing an unrealistic dream, thinking that Daisy Buchanan was a nature of perfection that could not possibly be real. He believes in the idea that he could change the past and the future. In Chapter 7, page 154; Gatsby waited outside of Daisy 's house on a needless vigil until she went to bed, he does not realize that his dream is not a reality. He thinks that by waiting outside her house guarding her, he might get a glimpse of Daisy. Daisy is perfection to

    Read More

  • Lies and Deciet in The Great Gatsby

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 others that he is the son of wealthy people, he creates an appearance that he is a successful, educated man through the books in his library and assures himself that Daisy loves him. Tom’s dishonesty reveals that he is selfish, while Gatsby’s distortions expose his insecurities, and Myrtle’s misrepresentations show that her sole focus in life is to achieve materialistic success. Gatsby and Myrtle both lie in order to obtain the “American dream.” However, Tom, who appears to already have achieved the “American dream”, deceives others out of boredom and because he takes his wealthy lifestyle for granted. F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the human flaw of dishonesty for personal gain and how lies have inevitably tragic consequences in his characterization of Gatsby, Myrtle and Tom.

    Read More

  • Truth in The Great Gatsby

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Truth in The Great Gatsby & nbsp;       The Golden Age, a time when money was abundant.  Wealthy family always demanded to impress others rather than living their own. life.   How did wealth develop with scandals and how would dreams contribute to destiny?  In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" Nick Carraway's great American dream was to control the truth. he lives his life. & nbsp; & nbsp; Money is a motivating force for almost everyone, but not everyone. loses sight of who they are.  Gatsby's house and parties were a part of the shows he wanted to impress Daisy with.   Daisy, confused by Gatsby's money. and wealth tried drawing away from her husband Tom when she saw financial security with Gatsby.  Although Nick was tempted to be successful and wealthy he viewed  ethics and even his own morals to be additionally.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Honesty Quotes

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    I’m a honest man- for the most part. Yeah I’ve been dishonest about a couple things here and there but I wouldn’t call it lying. I’ve just been sugar coating the truth. Okay, so i’m not “the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West- all dead now” (Fitzgerald 65), and I might not be telling the whole truth about me being “brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years” (Fitzgerald 65) , but does anyone really tell the truth nowadays? I have a reputation I need to keep. People already say I’m a bootlegger and they’ve come up with these wild conspiracy theories on how I gained my wealth. I just hope they all know that’s a secret I’m taking with me to the grave. People think I don’t

    Read More

  • Dishonesty in The Great Gatsby

    1501 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the novel, fails to realize that when one tells a lie, it comes back to bite you. For example, he initially tells his neighbor, and potential friend Nick, that he had inherited his redundant sums of money from his family. One night, the night Gatsby reunites with Daisy, he and Nick are admiring his substantial house. During the conversation, Gatsby slips out, “It took me just three years to earn the money that bought it” (Fitzgerald 90). By this, one can see Gatsby lie about how he acquired the wealth he has. When Nick questions his inheritance of the money, Gatsby automatically stutters with another lie- that he lost his family fortune in the panic of the war and had to earn all the money again by himself. Gatsby may have not realized he let this lie slide out from under him due to the rush of emotions connected with the reunion of his long lost love. Nevertheless, he did lie to Nick about his past, along with many other people, including Daisy. When he and his love first meet, he lies to her and comes off as a rich, stable man, she would be lucky to fall in love with. This is not the case, however. He is not as innocent as to have just inherit the wealth he gloats. Fitzgerald states, “He might have despised himself, for he had certainly taken her under false pretenses. I don’t mean that he had traded his phantom millions,...

    Read More

  • The Traits of Jay Gatsby

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the traits of Gatsby that makes him truly great is his remarkable capacity for hope. He has faith that what he desires will come to him if he works hard enough. He does not comprehend the cruelty and danger that is the rest of the world. Gatsby, while a man of questionable morals, is as wide-eyed and innocent as a small child in his views of the world. These ideals are evident in Nick’s narration and in the words spoken by the other characters, including Gatsby himself.

    Read More

  • Self-Identity in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jay Gatsby believes that wealth and power can lead to love and happiness. He spends his entire life trying to create himself and change his past so that he can rekindle his love affair with the love of his life Daisy Buchanan. The two were young lovers, unable to be together because of very different social statuses. After Gatsby learns that he cannot be with Daisy because of this, he spends the rest of his life attempting to acquire wealth and power.

