The Great Gatsby Theme of Lies and Deceit

Deception is a nearly universal trait in The Great Gatsby. While our narrator claims that he is "one of the few honest people" he has ever known, we come to doubt even his integrity. The claim that Gatsby is "great" is of course called into question, as Gatsby has fabricated his entire life to please a woman. This text seems to suggest that all human beings are inherently dishonest – as well as selfish, hypocritical, and destructive. The point is raised in the text that, while one may fool many men, no one can fool God – he is always watching.

1. At one point, Jordan claims that Nick deceived her. Is this true? Or was Jordan deceiving Nick? What kind of dishonesty is she talking about, anyway?
2. There is an interesting scene where Jordan Baker and Nick discuss the fact that a "bad" driver is all-right until he meets another one. This forms a significant moment later in the novel when Jordan recognizes that Nick is not who she thought he was. How does this relate to the transformation Daisy undergoes as she realizes Gatsby is not who she thought he was?
3. Nick briefly mentions that Tom discovered Daisy’s deception very close to the time that Wilson discovered that of his own wife. How do these men each deal with the discovery? Does it make them seem more similar, or highlight their differences? Check out what Nick says about it.
4. Nick assures us he is "one of the few honest people" he knows. How does this affect the way we read his story? Do we trust his narration?
5. Are Nick and Gatsby more similar than Nick would like to admit? Is it possible to see Nick and Gatsby as possessing the same fundamental characteristic – deception?
6. In the showdown scene at the Plaza, Daisy Buchanan is ultimately honest with her husband and Gatsby despite what she might lose. Why does she choose honesty?

In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway presents himself as the voice of reason and reliability, yet ultimately he proves to be an unreliable narrator.

Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby are two sides of the same coin: each has built a successful façade to fool others, yet they can now no longer distinguish their true selves from the one they have created for the world.

Although characters throughout the book are consistently dishonest, their disappointment with the lies of others betrays the existence of a tangible, moral structure that guides the characters’ behavior.