Thomas 1 James Thomas Mrs. Tyree English III AP, Per.

5 14 October 2013 The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel full of mystery and amazement. The narrative does not just explain the account of Gatsbys life, but also touches on the bases of love, trust, and material items. Irony is rendered in this work of fiction to help engage symbolism, humor, and imagery in order to see the story through eyes of the narrator Nick Carraway and of the author F. Scott Fitzgerald. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald comments on the boundaries of social class and on the character Jay Gatsby by using irony that is presented throughout the novel. One of the many ways that irony is presented in the novel is how the guests at Gatsbys parties are described. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains (Fitzgerald 43). The guests at Gatsbys parties are Fitzgeralds method of proving how society as a whole truly cares about Gatsbys accomplishments and also Gatsby as a person. Some of the parties that Gatsby hosts at his grand home can last for a whole night or an on-going event throughout a span of a whole weekend. Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once, and Its more that he was a German spy during the war (Fitzgerald 49). Most of the guests at the parties barely know Gatsby, many of whom do not even know what the host of these grand parties looks like. The guests choose to create and spread multiple rumors about Gatsby in order to learn about his life rather than to find

Thomas 2 out who the real Gatsby is. The few guests that do know what Gatsby looks like and have had the privilege to talk to the great man still do not know exactly who Gatsby truly is. Everyone seems to be content to just believe in the rumors that are spread wildly by the whole community of West Egg and New York. First-class citizens from Rhode Island and New York that have heard about Gatsby have come to see what all the rumors are about. They conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks (Fitzgerald 45). All of the guests are presumed to be in the first social class in society due to the amount of luxury that is presented in the house, but also treat Gatsbys parties as an amusement park and conducted their actions as such. Ironically though, the guests seem to be oblivious of the fact that they are degrading Gatsby by spreading horrible rumors and treating his home like an amusement park. The guests flood Gatsbys house for the parties to let loose and have fun but choose not to become actual friends or for some people even interact with Gatsby himself. When the festivities end the guests return to their homes, only to revisit Gatsbys house to start their riotous acts once again. Irony is also presented through the relationship of Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby but also of Nicks opinion of Gatsby as a person. The irony behind Nicks opinion of Gatsby is that when Nick first sees Gatsby looking out upon the bay in the direction of the green light, or Daisys house, Nick sees Gatsby as a mysterious figure. I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsbys house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invitedthey went there (Fitzgerald 45). When Nick is invited to Gatsbys party he is acknowledged as the one of the only guests that wants to formally meet the host and thank him for his invitation. While searching for Gatsby at his grand house, Nick learns about all of the

rumors and horrible things that people say about Gatsby. Nick has mixed feelings about the

Thomas 3 guests at the party and the rumors that are spread. Due to all of the mystery that surrounds Gatsby Nick is unable to actually form a plausible opinion about him so he chooses to settle with the rumors for the time being. Ironically though, Nick meets Gatsby by chance at a table with Jordan Baker and is invited to go on Gatsbys hydroplane in the morning. [h]e had just bought a hydroplane and was going to try it out in the morning. Want to go with me, old sport? Just near the shore along the Sound (Fitzgerald 52). The decision of taking Nick out on his newly bought hydroplane is abnormal because out of everyone at the party, Gatsby chooses Nick to spend quality time with him. The encounter between the two helps Nick draw a better conclusion about Gatsby and his hospitality but not about his past. Throughout Gatsbys and Nicks time together, Nick begins to learn more and more about Gatsbys true past. Later on in the novel, Gatsby decides to reveal to Nick more and more about his past and what he does for a living, which shows that Gatsby sees Nick as one of his only true friends. This decision also proves abnormal because no one in the novel, not even Meyer Wolfshiem, truly knows about Gatsbys past. My family all died and I came into a good deal of money, and I was promoted to be a major and every Allied government gave me a decoration (Fitzgerald 71). Weeks go by and Gatsby nearly explains to Nick about his past which is him being in the military, his family history and how he received his wealth. Since then Nick has received enough information about Gatsby to determine that everything that he worked towards the past few years of his life was for love. Gatsby worked for all of his wealth in order to marry Daisy properly. Nick approves of Gatsbys efforts of trying to win back Daisys love through determination. In the end though, Nick is the one and only man that knows Gatsby well enough to be called a true friend that stuck by him until his unfortunate death, and they only knew each other for three months.

Thomas 4 The last ironic comment that occurs within the novel is at the funeral of Jay Gatsby. The funeral is a symbol of how Fitzgerald wanted to portray Gatsbys social life. Even though Gatsby pushed with all of his might to move up the social ladder by becoming wealthy and well known he was still not able to succeed in the end. Gatsby could not buy love, nor could he buy true friendship. Fitzgerald also brings back an old character that helps shed some light on how the world really sees Gatsby. Dimly I heard someone murmur Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on, and then the owl-eyed man said Amen to that, in a brave voice (Fitzgerald 186). Owl-Eyes arrives to the funeral and composes a statement that proves everything that Gatsby was did nothing to help him in the end. The poor son-of-a-bitch, he said (Fitzgerald 187). Since no one but Mr. Gatz and the minister and I in the limousine, and, a little later, four or five servants and the postman from West Egg went to the funeral Fitzgerald concludes what society thought of Gatsby and all of his wonders. The conclusion that Fitzgerald states is that no one really cares about the man with the money, all people care about is the money itself. Irony is a literary device that provides much controversy and in some cases, humor. Irony is used in this novel in order for Fitzgerald to comment on Jay Gatsby and society. Fitzgerald is tremendously superior at portraying situations with imagery but also by creating an event in the novel with a symbolic or humorous ironical situation. The Great Gatsby is a splendid example of how irony can help manufacture an advanced novel.