After reading chapter 4

[Mariel]

There have been several references to dishonesty so far. In what circumstances? How do you think they contribute to the plot?

Is there any character you dislike so far? Why?

[Sebastian]

To be honest, all of them have something negative. Like in real life, most people have values but in some situations we can be tempted and do somenthing worng.
In this case, all the actions perfeormed by some characters - mostly the dishonest ones like Tom- lead other characters to do something in return and this action/reaction chain makes the plot more interesting.
Personally, I feel that Tom is not doing things right. He´s the most unscrupulous character so far, he´s selfish as well as egocentric and he doesn´t consider other people´s feelings- especially Daisy and his daughter-. However, Daisy has her dark side too, let see how the story ends...

[Mariel]

What about references to dishonesty?

[Maria]

So far, Tom is the character that I dislike the most. He is selfish, egocentric, didn't care about other people's feelings, even the feelings of his wife seems to not care much , but, I must admit that all the characters except from Daisy and Nick has something that annoys me. In one part of the story, Nick, recognized himself as the most honest person he know so far and I think that is because everybody seems to lie in to each other faces all the time, for example: Daisy pretended not to know about Tom´s mistress, Tom lied to his mistress, his mistress lied to her husband and so on.

[Fernanda Catena]

So far, I've found several references to dishonesty in the story; in chapter 1, there is a clear reference made by Jordan that 'Tom's got some woman in New York' - which is then confirmed in Chapter 2; in chapter 2, both Tom and Myrtle are dishonest with George Wilson, Tom by promising to bring Wilson a car to sell - something Tom won't do - and Myrtle by telling Wilson she'll go to New York in order to visit her sister.

In my opinion, dishonesty makes the plot more intriguing and also it helps making a clear characterisation of the characters. So far, we know that both Tom and Myrtle are not the most honest people in the world, so I guess we should look carefully at them.

Last but not least, every single time I read The Great Gatsby the character I really dislike is Tom. He is a male chauvinist, he is also rude, vulgar and racist. The aspect about him I dislike the most is his lack of respect and care about his wife, he treats Daisy like a dumb little girl and he doesn't care about their daughter either.

[Mariel]

Of course infidelity is an act of dishonesty, but are there any other characters involved in dishonest acts? Who? What have they done?

[Fernanda Catena]

I'm sorry I didn't mention the most important act of dishonesty mentioned, I thought I had but actually I forgot to explain that one.

At the end of Chapter 3, we are told about the real story of Jordan Baker. Nick realizes that she has a dishonest nature since she lies about leaving a borrowed car with the top down while it was raining, and also - as Nick remembers when he first heard about Jordan - there was the incident in Jordan's first golf tournament, in which she was accused of moving her ball and cheating in the semi-final round.

What really caught my attention as regards this was Nick's comment about Jordan and her relation with dishonesty... 'She was incurably dishonest. She wasn't able to endure being at a disadvantage [...] Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame deeply - I was casually sorry, and then I forgot...'

[Liz]

I agree with all the comments mentioned, for me the most dishonest character is Tom. For me he is the worst, because he is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle. Also I agree with Maria that Myrtle also lies to her husband Wilson, when she said that she goes to New York to see her sister.
As many of us, I do not like Tom. Although, he is a wealth I think he pretends to call people´s attention with his money and prices. He is a selfish person, and he did not treat Daisy in a good way.

[Selene]

I do agree with the comments that my classmates have mentioned. And I also consider that Tom is the most dishonest since he is arrogant and cheats on Daisy. Another aspect that I don't like about Tom, is that he thinks he is better than others because of his wealth.

[Mariel]

Good pick, Fernanda! Jordan is said to have cheated in a golf tournament. What about Wolfsheim? What about Gatsby?

[CarlitasFox]

I do agree with the comments above mentioned. In my view, each of the characters has been dishonest among them. At the very beginning of the story, the writer introduces Tom´s mistress, Myrtle, a married woman. So, both characters lie to their partners. Also, Gatsby lies about his family, his early life.
The character that I don´t like is Tom. I´ll like to describe him as a mean, careless, arrogant and as Fernanda says, a chauvinist man. He´s the UNFAITHFUL ONE, in connection to his mistresses and to people from his circle. He´s not a reliable man.

