Elsa: Questioning the Meaning of the Binary Oposition

When I read the novel, I did not see these obvious binary oppositions. I saw only the more innocent points of view, and I did not see the overt corruption. It is clearer after reading the deconstruction, how both Gatsby and Nick lose their innocence and child like hope.

The deconstruction of The Great Gatsby has a flaw in my opinion. The binary opposition of the past and present, innocence and decadence, east and west is seen as a flaw, or an inconsistency and some how detracting from the essence of the novel. This binary element in the novel is essential. In relation to people it makes the characters seem more real and believable because of their conflicting natures. Gatsby’s innocence is balanced against his corrupted ways toward achieving the goals he made in his innocence. In this way he is the epitome of both opposites: he is “romantic symbol” (270) and his manners “which echo the chivalry of the past, ill suit him to survive the shallow vulgarity of the time in which he lives.” (270) In addition, in the present time, Gatsby’s chivalrous manners become his undoing. His corrupt ways undermine his romantic ideas of winning Daisy’s affection but it is his only way to try and achieve those desires by gaining wealth to please Daisy.

Nick himself is in the same position as Gatsby, showing up in NY innocent, wide eyed, and excited about the possibilities in the old city. In the novel, Nick, contrary to Gatsby’s end, goes home, back to his innocence, where Gatsby dies because of these personal traits. Gatsby is an old style, chivalrous gentlemen, while a criminal gangster, which do not mix well. I just don’t agree with the deconstruction argument that the book has ambivalence. The book can still “condemn the modern world” (267) but the binary elements that make up the characters and the nostalgic look towards the past and west are what give these characters their depth and reality.

Would this novel have been better with less ambivalent themes and characters? Wouldn’t it be a completely different story?