Honor In The Great Gatsby

Honor is having pride in one’s family name or self and having courage. Honor can be a blessing in some cases, but in other cases it can be a curse. Some people use honor to make themselves better, but others use honor to make others feel bad. The theme of honor is shown throughout American literature especially in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and Chinese Cinderella. Honor was first introduced in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The theme of honor can be shown in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when Huck goes on wild adventures. Huck finds honor in stealing items from people with Tom and the gang in the beginning of the book. He subconsciously knows it is bad, but at this point in the book all honor is good honor

Jay Gatsby had honor in his name. He was very rich and powerful. He created a fake successful past to make himself feel better, and make others think better of him. He wanted to erase his unsuccessful farm past. Nick said, “James Gatz – that was really, or at least legally, his name. He had changed it at the age of seventeen and at the specific moment that witnessed the beginning of his career – when he saw Dan Cody's yacht drop anchor over the most insidious flat on Lake Superior” (Fitzgerald 104). When he was living with Dan Cody, it showed him how he wanted his life to be. He wanted to be successful and rich like Dan was. He wanted other people to see honor in his name. He tried to build a relationship with Nick on lies and deception, and he wanted to make himself sound honorable. People who are rich have honor, and people in other societies have

People in the Chinese culture have honor in their family. Their family wanted other people to think of them as amazing. Each family wants to be superior to each other. Family names were a status symbol in China. Father told Adeline to get good grades and make the family proud multiple times. Honor was also shown when Adeline refuses to take the tram fare from Niang. Adeline said, “I simply couldn’t force myself to go to Niang and admit that I (and therefore Ye Ye) had erred in the past” (Yen Mah 40). Adeline stood up to Niang and refused to apologize to her. She knew that she didn’t do anything wrong and shouldn’t have to apologize. Niang wanted her to apologize for taking tram fare from Ye Ye and Aunt Baba. Adeline showed honor and didn’t let Niang tell her what to do. The theme of honor can be seen in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, and Chinese Cinderella. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn shows honor in Huck’s adventures and in the honorable families of the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons. In The Great Gatsby, you can see honor in the past of James Gatz. Honor is seen in Chinese Cinderella when Adeline got good grades to bring honor to her family and stood up to Niang. Honor is making your name great and having courage, which is not always easy to