Paper 3 and Cover Letter
Dr. Mintler,
This research paper aims to analyze the different personas amongst characters in The Great Gatsby. There is also relevance to personas in the present day which is another topic I touch on. I wanted to show the similarities as well that are found between some of the characters’ personas in TGG and celebrities who hide their true identity.
I chose to write about this topic because persona is something I have struggled with and I believe it is insightful for everyone to at least think about persona and its pros and cons to life. Persona can affect relationships, and other aspects of life because of the divide it creates internally, this is something brought up throughout.
This is important because over the decades, the prevalence of persona has become so much more intense. Not just intense I would say but also with higher stakes making it worse to have a carefully curated persona because there is more than could completely fall apart. I think people fail to realize how many of these influencers or even our peers have personas. Never really occurring that it may not be who they “really are”.
I think this is a good topic/ paper because it encourages people to think about these things like persona and what it does. Who knows, the world or our lives could be better and more bright without having these personas because we can be our authentic selves. There are people who have trauma and therefore create these personas as a defense mechanism which is understandable, and if it gets them through the time but can have a line drawn between the persona and your private persona then it does more good than harm. It is quite the tricky line to draw when it comes down to it. This only skims the surface of the pros and cons of persona, this paper gives a thoughtful analysis of character personas and the correlation between them today.
“The way you behave, talk, etc., with other people that causes them to see you as a particular kind of person, the image or personality that a person presents to other people” This is the definition of persona from Britannica. In The Great Gatsby and real life persona is often overlooked, nobody usually considers if someone is putting on a persona or it’s their true self. I wanted to dive deeper into the image of persona and unpack the damage it does to individuals, specifically in the Great Gatsby.
In The Great Gatsby, the majority of the characters hide behind fake personas they created either to impress their peers and family or protect themselves from social judgement. This whole idea of putting on a persona isn’t just important in the novel, but it still happens today on social media. Lots of influencers in my opinion have personas that they put out online to followers. By looking at the characters in The Great Gatsby it’s really clear that these personas derail a lot of aspects of your life and can at some point make you even more unhappy. I think this matters because it shows readers and in present day celebrities that they shouldn’t be so quick to believe everything they see, Jim Carrey has talked about kind of having a persona that he puts on of this expressive comedic personality but has admitted that often behind the scenes he is a more philosophical guy who has struggled with fame and identity throughout his life. Overall it’s more beneficial to stay true to yourself and you can still get to where you want to be without all of the effort that comes with having a persona. As heard from Jim Carrey, he struggles with identity, this could be because he has this persona he puts on. Myself and others have struggled with putting on a front similar to these characters and Jim Carrey so I believe recognizing these personas and the outcome they have can help people break free of them.
As I was coming up with this topic, I searched over the definition of persona. This helped me understand persona better and have more context in writing this paper. In my findings, it said a persona is “the personality that an individual projects to others, as opposed to their authentic self”. So essentially anytime you’re putting on a front like someone you’re not, you’re living through a persona instead of just being “true” about your behavior and thoughts on a situation. There was also an article called “The Psychology of Self-Deception” and it stated that self-deception “takes mental effort to maintain a false reality” and can cause strain. So really by upholding this persona, you are creating more stress and unhappiness rather than being your authentic self. This ties back to Gatsby in my opinion because he stretches himself so thin trying to keep up his fantasy and it played a part in his death because his persona created such a mess. Though Daisy’s persona is another huge one to blame for his death I believe.
Gatsby is the perfect example of someone who builds an external persona that he puts forward so often that it almost completely takes over his real identity. To almost all of East and West Egg, Gatsby is just this rich, mysterious man who throws insanely extravagant parties. People don’t need invitations, none of the guests actually know him and they can gossip about his past and who he really is. Gatsby creates this image of himself to “fit” into the world of the old money elite (to impress Daisy), in hopes it will win her back. His mansion, and the way he behaves and dresses is all thoughtfully built to support this illusion of wealth and sophistication. As Nick states, “This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills,” Gatsby tries to rise above that with his alluring persona, but it’s all rooted in his attempt for Daisy’s love again and to run from this past.
