Betrayal
Betrayal plays a key role in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ruining people’s lives comes easily to Tom and Daisy Buchanan. Their betrayal cuts deep for Gatsby, Myrtle, and Wilson.The Great Gatsby takes place during the Jazz Age in Long Island, New York. The novel follows the love triangle between Daisy, her husband Tom, and her lover Jay Gatsby, a man notorious for throwing ostentatious parties. The theme of betrayal advances throughout the novel through the actions of Tom and Daisy.
The first evident example of betrayal in The Great Gatsby is Tom and Myrtle’s affair. Not only is Tom hurting his wife, Daisy, but Myrtle is also hurting her husband, Wilson. Tom’s affair with Myrtle is described by Nick saying, “The fact that he had one [a mistress] was insisted upon wherever he was known. His acquaintances resented the fact that he
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turned up in popular restaurants with her and, leaving her at a table, sauntered about, chatting with whomever he knew” (24). Tom had the cruel audacity to flaunt his mistress around and make it known to others, so, he was not only betraying Daisy, he was also embarrassing her. After the despondent Wilson finds out about Myrtle and Tom’s affair Nick describes him saying, “...the shock had made him physically sick” (124). This quote portrays how badly Myrtle and Tom hurt Wilson. His whole world was destroyed because of their carelessness and utter betrayal. Tom’s double-crossing of Gatsby is another example of betrayal. Tom betrays Gatsby first by rummaging into his past and purposely seeking to vilify him. He has a private detective dig into Gatsby’s past and announces to the group, “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong” (133). By revealing Gatsby’s unromantic past and his illegal dealings Tom ruined all opinions of Gatsby, including Daisy’s. Tom fatally betrayed Gatsby, however, when he told Wilson it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle with his car, not himself or the true culprit, Daisy, assuring him, “That yellow car I was driving this afternoon wasn’t mine-do you hear?” (140). What Tom said guaranteed Gatsby’s death the next day. Tom betrayed Gatsby for selfish reasons and didn’t even stop to think what would happen to Gatsby after he falsely accused him. One last example of betrayal is between Daisy and Gatsby.
Daisy lies about her true feelings for Gatsby, and in the end proves she never loved him at all. Daisy once told Gatsby she never loved Tom and when Gatsby wants to make this clear to Tom, Daisy admits, “I did love him once- but I loved you too” (132). Daisy betrayed Gatsby by telling him she never loved Tom and led him to believe she only ever loved him, however, this wasn’t true and she publically humiliated Gatsby. Daisy’s final betrayal to Gatsby was her not coming to Gatsby’s funeral. It could be said Daisy inadvertently got Gatsby killed in the first place, so when she didn’t go to his funeral she truly betrayed him and proved she never loved him. Nick finds out Daisy and Tom had left town after he calls them saying, “I called up Daisy a half hour after we found him, called her instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them” (164). Nick called Daisy without any thought thinking she had ardor for Gatsby only to find she left with a nonchalance attitude towards Gatsby’s
death. Tom and Daisy betrayed almost everyone close to them and then left together without any thought of the destruction they had left behind them. The Great Gatsby is built around the constant betrayal displayed by others. Fitzgerald uses Tom and Daisy to prove how people can capriciously betray others and feel no guilt. Nick puts it best saying, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made…” (179).
In the book, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there were a few crimes being committed in the story but the main crime that created problem in the plot and caused three deaths is the sinful nature of adultery. The characters that were involved in the matter were Tom & Myrtle and Daisy & Gatsby having the secret affairs. The victims being involved in the crime is only George Wilson that is the husband of Myrtle but he later finds out about her affair being behind his back and decides to take drastic measures to get revenge which causes a great plot development in the story. Adultery is the most horrific crime in the book because the numerous times of dishonesty being taken place and the feeling of jealous. For example, during the conversation
Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work The Great Gatsby, Nick Caraway undergoes a large transformation. His character arc demonstrates the negative effects of being part of a rich and privileged society, and that even though the 1920’s era looks beautiful and fun, a great many of its inhabitants were empty. Nick Caraway starts the novel hopeful, but as he is exposed to the amoral culture of the rich socialites and businessmen, he becomes cynical, bitter, and he abandons his habits of honesty, and reserving judgment.
