The Theme Of Appearance And Reality In The Great Gatsby

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“Everything we are currently experiencing in our lives comes about in order to assist us in evolving to a higher level of consciousness. Even what we now perceive as bad, harsh, negative or upsetting is here to assist us in seeing life in a more peaceful, diplomatic and non-violent way.” – James Blanchard Cisneros The main characters in both, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ undergo, and define three main themes which I will be expanding on. These characters not only let go or lose their loved ones but also overcome the complications of Appearance vs Reality, Influence, and Betrayal. The saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” also relates to this important theme of appearance vs reality, because you shouldn’t judge someone based on their appearances. Many people appear to be trustworthy, wealthy, and loyal but in reality aren’t. This theme focuses on the characters in these novels who have deceived by what appears to be real, and then the tragic At one point in the story Sibyl doesn’t perform to the best of her ability. When Dorian sees that she is performing really horribly, he gets really mad at her and says to Sibyl “What are you now? A third-rate actress with a pretty face … ‘You are not serious Dorian’ she murmured. ‘You are acting.’”(Wilde 88) When Sibyl and Dorian initially met each other, Sibyl was enamored by his looks and without any question said yes to marry Dorian. Despite her believing the fact that he was just a decent man who was kind towards women, Dorian proves her completely wrong by rejecting her and harshly breaking her heart. This is a good exemplar of appearance versus reality, because although from his looks Sibyl thought that Dorian was the ‘perfect one’ for her, in reality he turned out to be the opposite and ended everything they ever had for each

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