Beneath that polished exterior, Gatsby is quite lonely and completely consumed by the fantasy of him and Daisy’s perfect life which is no longer possible. His entire motivation is centered on Daisy. He tells Nick, “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!” This line for me really shows how immersed he is in this dream world. A part of me feels really bad for him yet at the same time it is his doing. Gatsby is blinded by Daisy’s past self and can’t see who she is now, despite her decision to marry Tom and her actions towards Gatsby. When Daisy chooses to stay with Tom, it shatters everything Gatsby’s built. He’s left with nothing because his whole life has been built on chasing an illusion, his obsession with her, and with the idea of her, driving every decision he makes. The destruction is that Gatsby’s full of longing, and hopeful private self is overlooked and discarded almost by the people around him. His death, caused partially by Daisy’s selfishness, is proof that the persona he created couldn’t protect him from the devastating reality he tried to ignore. You see this at his funeral when nobody really cared to show.
On the surface, Tom Buchanan comes off as confident and aggressive. He portrays himself as a guy who is used to being in control or getting what he wants. I think this is why oftentimes certain people were intimidated by him. From the moment he’s introduced in The Great Gatsby, he’s described as having a dominant physical presence, which matches his confrontational behavior. He likes to flaunt his wealth through his East Egg mansion and even boasts about reading books like The Rise of the Colored Empires to “prove” his superiority in comparison to his peers. He likes to talk over others, and frequently reminds people of his status and privilege. Tom also acts like he is immune basically to judgement of others because of his lack of hiding his affair with Myrtle. Yet I think he does care about others’ judgement or else he wouldn’t have this persona. From my reflection of his affair, I wonder if he almost flaunts his affair to men similar to him in the novel, to show his power over Myrtle and ability to manipulate women. Overall to his peers, he appears powerful and secure in himself, role as a husband and a man of wealth.
Though hidden behind that ego, Tom’s character reveals masked insecurity and the need to control. He gladly cheats on Daisy yet has a problem with and criticizes her Gatsby affair. This highlights the double standard Tom has that is driven more by his ego. His reaction to Daisy’s feelings for Gatsby isn’t about heartbreak; it’s about the threat to his control and pride. I believe Tom actually mocks Gatsby for his background because he sees him as a threat against the structure of Tom’s social class and what he was born into. I think it’s pretty clear that Tom’s need to dominate others, mainly women, points toward his fear of losing control and it all comes “crashing down”. His upbringing also plays a huge role in his behavior. He is brought up in a privileged life which clearly left him with this entitlement yet pressure to keep that image he grew up around of power and influence. Overall I think under Tom’s exterior persona is someone fearful of change, and losing what in his eyes he almost “owns” and for his persona to be exposed.
Looking at Daisy, she is charming, gentle, and “lady-like” essentially the perfect image of the ideal woman in the world of wealth, class and power. Her voice is described as “full of money,” by Gatsby and this reflects both her alluring persona and lifestyle she was born into. Daisy is able to often keep up the act of a happy wife, by smiling and laughing at events. She avoids confrontation and masks the imperfections in her marriage to Tom relatively well in the beginning by portraying charm and grace in her persona. Though she has internal struggles, her persona is meant to come off as innocent and almost oblivious to issues in her life. She only upholds this though for appearances and wealth/ status, it’s not real.
Behind the scenes of her persona, Daisy is emotionally stuck and conflicted. She knows her marriage to Tom is fake in a lot of ways, he’s unfaithful, controlling, and often rude but she still stays, she stays more so for the financial security and to maintain the lavish lifestyle for her and her daughter than for love. Now with Gatsby, she struggles because she loves the idea basically of him and the fact that he is an escape from her current marriage, though she will always hesitate in choosing him because of the risk and because it disrupts her stability in her current life. I believe her decision to stay with Tom is deeply rooted in fear and is selfish. The fear she has is of instability, and starting over, as well as the possibility of dismantling her place in the world of luxury and status. Daisy says, “That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool,” which allows insight for us as to her thinking process, she was taught to not think or act for herself in order to survive in the world. Overall behind the scenes, Daisy feels trapped by the persona she’s created to cope with her life. She has almost blurred the line between exterior or interior persona, playing it so well she doesn’t know how not to live this way.