    Read More

  • Morals and Ethics in The Great Gatsby

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most self respecting people have ethics and morals they try to abide by. They create standards that they live life by and construct their own philosophy with. In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, morals and ethics are a scarce practice. Jay Gatsby lives his life by the over bearing morals and values of devotion, corruption, and his will to control.

    Read More

  • Generosity In Beowulf

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Starting with loyalty... "I wanted to get somebody for him. I wanted to go into the room where he lay and reassure him: "I’ll get somebody for you, Gatsby. Don’t worry. Just trust me and I 'll get somebody for you–" (9.11). Nick has much compassion for Gatsby after he’s gone, he seems heartbroken that his friend has been abandoned by everyone. For a man who was so generous and loyal, no one is loyal or kind to him in return (besides Nick). This says something about Gatsby’s relationships with everyone around him and the shallowness of the society he was in. Regarding the theme of generosity, the "old money" folks see right through his appearance. He 's not "great" to them – he 's a phony, and all those friends of his turn out to simply be people who take advantage of his generosity and riches. Gatsby is generous to the people at his parties. He throws banquets and spends a lot of money on food, preparations and entertainment. Gatsby is a generous host. “most people were brought” “Every Friday five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York--every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves.”) Thirdly, Jay’s reputation is tied in with his generosity, and is a major character flaw of himself. Jay has the reputation for being generous, which is exhibited when with Jay’s reputation for having lavish parties, and high social class. For

    Read More

  • Essay On Nick Carraway In The Great Gatsby

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the end of the book, it is revealed that all of Tom, Daisy, and Nick are extremely careless. Nick’s carelessness detriments his reliability as a narrator. Because of Nick’s deep and familiar connection with Gatsby, Gatsby is “the exception” and Nick cannot be a reliable narrator towards him. Nick really admires and appreciates Gatsby as a friend, although it seems that Gatsby may not feel nth same way ads Nick. Gatsby may have befriended Nick solely because of his connection with Daisy. Nicks obsession with Gatsby and Gatsby’s obsession with

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Great Gatsby And The Notebook

    2011 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Great Gatsby presents the main character Jay Gatsby, as a poor man who is in love with his best friends cousin, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby was in love with Daisy, his first real love. He was impressed with what she represented, great comfort with extravagant living. Gatsby knew he was not good enough for her, but he was deeply in love. “For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man’s”(Fitzgerald 107). Gatsby could not think of the right words to say. Daisy was too perfect beyond anything he was able to think of. Soon Gatsby and Daisy went their separate ways. Jay Gatsby went into the war while telling Daisy to find someone better for her, someone that will be able to keep her happy and provide for her. Gatsby and Daisy loved one another, but he had to do what was best for her. Gatsby knew the two might not meet again, but if they did, he wanted things to be the same. “I 'm going to fix everything just the way it was before”(Fitzgerald 106). He wanted Daisy to fall in love with him all over again. Unsure if Daisy would ever see Gatsby again, she got married while he was away. The two were still hugely in love with one another, but had to go separate ways in their

    Read More

  • Lies In The Great Gatsby

    483 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story Gatsby comes from New money, was one of the reasons why he was great however on (page 90)- “the reader learns that Gatsby was lying about where his fortune came from.” Nick did not know what he was talking about because nick arrived in the middle of this mess but as he knew he was telling the truth he's also knew that Gatsby could not be trusted.After knowing this Information Nick was wondering what else could Gatsby be lying about.

    Read More

  • What Is The Setting Of The Great Gatsby

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    While some respect him for it, they also see that something is not quite right with him and questions his background and source of wealth. Nick sees more than that, believing what truly made Gatsby great was his pure motivation of love to reinvent himself instead of greed. From Nicks point of view, that makes him leagues better than every other well-off person in the novel. But after Gatsby’s secret is shown his reputation as a marvelous mystery is gone making others look down upon and conspire against him, leaving him to an unfortunate end Gatsby also has a multitude of good qualities. One that truly shines in this book is his sheer determination. To reinvent himself he created a strict regiment for himself to follow everyday and saves his earnings for three years just to buy a house across from his crush. Nick also quotes he has a child-like innocence, saying he was ”consumed with wonder at her presence” when he sees Daisy. He although he may seem dishonest, he is never truly cynical or means. Overall, the book makes the reader feel happy when Daisy and Gatsby get together, but devastated and betrayed after it crumbles apart and revels it’s

    Read More

More about Honesty In The Great Gatsby

Open Document