Jay Gatsby’s funeral is a small service, not because that 's what was intended, but because no one bothered to show up. Nick wanted to give Gatsby the popularity he desired, even in death, but only three people were present in the end. Gatsby’s father, Henry C. Gatz, shows up unexpectedly from Minnesota because he heard about the news in the papers. He believes that the man who shot his son must 've been mad, that no one in their right mind could commit such a horrible act. Daisy and Wolfsheim, the people closest to Gatsby in the book, do not attend. This exemplifies that it was always about wealth and social status for them, including Tom, and they never genuinely cared for Gatsby. Nick held up hope,
The novel The Great Gatsby displays deceitfulness in many of its characters. The deceit brings many of the characters to their downfall. Gatsby had the greatest downfall of them all due to the fact it took his life. In The Great Gatsby , “ Gatsby goes to spectacular lengths to try to achieve what Nick calls ‘his incorruptible dream’ to recapture the past by getting Daisy Buchannan love” (Sutton). Gatsby always had an infatuation with Daisy, Jordan Baker said,”Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 83). Gatsby and Daisy did have a past together. While Jordan was golfing, “The Officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at sometime[…]His name was Jay Gatsby and I didn’t lay eyes on him for over four years-even after I’d met him in long island I didn’t realize it was the same man” (Fitzgerald 80). Daisy is now in an abusive relationship with Tom Buchannan, “Nick Carraway attends a small publicly blames Tom for the bruise on her knuckle” (Sutton). When they meet again Gatsby showers Daisy with love and affection, wanting her to leave her husband Tom, but she does not want to in their society. Tom and Gatsby get into an argument and tom tells Daisy about Gatsby’s bootlegging that brought him to his riches. Tom yelled, “He a...
In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is blatantly evident, as his view of Gatsby’s actions seems to arbitrarily shift between disapproval and approval. Nick is an unreliable and hypocritical narrator who disputes his own background information and subjectively depicts Gatsby as a benevolent and charismatic host while ignoring his flaws and immorality from illegal activities. He refuses to seriously contemplate Gatsby’s negative attributes because of their strong mutual friendship and he is blinded by an unrealized faith in Gatsby. Furthermore, his multitude of discrepancies damage his ethos appeal and contribute to his lack of dependability.
Tom suspects that Gatsby and Daisy are having a relationship, but has no evidence to prove it. However, whenever Tom would leave the room, Daisy would immediately run into Gatsby’s arms to show her affection. To their dismay, Tom sees this: “She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw” (Fitzgerald 126). This leads to a confrontation between Gatsby and Tom, where Gatsby boldly declares that “Your wife [Daisy] doesn’t love you …She’s never loved you. She loves me” (Fitzgerald 139). Gatsby feels untouchable, and his confidence in Daisy’s love for him allows him to declare this to Tom. However, Tom slowly gains control of Daisy, reminding her of the experiences they shared together. Realizing this, Gatsby becomes desperate, and attempts to force Daisy into saying things she doesn’t believe, but Daisy tells Gatsby the truth: “’Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom… It wouldn’t be true’” (Fitzgerald 142). Gatsby is delusional because his only thought is proving to Tom that Daisy doesn’t love him, and fails to realize that he is slowly losing Daisy. He is once again so absorbed by Daisy that he fails to realize what is going on around him. Even after Daisy runs over a woman murdering her in cold blood, Gatsby is willing to take the blame for her, and states “of course I’ll say [to the police] I was [driving]” (Fitzgerard 154). Gatsby still loves Daisy after she commits murder, which is a testament to his obsession and delusion over her. Gatsby is willing to go to prison and lose everything because Gatsby still believes that Daisy loves him despite Tom proving
Daisy knows she still loves Gatsby, but doesn’t want to leave Tom’s money, so she hides the way she feels. Gatsby figures out that Daisy is not going to leave Tom and he finds this out as he watches over Daisy, as he tried protecting her the day Myrtle was killed. Nick observed Gatsby as,”[he] walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight, watching over nothing. ”(145) This is when Gatsby finally got the message and he now knows that Daisy will never be with him.