Today, personas seem even more “crucial” to people’s everyday life than in Gatsby’s time, I believe this has a lot to do with the rise of social media. Apps like TikTok and Instagram mainly make it easier than ever for influencers and people on the apps to create these personas curated to come across a certain way. What Carl Jung would call the “social masks people wear in order to fit into society,” as described in Gatsby Through a Jungian Lens: Persona and the Shadow. Very similar to how Gatsby threw lavish parties for Daisy, many influencers post about luxury trips, PR unboxing and “aesthetic” things to gain followers or for validation from others. Oftentimes, what is portrayed online isn’t exactly real. It’s probably a bit exaggerated. For example, lots of tiktokers I’ve seen, stage interactions or drama with their significant others to go viral or something. Similar to this, Gatsby’s almost entire identity is built on a dream and illusion; his mansion, and clothes, bought with sketchy,shady money and parties thrown with an ulterior motive, all of these are to fulfill his persona and mask his past he tries to bury. Both then and now, people really only show the “desirable” versions or parts of themselves for validation or internal struggle. I think our generation may preach “be yourself,” but the pressure to impress, especially in industries like Hollywood, or on social media creates this toxic cycle and the need to live behind a persona. In both time periods of The Great Gatsby and present day, what may seem like the “American Dream” or current day someone’s “dream life” often hides internal struggles, or insecurity. The only big difference I think is social media broadening the scales and heightening expectations.
Personally, I relate a lot to this idea of persona. From a young age I had quite a few at home struggles and put on a persona to my peers and even my family to hide any effect it had on me. From putting on a persona when I was so young, I didn’t even really know who I was, the line between my persona and real self became blurred. It impacted friendships, relationships and my mental health. In order to get back on track and not let it all consume me/ destroy my life sort of like it did Gatsby, I had to teach myself to unlearn the habit of putting on a front. I was able to do this and a big reason for that was taking a break from social media, and even people in my family because of the pressure and expectations I had convinced myself I had to meet. Similar to the characters in TGG who had it screwed into their minds to meet these barely attainable expectations and maintain them. Throughout my development and struggle with persona, I had to figure out my expectations for myself. Reading The Great Gatsby and doing this research into persona as well as the definition opened my eyes to what persona really is adn the different factors that could cause it. As a whole, this reinforced my belief that personas in the big scheme of things do more harm than good. (possibly dial back on this a smidge)
Overall, The Great Gatsby as a novel is a great example of how damaging personas are to people’s lives as well as mentally and socially what it can do to your life. I’m not just referring to the time of TGG but also the present day. Today it is so easy to hide parts of your life, and show only the “good” parts. With it being easy though to hide these parts, it can be easier for it to come crashing down and revealed. Gatsby’s life/ ending of I think it’s really important to remember that being authentic is what you should build your life on, not a fake self or it could lead to destruction. I believe that between the 1920s and present day we have actually gone through ups and downs of how “welcomed” it is to be authentic. As of my generation I can really just speak on for example, the early 2000s to 2010s was I believe a pretty welcomed time to be yourself, nobody had really thought of the word “cringe” yet and we have transitioned into being a bit more on the judgemental side in present day of true authenticity. I think we should get back to the time in society when people could be okay being the “real” them and it is much more enjoyable than putting on a front. People should know that it’s okay to be real and that it’s actually better than putting on an act just to fit in. (make it more organized/ make more sense, kinda just thoughts typed)
Sell, Ethan. “Gatsby through a Jungian Lens: Persona and the Shadow.” Medium, Medium, 21 Jan. 2024, medium.com/@ethansell/gatsby-through-a-jungian-lens-persona-and-the-shadow-ef233284d41a.
Examples of Private Persona in the Great Gatsby | Ipl.Org, www.ipl.org/essay/Examples-Of-Private-Persona-In-The-Great-PJRX6YQQ8SB. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
“The Great Gatsby: Analysis of Major Characters: EBSCO.” EBSCO Information Services, Inc. | Www.Ebsco.Com, www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/great-gatsby-analysis-major-characters. Accessed Apr. 2025.
“Persona.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/science/persona-psychology. Accessed Apr. 2025.
Deweese-Boyd, Ian. “Self-Deception.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 13 Mar. 2023, plato.stanford.edu/entries/self-deception/.
“The Psychology of Self-Deception.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201508/the-psychology-of-self-deception. Accessed Apr. 2025.