The Theme Of Appearance And Reality In The Great Gatsby

535 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How is appearance and reality shown in the great gatsby

“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

Show More
Related

  • Façade and Lies: A Theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald´s The Great Gatsby

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said this and this quote has greatly influenced the theme statement for this paper. The theme statement for this paper on the Great Gatsby is some people are willing to put up a false façade in order to become something they think is better and they lose their true selves in the long run. This paper will go through three examples of putting up a false façade. First the paper will go through Jay Gatsby, then Nick Carraway and finally the paper will wrap up with the parties that Gatsby throws.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Great Gatsby'

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Historical Analysis Of The Great Gatsby

    1887 Words  | 4 Pages

    The word visually stunning could be used to describe the 2013 Baz Luhrman directed adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s timeless novel The Great Gatsby. Speaking of the director, I enjoyed his portrayal of the lavish lifestyle and carefree party like attitude in such a beautiful visual experience. The way in which the party scenes were filmed in the movie made perfect sense compared to the source material and were something I have never seen done by any other directors in a live action film. Another positive for me about this film was the soundtrack. When I first started watching the film I expected to hear old time music prevalent in the 20s. I however was pleasantly surprised when I learned the soundtrack was compiled by Jay-Z and featured many tracks I enjoyed featuring him either alone or accompanied by another musical guest. While Jay-Z is not exactly an accurate representation of the music of the 20s, the soundtrack adds a modern flavour over the previously mentioned beautiful backgrounds and architecture. The story however is where the movie at times falls flat. When stripped down to basics it is nothing more than a generic love story with a few twists added in for extra kick. The characters in the same vain can be very bland and not make you care much for them due to their backstories not being deeply explored. The only character that I found to be interesting was Jay Gatsby because of the mystical aura that surrounds his character at the beginning of the movie that leads you to want to uncover more of this ever mysterious man. All in all the visuals clearly outpace

    Read More

  • Essay Outline On The Great Gatsby

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: How does F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, compares the American Dream in today's generation and back in the 1920's-30's? What did the American Dream really mean and why? So why did this issue happen? Do you think America can change in the future? What is the american dream really about? When did the phrase: ‘american dream’ started? Have you ever wondered what the 20s and 30s were like back then? How can this so called dream ever bring hope to our country? These are all the questions I would like to know myself. I’ve found three online sources & one source from the novel that can help explain about the 20th century, the Gatsby novel, today's generation, and about Mr.Gatsby from the book.

    Read More

  • Reality In The Great Gatsby Essay

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the themes of dreams, illusion versus reality, poverty versus wealth, having your highlight in your youth, waste, east versus west, creating a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. In this oral presentation the ideas and techniques that show illusion versus reality within the novel will be explored and discussed.

    Read More

  • The Reader's Sympathy for Dorian from Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the beginning of the book, Dorian seems to be an innocent, charming, beautiful young man, and even referred to as “a wonderful creation” (ch 2). Dorian is described as this amazing person, with looks comparable to a God, charm that could swoon any woman, and a mesmerizing persona about him with the ability to draw anyone near, yet he seems to be so imperceptive to himself. His attitude of simplicity causes readers to be fond of him, passing their first judgments that he could not possibly be evil. As the story moves along readers see the first inkling that Dorian may not be so perfect. Dorian comments on “how sad it is…[that he] shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But the picture will remain always young” (ch 2). This statement lets readers inside Dorian’s thoughts, showing how shallow and frivolous Dorian views life to be. He places so much value and esteem on looks alone, forgetting that being painted should be an honor, or at the very least...

    Read More

  • What Is The Reality Of Reality In The Great Gatsby

    807 Words  | 2 Pages

    In society, many people mistakably blind themselves from the truth of reality in order to achieve the materialistic things life offers. They become intrigued by these ideas and dreams of another life and turn it into an obsession, unable to understand the consequences. In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Jay Gatsby’s perception of life exemplifies this by allowing his dreams to overpower reality. His belief happiness can be found through wealth, love and possessions causes him to think everything should and will be capable of his reach. Motivated by obsession with love and success, Gatsby creates an impractical dream for himself and Daisy.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Themes And Motifs

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Book Analysis F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of "The Great Gatsby," reveals many principles about today's society and the "American dream. " One of the biggest fears in today's world is the fear of not fitting into society. People of all age groups and backgrounds share this fear. Many individuals believe that to receive somebody's affection, they must assimilate into that person's society. In the story, Jay Gatsby pursues the American dream and his passion for being happy only to come to a tragedy and total loss.

    Read More

  • Themes In The Great Gatsby

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Backpack Literature defines theme as “the general point or truth about human beings that may be drawn from” a story. Most novels do not have one single theme, but instead have many themes spread throughout. Some of the themes may be related but others can come from opposite ends of the spectrum. The Great Gatsby has several themes that are related such as greed, lust, and selfishness. One of the themes that stood out to me was that some people will never be fully satisfied. This is demonstrated by Jay Gatsby’s continuous us of illegal activities to make more money to impress Daisy, by Tom Buchanan’s affair with a mechanic’s wife even though he was already married, and by Jay Gatsby constantly throwing parties to try and win Daisy back after

    Read More

  • Reality Of The Great Gatsby

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Parties, alcohol, and the desire to change from “rags to riches”. These things are not only represented in the movie The Great Gatsby, but also represent the time of the Roaring Twenties. The Great Gatsby depicts an accurate depiction of the time when America ended World War I in 1918, and entered in a period of wealth and materialism. Although The Great Gatsby exemplifies United States with accurate representations, there are few inaccurate details regarding the American Dream, flapper girls, and Prohibition.

    Read More

  • Dorian Gray Vs. Frankenstein

    2002 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: Realism

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    perhaps even one of the greatest novels of all time. In order to be revered as a

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Picture of Dorian Gray: Dorian as Faust

    3302 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Picture of Dorian Gray is a rich story which can be viewed through many literary and cultural lenses. Oscar Wilde himself purposefully filled his novel with a great many direct and indirect allusions to the literary culture of his times, so it seems appropriate to look back at his story - both the novel and the 1945 film version - in this way.

    Read More

  • Beauty in The Picture of Dorian Gray

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty is depicted as the driving force in the lives of the three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Dorian, the main character, believes in seizing the day. Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited ones physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. Beauty ordains the fate of Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry. The novel embodies the relationship of beauty and morality. Beauty is not based on how attractive an object is to everyone, but how attractive it is to one.

    Read More

  • Ethical Judgments Limit the Pursuit of Knowledge

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    The picture of Dorian Gray. The Electronic Classics Series, The Pennsylvania State University. p. 3/ Retrieved January 3, 2014 from http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray.pdf

    Read More

More about The Theme Of Appearance And Reality In The Great Gatsby

Open Document