Throughout “The Great Gatsby,” corruption is evident through the people within it. However, we discover with Daisy, initially believed to be a victim of her husband’s corruption—we find she is the eye of the storm. In the story, the reader feels sorry for Daisy, the victim in an arranged marriage, wanting her to find the happiness she seemingly longed for with Gatsby. Ultimately we see Daisy for what she is, a truly corrupt soul; her languish and materialistic lifestyle, allowing Gatsby to take the blame for her foolish action of killing Myrtle, and feigning the ultimate victim as she “allows” Tom to take her away from the unsavory business she has created. Daisy, the definitive picture of seeming innocence is the most unforeseen, therefore, effective image of corruption—leading to a good man’s downfall of the American Dream.
Scott Fitzgerald was a writer who desired his readers to be able to hear, feel, and see his work. He made it his goal to be able to make readers think and keep asking questions using imagery and symbolism. The Great Gatsby was not just about the changes that occurred during the Jazz Age, but it was also about America’s corrupted society which was full of betrayal and money-hungry citizens. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that overlooked all the corruption that occurred throughout the Valley of Ashes. It was the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg that serves as a symbol of higher power who witnesses everything from betrayal to chaos in Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Can Gatsby really considered to be a “tragic hero”? In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author portrays a story of a man who attempts to recreate his past relationship and steal the heart of Daisy Buchanan, the main catalyst for his “American Dream”. In his early stage of life, Gatsby disliked his status as a farmer in rural North Dakota. He was determined to become wealthier and improve his social status. Luckily, Gatsby improves his affluence, but he wastefully spends it on hosting large parties at his mansion in order to attract Daisy. While proponents of Gatsby argue that he is an notable model to represent the “American Dream” as he portrays consistency through his attempts, they neglect that he fails to realize
In The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald written during the 1920’s, Fitzgerald presents a classic tale of infinite love and betrayal. The story is told by one of the main characters Nick Carraway. Back in the war days a young Jay Gatsby meets Daisy, he left for the war and vowed to never stop loving her. Years later of out coincidence Nick (Daisy’s cousin) ,moves right next door to Mr. Gatsby. Gatsby soon realizes the kinship between Nick and Daisy and becomes very close friends to Nick. Gatsby himself is a very mysterious man,with so many rumors about him going around nobody really knows how Gatsby became rich or where exactly he even came from. One thing is for certain though, the extravagant house and the expensive cars he drives
Daisy staying with Tom and letting Gatsby take blame for her actions shows she never truly loved Gatsby.
The only person that Daisy truly loves is herself. The entire book, every decision she made had a selfish motivation behind it. She rekindled her relationship with Gatsby because her relationship with Tom was not what she wanted and she left town knowing that Gatsby would be blamed for something that she did. That is not something to do to someone you love. Gatsby spent so much time and effort putting together a life that Daisy would be impressed by. All he wanted was to make her happy and she did not seem to feel any remorse by betraying him. She never did anything for him in return and he devoted his entire life to her. In the end, she could not even bother to come to his funeral. Daisy turned out to be a selfish coward and did not deserve an unconditional love like Gatsby’s.
...are shown that Gatsby is prepared to do everything in his power to acquire Daisy’s adoration again, even let her get away with murder and will blindly go to jail for her. This however only leads him to his ultimate doom, as he is killed by Myrtle’s husband, Wilson. He may be a liar, but readers empathize with him as his only fault for being dishonest is his love for Daisy and being so blind to see that she is not worthy of that adoration.
The very ironic piece of literature The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzergald is a novel written in the early 1920s. In this novel, the author comments on various types of themes like hope, betrayal, social class, greediness, death, American Dream, power and justice. One of the very important theme that the author comments on is betrayal. The Great Gatsby is a very brilliant piece of literature that talks about how the characters betray their loved ones. Daisy Faye, born in Louisville, Kentucky was a princess whom every man dreamt of. She always dressed in white clothes which symbolized purity and innocence. Daisy Buchanan is a very dynamic character and has a very multi-dimensional personality. This novel, is a very vivid piece of literature