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Recommended: Satire and irony in The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a book told through a narrator, Nick, of the lives of three extremely wealthy people and the love affairs they indulge themselves in. Irony is defined as the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. Gatsby dreams of having copious amounts of money and living a lavish lifestyle, but this unfeeling lifestyle causes Gatsby feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. Gatsby throw enormous parties that hundreds of people attend, leading the reader to believe he is surrounded with friends, yet only two people attend his funeral. Gatsby devotes his life to Daisy and takes the blame for the death of Myrtle and Daisy, acting out of selfishness, abandons him and runs off with Tom. F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes irony to emphasize the contrast between illusion and reality in the reader’s perception of Jay Gatsby’s life, exemplifying that the assumptions we make about others’ lives is usually drastically different from what actually lies beneath the surface.

Gatsby’s definition of success is having a large sum of money in his bank account and living flamboyantly, yet this life leads to a lack of happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment. When Gatsby first reveals his mansion to Daisy, she first sees the extravagance of the “sparkling odor of jonquils . . . of hawthorn and plum blossoms and the pale gold odor of kiss-me-at-the-gate.” (90) This first impression of Gatsby’s estate leave Daisy stunned and mystified by his luxurious lifestyle that were the fruits of his lengthy labor. Gatsby still drifts through life finding himself “among strangers” and “trying to forget the sad things that happened” to him. (67) Gatsby has created an illusion of great s...

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...y Daisy, when her true colors are shown in her selfish act of abandoning Gatsby.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of irony exaggerates the contrast between illusion and reality in the reader’s perception of Gatsby’ life, displaying that we make assumptions about the details of others’ lives that are almost always worlds away from the truth. Gatsby’s definition of success leads him through a life that appears to be joyful but is actually unsatisfying. Gatsby’s extensive social life gives the illusion that he has an elaborate web of loved ones, but in reality Gatsby has little to no close friends. Gatsby devotes his entire life to Daisy in the name of love, yet she betrays him and runs off with Tom to save her own skin. F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches the reader that we cannot accept the appearance of others’ lives as truth and to dig past the outer layer to see the raw truth.

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