How do chapters 3 and 4 of The Great Gatsby explore the themes of

judgment and punishment, or disguise and deceit, or love and friendship,

and with what effect?

The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel published in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in New York
City during the American Jazz Age (1920s-1930s), it tells the story of first-person narrator Nick
Carraway as he moves to West Egg, an island off the coast of the city, and gets involved with
the mysterious character of Gatsby. In chapter 3, Nick is invited to one of Gatsby’s extravagant
parties and meets the host himself, who Nick finds to be fascinated by. In chapter 4, Gatsby
invites Nick for lunch in New York. He tells him his ludicrous life story, and the narrator meets a
suspicious friend of Gatsby’s, Mr. Wolfshiem, who hints at Gatsby’s hidden life. Later in the
evening, Nick meets Jordan, and questions his own feelings for her. In these two chapters, the
theme of disguise and deceit is a powerful and overlaying one that Fitzgerald does not fail to
make an emphasis on.
Fitzgerald opens chapter 3 on Nick’s viewpoint of Gatsby’s party. As a narrator who often
extensively describes his surroundings, Nick vividly portrays the flamboyant scene set by
Gatsby. “The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun” is a poetic, almost
romantic description of the setting. Guests are suspicious of Gatsby, “Somebody told me they
thought he killed a man once”, because it is a strange that a man would constantly host such
parties without any benefit to him. Relating to the theme of deceit and disguise, the reader
knows after finishing the story that this prodigal lifestyle is only a disguise to his real aims to lur
Daisy, who lives on West Egg, towards him. Once unable to be with her due to his low status, he
now wishes to show her that he is capable of being her partner. Gatsby also remains sober at
his parties, “the fact that he was not drinking helped him set him off from his guests”, for if
Daisy was to finally arrive, he absolutely does not want to miss his chance.
His perspective also offers the reader an insight of the motives of the many aristocrats
attending the event. While at first, they seem here solely for a good time and enjoying
themselves, they are “all looking a little hungry”, which is a metaphor illustrating the men’s
yearning for status, business, and women. Nick says he is sure “they were selling something”,
confirming their use of the for ulterior motives. The party guests are “agonizingly aware of the
easy money in the vicinity and convinced that it was theirs for a few words in the right key”.
Businessmen know that Gatsby’s luxurious parties attract the wealthiest people in New York
and use this opportunity to advertise their product to the weak-minded aristocrats, who readily
waste their bottomless pool of money on a regular basis. “Agonizingly” shows the
businessmen’s desperate pursuit of wealth, and this reflects the general mindset of most
people in this era of New York filled with salesmen. This explores the themes of deceit because
these people attend the parties under pretense that they came to enjoy themselves, but really
are looking to reach the wealthiest customers to earn more money.
Throughout chapter 3, Fitzgerald progressively describes the stages of the party. In the first
part, guests are composed, elegant and formal, “I was immediately struck by the number of
Englishmen dotted about, all well-dressed”. They greet each other politely with a glass of
champagne in their hands and speak in a low tone and confident voice. However, as the party
moves forward, the reader sees this disguise break down, and the party become more chaotic
by the second. “Most of the remaining women were now having fights with men said to be
their husbands” shows the effects of alcohol on the party guests now that its relieving aspect
has com to an end. The whole façade of the picture-perfect event is coming down to a mess.
This shows that aristocrats come to these parties to escape their real-life problems (such as the
marital disputes in the previous quote) for the evening using alcohol, putting on a disguise, and
in a way, deceiving themselves in that instant.
During the car ride, Gatsby tells his incredulous life story, which Nick has a difficult time
believing. He claims that he has inherited his money from “wealthy people in the middle-west”
who are “all dead now”. It is hardly believable that all his relatives have passed away and that
their money miraculously came into his hands. Nick becomes very suspicious of his story, “his
whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about
him after all”. The reader, later on, learns that Gatsby has this cover story because he cannot
reveal his past as a bootlegger. Nick almost mocks his hyperbolic and overly marvelous story,
“they evoked no image except that of a turbaned ‘character’”, the label of ‘character’
suggesting the fact that the protagonist of this invented story is nothing but fiction. The
deceitful Gatsby in this passage reflects the theme of disguise and deceit.
Fitzgerald hints multiples times throughout the chapter at Gatsby’s previous criminal life. When
the policeman lets off Gatsby after he stops his car and Nick inquires about it, he vaguely
answers “I was able to do the commissioner a favor once, and he sends me a Christmas card
every year”. This suspicious answer suggests bribery and corruption. The reader is also
introduced to Gatsby’s acquaintance, Mr. Wolfshiem, who has repetitive connections to gang
activity in the chapter. “I can’t forget so long as I live the night, they shot Rosy Rosenthal here”
is an example of his experiences in his life of crime. We also learn that he was the man that
“fixed the World’s Series”, which demonstrates the scale of his criminal activity. Initially, Mr.
Wolfshiem assumes that Nick is a business partner introduced by Gatsby, who panics at the risk
of his secret life being revealed, “’Oh, no’ he exclaimed, ‘this isn’t the man!’”. This further
emphasizes the theme of deceit around Gatsby’s character, and strangely enough, the more
Nick gets to know him, the more mysterious he becomes.
In conclusion, the theme of disguise and deceit is one the most significant ones in this passage
of The Great Gatsby. This is mainly expressed by Fitzgerald through the character of Gatsby,
between his two different lifestyles, and his aims of attracting Daisy. However, it is also seen
that other aristocratic characters show deceitful behavior at Gatsby’s parties, using alcohol to
create a disguise for themselves.