Conklin 1 Gabriella Conklin Mrs. Tyree English III AP, Per.

5 27 September 2013 Irony Uncovered: The Great Gatsby Version Irony is a literary device that allows the reader to delve into the meaning of such a seemingly contradictory statement or situation. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby, uses irony to make social commentary. The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway; he tells of a summer full of odd encounters and wild stories while living in New York. Fitzgerald uses irony to show the reader how society and people of the era, the 1920s, operated in an odd and dysfunctional fashion. Nicks first ironic encounter took place when he visited the Buchanans house in the first chapter. While being introduced to the great big house, the houses residents and the houses guests, Nick enters a room to find two women dressed in white lounging about. Two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon. They were both dressed in white (Fitzgerald 8). These two women, Daisy and Jordan, are ironically described to the reader as something that these two characters are not. Fitzgerald dresses Daisy and Jordan in white dresses which usually symbolize purity and truth. However, Daisy and Jordan, later on in the story, prove that they are far from pure, innocent, and honest. As the novel goes on, Nick learns about Jordans big scandal and her problem with being unashamedly dishonest. Nick says, She was incurably dishonest (Fitzgerald 58). Jordan is not the only ironically clothed woman in the room; Daisy is just as contradictory to her dress as Jordan was. Daisy begins a great love affair with Gatsby even though she is still wed to her husband, Tom Buchanan. Then he kissed

Conklin 2 her. At his lips touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete, (Fitzgerald 111). This excerpt clearly shows that Daisy was trying to follow her heart even though her heart eventually led to her unfaithfulness and dishonesty to her husband. Irony is most definitely present at Nicks first encounter with Daisy and Jordan. Fitzgerald allows irony to be present here to make a statement about women of the period, 1920s, and their scandals. Fitzgerald cleverly utilizes irony to make comments or give his insight about the people of the 1920s and their affairs. In chapter three Nick attends an enormous party at Gatsbys house. Here Nick notices the way that people are behaving despite their status on the social ladder. Nick notices the difference between the rich and wealthy and those who were just pretending. A great example of the irony in Gatsbys party guests is the scene with one woman crying and making a fool of herself in front of the party. And both wives were lifted, kicking into the night (Fitzgerald 52). This sort of grotesque behavior would not have been displayed among the high class people; therefore, peoples behavior makes it very obvious that not all people are from the same social class as Gatsby and a small majority of his other party guests. Though the party guests come in flashy gowns and attire and all seem to be of the higher class, there are those of lower class among the party. The behavior of each guest clearly exhibits the truth of every person. Once they were introduced by someone who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with an amusement park (Fitzgerald 41). The irony here is the fact that some people are of a lower class pretending to be of higher wealth though they are not, and the wealthy among the crowd are indeed just as grotesque and appalling as people they label with lesser value. Irony helps give this novel definition. Irony helps bring the novel meaning in a different light, the kind of light that may not be as noticeable as other rays or details. As the reader

Conklin 3 approaches the close of the novel, the irony of underlying details and hidden stories begin to appear, such as the relatedness of George and Gatsby. Gatsby and George are not directly related to each other which plays a part in the irony. However, George and Gatsby share a similar story. Both of these men are in love with a woman, but there is a force that keeps both Gatsby and George from gaining their womens whole love. The wedge that is being driven between Daisy and Gatsby and George and Myrtle is Tom Buchanan. Tom is married to Daisy, whom Gatsby is madly in love with, while keeping a mistress named Myrtle, who is Georges wife. Gatsby, wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: I never loved you, but to Gatsbys dismay she never would. (Fitzgerald 109). Tom had first introduced Nick to his mistress, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanans mistress, at her home in the valley of ashes in front of her husband. George, Myrtles husband was very unaware that the woman he loved was going around with Tom (Fitzgerald 24). Irony covers a lot of the novels surface, in some ways that are more visible than others, such as the relatedness of George and Gatsby. Fitzgerald makes use of irony to make social commentary about the happenings of the book and the time period that they represent. The Great Gatsby exhibits irony in a way that grabs the readers attention. Fitzgerald uses irony to allow the reader to visualize people, visualize situations, and visualize life in the 1920s. The novel encourages the reader to go beyond the words on the page and search for the deeper meaning.