Appearance Vs. reality

[ryan1barnett]

Any ideas for essays on appearance vs reality theme ????

[Wilde woman]

You could talk about Gatsby's idealization of Daisy. He puts her on a pedestal, when, in reality, she is not the woman he think she is.

Also, if you buy into the idea that Nick Carraway is not a reliable narrator, you could talk about the discrepancy between the way he represents reality and actual reality.

[Emmy Castrol]

Yes, Daisy is a good one. One example which has always struck me is about her daughter, whom Nick expects 'the thing for Daisy to do was rush outof the house, child in arms - but apparently there were no such intentions in her head'. This contrasts to later on, when Daisy is cooing at her daughter about how much the toddler is loved. The appearance - in spoken words by Daisy - is that she loves her daughter but Nick's observation in the beginning is that the reality may be that Daisy is rather negligent and careless about her child.

Another part which i find quite haunting is about Gatsby's pursuit of the American Dream. In the beginning we think that Gatsby achieved it, this is the appearance; by the end of the novel the reality is that Gatsby only obtained his business empire by smuggling through prohibition.

My heart breaks when I read of the old notebook belonging to the young Gatsby where he details out his plans for wealth and success, knowing how he never made it by legal business means. There is something very vulnerable, I believe, in a poor man desiring wealth.