What is problematic about seeing the world through rose-colored glasses? Although some argue that ignorance is bliss, the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a magnificent illustration of how a distorted perspective can affect how a story is comprehended by its’ audience. Relying heavily on facade becomes a problem in the novel when the truth starts peeking through. When reality mixes with delusion, all perspectives are warped based on what they hear from others and what they can only hazily see. All these factors create a conflicting story that is challenging to tell properly. This novel shows that it is nearly impossible to achieve an accurate portrayal based on how different peoples’ worldviews are. A delusional perspective can mislead the outlook of others which is highlighted as a continuous conflict in the novel. The lesson of understanding how alternate outlooks clash with one another is one aspect of what makes this novel deserving as a highly regarded title in American literature.
A deceiving facade created many thickly delusional perspectives in the characters in the novel. For example, George Wilson is torn up by the lies of his wife Myrtle as she was having an affair. He explains how although she could maintain her facade to the rest of society she would have to know that she was not the person she made herself out to be, “‘I spoke to her,’ he muttered, after a long silence. ‘I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God. I took her to the window’ -with an effort he got up and walked to the rear window and leaned with his face pressed against it-’ and I said ‘ God knows what you’ve been doing, everything you’ve been doing. You may fool me, but you can’t fool God!’” (159). George had been floating through life ignoring his wife’s affair for a long time, but her facade could only keep her secret so safe. Many of the characters in the Great Gatsby struggle with keeping their reputation clean or even just believable despite what goes on behind the scenes. Gatsby is an especially interesting character because the general public has a very distorted view of him and he is constantly surrounded by false rumors. He is also entirely delusional about his personal relationship with Daisy and struggles with leaving the past in the past. Despite all the deception and genuine falsehood, the truth peeks out once in a while and creates a foggy picture. This delusion greatly shifts each individual’s perspectives and therefore shifts the story we receive as readers.
The importance of perspective is clearly articulated and proves that the way that perspective intertwines with delusion shifts the telling of reality into a distorted story. Gatsby waits for Daisy in the bushes, watching over her as an act of love, but he does not understand that the feeling is not eternally mutual, “He put his hands in his coat pockets and turned back eagerly to his scrutiny of the house, as though my presence marred the sacredness of the vigil. So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight- watching over nothing” (145). Nick pities Gatsby for his oblivion to the reality of his relationship with Daisy. He fell in the love her and held on to the idea of her for way too long. As Gatsby waits patiently in the bushes watching over Daisy, he truly is watching over nothing. She is not his, and that is something his mind will not let him understand. Gatsby’s distorted view of the world becomes more obvious as Nick gets to know him better. However, Nick’s obsession with Gatsby and his personality as a whole greatly influences the story we, as readers, receive. If the story were told by Gatsby, the novel would be almost entirely about Daisy and Gatsby’s past and expected future with her. Nick’s perspective entirely shapes how we view the story. It is what allows us to see what occurs after Gatsby’s death, and gives us the view of what it is like to be an outsider as well as a part of the West Egg and East Egg cultures. The effect of the story of the Great Gatsby is entirely dependent on who is telling the story and this can go for the real world too. Keeping a good reputation is important for success, but sometimes this can evolve into a sickly false veneer that alters the way people are viewed. The level of falsehood that a successful facade can create has the power to shift the course of a person’s entire life. The way people are viewed relies on what is seen and heard from them and when perspective and opinion intervenes, the story can become unclear. Being limited to one’s own perspective is a struggle that the entire population deals with. For example, the potential effects of what you put on social media affecting your job or your college acceptance. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald continues to maintain it’s fame by teaching the world the harmful effects a delusional outlook can have. This novel connects to and motivates generations of the past and future to stay open-minded to conflicting viewpoints and alerts them to the facades of the many businesses, products, and people that we encounter on a daily basis making it a fitting novel to be taught year after year in American society.
This essay was a deliberate challenge for me because I wanted an angled essay, but I didn’t necessarily agree with the point the essay made, but there was more evidence for it. I like the way this essay turned out, I believe that writing for a perspective I didn’t agree with helped to get straight to the point and use better evidence instead of making connections where there aren’t any as I tend to do with essays that I have strong personal feelings about. This isn’t always the case and sometimes it does benefit me to be personally connected to my essays but in this case, being detached was a healthy challenge and clearly helpful from a writing standpoint.