Dishonesty and Deceit in the Great Gatsby

Why are people dishonest? When should dishonesty be justified? There are many reasons for dishonesty, the most well-known being personal gain, fear, and to protect, but because of the nature of dishonesty, its justification will mainly depend on its context and situation. For example, when people say "it's going to be alright", they say it to provide encouragement to someone, even when things may never be alright. This form of dishonesty is typically justified, as it is used to simply encourage others. However, dishonesty in general is typically associated with malicious intent, as it is typically used for personal gain. In The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, Daisy Buchanan deceives and manipulates Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan to gain wealth and social status, showing how dishonesty can be used to mask our true desires.

Every aspect of Daisy's and Tom Buchanan's relationship is full of lies and deceit. Since the beginning of their marriage, it is clear that Daisy is only in the relationship to gain wealth. On the day before Daisy's and Tom's wedding, Tom presents her a string of pearls worth $350,000 dollars. Daisy does receive a letter from Gatsby the same day, and she becomes upset and even throws the string of pearls into the trash. From this, it is shown that Daisy does consider rejecting the marriage and Tom by throwing away the string of pearls. However, she ultimately does give in to the marriage; the ultimate motive for her staying in their relationship is reaping Tom's wealth. This is a very significant event in the story, as this is one of the first moments where the story explicitly shows Daisy taking advantage of Tom's wealth. Another, more literal example of Daisy Buchanan deceiving Tom would be her hiding her affair with Jay Gatsby. To be fair, one may argue that her hiding her affair is justifiable, as her husband is not exactly the most faithful. However, this just adds on to the fact that their relationship is founded on lies and deceit. Finally, when Gatsby confronts Tom about who Daisy truly loves, he says "She never loved you [Tom], do you hear, she only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except for me." (100) It becomes clear to Gatsby that Daisy's motive when marrying Tom was to obtain wealth and social nobility, adding on to the theme of dishonesty masking our true desires.

Gatsby has also been deceived by Daisy ever since she left him when he went off to war. Daisy had promised Gatsby that she would wait for him once he returned. However, Daisy does not keep her word and instead, she leaves Gatsby for Tom. After some analysis, we can decide that Daisy decides to leave Gatsby simply because Gatsby had nothing materialistic to offer her, while Tom could offer her wealth and a high social status. Another example of Daisy deceiving Gatsby is clearly shown when she sees Gatsby's shirts. "'They're such beautiful shirts,' she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick holds. "It makes me sad because I've never seen such - such beautiful shirts before" (72) Daisy shows her sole interest in the shirts, and not Gatsby, a clear indicator that she is more interested in the shirts, which represent wealth and social status. Finally, Daisy seems to show no thought when it comes to her and Gatsby's relationship. For example, she screams "I don't care!" (89) after kissing Gatsby in front of Jordan and Nick when Tom has left. This could be interpreted as Daisy not caring about the relationship between her and Gatsby. Again, this shows that Daisy is not in the relationship for love, but instead for what Gatsby has to offer her: greater wealth and social status. This ultimately adds on to the theme of dishonesty masking our true desires.

Finally, it can also be argued that Daisy deceives herself to achieve her motives. She deceives herself romantically, one moment she says to Gatsby, "You know I love you" (89), the next she says "I did love him [Tom] once - but I loved you [Gatsby] too."(102) admitting that she loves both Tom and Gatsby. It is here where Daisy realizes that she's deceived herself when it comes to romance, leading her to proclaim her love for both Tom and Gatsby. Another example of Daisy deceiving herself is when she just lives with the fact that she killed Myrtle. It is Gatsby, who takes the full blame so that Daisy can live a consequence-free life. Because of this, it can be argued that Daisy deceives herself. She knew that she had killed Myrtle, yet she refuses to not only admit her wrongdoings but to also live her life without bearing any responsibility for her actions. This is a prime example of how Daisy deceives herself: her selfish motive to achieve a happy, drama free life is more important than being guilt-free and ethically right.

In conclusion, Daisy incorporates dishonesty, deceit, and lies into her life to achieve her true desires: wealth and social status. Daisy's relationship with Tom is founded on lies and deceit. For example, since the beginning of their marriage, Tom gives Daisy a string of pearls worth $350,000 as she considers leaving Tom for Gatsby. She ultimately decides to stay with Tom, even though she was truly in love with Gatsby during that time. As for Gatsby, she deceives him in a similar fashion to how she devices Tom. Daisy promised Gatsby that she would wait for him after World War II ended, but she left him for Tom, going back on her word. Finally, Daisy deceives herself when omitting the fact that she killed Myrtle Wilson. The Great Gatsby provides examples of how Daisy uses dishonesty to achieve her selfish desires, showing how dishonesty can mask people's true desires.