Irony And Symbolism In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Sick venom in men and women overcome with pride, a perfect world is never perfect only filled with lies, promises are broken and more resentment come alive...” -Kendrick Lamar (CITATION). With this quote Kendrick expresses that just because someone seems to have everything, they may just be missing one of the most important concepts. Happiness, faith and love are among life's most pursued dreams. However some may fail to reach them. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses irony, symbolism and characterization to instill that having artificial and materialistic values will surely result in tragedy.

Many of the characters in The Great Gatsby struggle with the choice between living for love and faith or for money and self-indulgence. One

of these characters is Daisy Buchanan, who faces the choice to either marry the wealthy Tom Buchanan or wait for her previous lover, Jay Gatsby, to return.

She struggles with the decision at first but “[The] Next day at five o’clock she married Tom Buchanan without so much as a shiver” (CITATION). As a result of the marriage, Daisy is binded to Tom for the next five years and stays true to her vows. However, Daisy begins to suspect that Tom is not doing the same. This realization causes her to be pessimistic and upset most of the time. Another character of significance is Jay Gatsby, a hopeful and newly rich man whose only goal in life revolves around the lovely Daisy Buchanan. The only issue is that she has already made her decision and settled with Tom. Gatsby had met Daisy five years before the book takes place when he was an officer in for the war. They fell in love shortly before Gatsby was sent off to fight, causing Gatsby to resort to sending an occasional letter when he got the chance. One of these letters was received the day before Daisy married Tom which is what caused her conflict in the first place. Even after five years, when Gatsby and Daisy

finally meet again he shows her his collection saying, “Here’s a lot of clippings about you” (CITATION). This shows that the distance between them had not dampened his spirits and that his love for Daisy is stronger than anything else he had experienced. Gatsby’s devotion is further shown by the fact that “[He] bought [his] house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (CITATION). Both Daisy and Gatsby are forced to choose between a life of love or a life of security but because of their unknowingness of the others devotion or lack of it, they choose differently, resulting in the tragedy of The Great Gatsby.
Fitzgerald also uses specific characters to show the damaging effects of having artificial and factitious outlooks.

For example, George and Myrtle Wilson are stuck in an unhappy relationship on which Myrtle says, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman… I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe” (CITATION). She obviously does not care for Wilson because he is not wealthy, or fit, enough to satisfy all of her wants. Tom on the other hand is financially able to afford whatever she could want. After seeing a cute dog she demands that “[She] want[s] to get one of those dogs” (CITATION). Tom of course proceeds to buy her whatever she wants. It is obvious to readers that the only reason Myrtle wants Tom is his enormous wealth and his ability to provide anything for her. This love for something as artificial as money leads to Wilson confronting Myrtle about her affair and causes her to flee towards Gatsby, who she mistakes for Tom, and is killed by his car. Another character who is seen as ingenuine is Myrtle’s sister Catherine who the narrator, Nick, meets at a party in New York. Readers gain some insight on Catherine’s purpose to the novel in her initial description “Her eyebrows had been plucked then drawn on again at a more rakish angle, but the efforts of nature toward the restoration of the old alignment gave a blurred air to her face” (CITATION). Even from reader’s first impression of Catherine, they can tell that Fitzgerald is

highlighting the non-natural parts of Catherine’s appearance, such as her eyebrows being plucked and drawn again. Even after her sister is killed, a traumatic experience for anybody, she contributes nothing meaningful to other characters as she “looked at the coroner with determined eyes under that corrected brow of hers” (CITATION). Again with the eyebrows, Fitzgerald takes every possible opportunity to point out the artificiality in Catherine’s character in order to show the damage it can cause. Myrtle and Catherine are both described by Fitzgerald as superficial and frivolous which concludes with neither of them having a happy ending.
Money plays a huge role in the book along with many other symbols because it represents power and also shines a light on those who are attracted to it like moths to a light. One of the most important characters who is represented by his money is Tom Buchanan thanks to his background and family history. This can be shown when Nick says “His family [was] enormously wealthy even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach but now he’d left Chicago and come east in a fashion that rather took your breath away” (CITATION). Tom has been rich his entire life and is not shy to let the world know it. His enormous wealth is comparable to his enormous ego in a sense that he pompous and abusive to those around him, unfortunately most characters with the exception of Nick and Gatsby, fail to see the real Tom, the man behind the money. Those who fall for his superficial charm and riches are ultimately the ones who end up paying the price. One specific person who may have been hit the hardest is his mistress Myrtle who fell in love with his money and lost her life because of it. However while Myrtle may have lost the most, readers tend to sympathize more with his wife Daisy who tolerated his selfish and disgusting ways for five years, putting up with him both before and after Gatsby was killed at Tom’s hand. Further examples of people who are affected by money are the people who live in the Valley of Ashes, a dirty and foul place in between East and West Egg the city. It is the dumping grounds of the wealthy and also home to George and Myrtle Wilson. All the people that live there are dirt poor, therefore shown as weak and oppressed. This can be shown when Myrtle “walk[s] through her husband as if he were a ghost” (CITATION). Fitzgerald wants readers to notice that money represents power in both the book and in real life and that people with money tend to subdue those without.
The tragedy of The Great Gatsby comes from a mixture of perfectly executed literary devices such as irony characterization and symbolism. Characters such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, George and Myrtle Wilson and Catherine are examples set by F. Scott Fitzgerald to show that having superficial and materialistic values will end in catastrophe.