[Juan]

So far it has been observed several instances in terms of dishonesty. We could mention, for instance, the relationship between Tom and Daisy and the one between Myrtle and Mrs Wilson. According to Catherine, both Tom and Myrtle can’t stand the person they’re married to. The two even had an affair. But the most important in my view is the one that corresponds to Gatsby, the protagonist of the story. He maintained a life full of parties, where everybody concurred, where all those rumours about him were running. He did this in order to reach one person in particular, Daisy, and Nick was the one for it. So at the beginning Gatsby approached to Nick for that reason, which were a completely act of dishonesty.
I do agree with my partners in the case that I dislike Tom as well. He believes himself superior, just because he has a good economic and social position.

[Mariel]

We have then two instances in which Jordan is dishonest.
Then of course infidelity is a serious act of dishonesty, and I suppose all 4 (Tom, Myrtle, Daisy and Gatsby) are guilty in that way.
I'm not so sure Gatsby is dishonest towards Nick, since early on he gets Jordan to ask him what he wants from him (we must remember they were strangers) or that his parties are necessarily wrong because there are rumours about him...
What about other instances? What is the effect on the atmosphere of the novel?

[Mia]

I agree with all of you. It is true that every character has a negative aspect, as Sebastian pointed out.
As regards dishonesty, from my point of view the worst instance of it is infidelity. Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle and he's being dishonest to her husband, Wilson, as well. Obviously Myrtle is cheating on Wilson, who seems to be a good man that tries to give her everything she needs. On the other hand, Daisy, who is in love with Gatsby is being dishonest to her husband too.
I really dislike Tom for obvious reasons and for the things my partners said. He's selfish, egocentric and arrogant. But I also dislike Daisy. She's a great pretender... she pretends that her life is perfect. The perfect family... the perfect husband... the perfect life.

[Joana]

Dishonest situations:
Page 23, when Catherine says that Daisy is a Catholic and that she is the one keeping Tom and Myrtle apart. According to Nick, Catherine lies about this because Daisy is not a Catholic, and certainly not the one preventing Tom and Myrtle from marrying.
Page 38, when Jordan leaves the top of the car down, the car gets wet, and she lies about it. It also mentions the golf tournament in which she is supposed to move the ball, a huge scandal broke out but then it died away. Nick says Jordan is a dishonest person, for he has witnessed the car incident.
Page 42, when Gatsby says he is from the Middle east and then when asked which part, answers San Francisco. Nick implies here that Gatsby lies about the things he is saying happened to him, but then changes his mind when Gatsby proves it with a photo and a medal. I think we ought to think he IS actually lying due to the facts that support the incredulity of Gatsby’s story. But, still, I’m not sure to call this act dishonest; I can think Gatsby is maybe just “testing” Nick.
Page 47, Meyer Wolfsheim, the man who fixed the World’s Series. The mere act of offering money to a club to lose, is a dishonest one.
Page 50, Tom crashes his car while he was with a maid of a hotel, while being married to Daisy. Another infidelity of his.
This makes us believe that almost all the characters are dishonest people, except for Nick himself. It also sets up the scene in which things are happening, that of dishonesty, wealth, cynicism.
Personally, I don’t dislike any characters so far.

[Patricia]

There are several references of dishonesty in the circumstances Fernanda clearly stated above. From my view, in the novel, being deceitful seems to be a common trait. Thus, for the characters sharing this characteristic, behaving in a dishonest way becomes naturally acceptable in a world where men and women are obsessed with material possesions.
Personally, I find Jordan Baker a very interesting character.

[Mariel]

One little detail is that Catherine is probably not lying, but simply repeating the story Tom told Myrtle as an excuse to carry on with their affair instead of confessing to his wife and leaving her.

Patricia summarises the spirit of the age very aptly when she says thar dishonesty becomes socially acceptable in a corrupt society. Does that ring any bells?

[Silvana]

I agree with the fact that the least lovely character of all is Tom. He is dishonest, selfish, possessive and he has the need to prove his power in a way that is ( I think) very primitive – in connection with the way he treats women, for example. However, he is doing as much as he is allowed to; unfortunately, society in those times accepted that kind of behaviour, as Patricia said.
All characters have proved to be dishonest at some point, except for Nick, who seems to have all of the values that most people from East Egg lack.
And in this story, where there is so much wealth, money is used as a good excuse for people who act as if they were not aware of their bad behaviour and as if nothing bad was even happening to themselves.