The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is renowned for its many insights and themes, but one thing often overlooked is the novel’s emphasis on the destructive effects of gossip. Everyone has gossiped at least once. It feels good in the moment, but these actions are not entertaining once you become the subject of the rumors.
Gossip damages mental health and can be very detrimental to a person. Think about what high school would be like without the nasty comments and whispers, how liberating it would feel to not worry that every action will become the next rumor.
The Great Gatsby is known primarily as a story about the American Dream. It is an essential book to understand different statuses, economic levels, and history in the US. However, this book not only teaches the hidden values and themes of money, power, negligence and the divide between new and old money, but the effects on people who are the victims of gossip and on the people who gossip about others.
Told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, the novel is not only about Gatsby’s tragic life but also about Nick’s own coming of age. As Nick navigates a superficial society obsessed with status, wealth and rumors, he decides who deserves his loyalty and who does not. Nick first learns about Gatsby through the gossip of people who do not know him, but who feel free to gossip about their generous host.
Through Nick’s experiences with characters like Gatsby, a newcomer to the social milieu of the upper class; Daisy, a self-obsessed, spoiled young woman; and Tom, a rich bully; readers are led to reflect on their own choices about the kind of people they want to become.
Gatsby is introduced as someone who hosts large, extravagant parties, but never seems to feel at home at his own events. He is viewed as someone mysterious, someone who has rumors circulating around him every hour of the day. When Nick finally meets Jay Gatsby, he is forced to compare the vulnerable and charming man with the violent and strange gossip he has previously heard.
In high school, gossip becomes a way for teens to feel power, included or to feel better about themselves. Sharing secrets can make people feel important. However, the effect on the person being talked about is not always considered, and rumors will always find their way back to the subject. A single word can label someone as “weird”, “fake” or “dramatic”, even if it is not true. Once this label spreads, it is nearly impossible to escape the accusation even if it isn’t true.
People who don’t even know the subject of the whispers will begin to treat the person differently based on what they have heard. These actions hurt and it is not easy to overcome even with an open mind.
David Tian of Brown University states, “the alternative starts with recognizing that gossip isn’t just bad for the person being talked about, of course, but it’s also bad for you, the person doing the gossiping. Every time you gossip, you’re chipping away at your own integrity.”
Nick, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, observes of the people gossiping about Gatsby, “It was testimony to the romantic speculation [Gatsby] inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found little that it was necessary to whisper about in this world.”
Mirroring the experience of Jay Gatsby, whose guests endlessly gossip about him, teenagers are surrounded by rumors from strangers and even friends. The people surrounding Jay Gatsby are titillated by the ideas they share: some claim he was a German spy, or the cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm; others assume he killed a man or that he indulged in bootlegging.
Rumors like this open the door where truth is overshadowed by manufactured intrigue. No one knows the truth, yet everyone has turned against an innocent man based on the whispers that have traveled in the air.
Rumors and lies manipulate the favor of one social party over another. Gossip reveals the cruelty that can emerge from jealousy and insecurity. In The Great Gatsby, the character of Tom is an example of how people who have power use rumors when they become jealous and insecure.
When Tom suspects his wife of being in love with Gatsby, he makes a snide accusation that Gatsby is involved in illegal activity in drugstores, “You can buy anything at a drugstore nowadays.” It often happens that a person’s identity becomes a collection of rumors rather than facts.
Society and school environments often prefer entertaining stories over the truth to dehumanize others. This desire for excitement creates a kind of social chaos, where exaggerated stories spread quickly and shape how people treat one another. The official newspaper of Leesville Road High School claims that “Rumors manipulate people into taking sides, casting improper views on others and bringing negative energy to future situations. Relationships can be ruined before they begin.”
In The Great Gatsby, guests at Gatsby’s parties casually spread rumors, despite having no evidence. These stories entertain others but also exclude Gatsby while reducing him to a tale instead of a real human. Similarly, in high school, proliferating gossip creates drama and the perpetrators do not consider the harm it causes. If the situation were reversed, they might understand the pain that this powerful force can create.
Gossip often actually reflects insecurity. Many teenagers gossip because they are uncertain about themselves, and talking about others helps conceal their own self-doubt or perceived flaws. Similarly, the wealthy couple Daisy and Tom Buchanan distract themselves with speculation rather than facing their own empty lives. As Nick, the wise observer of others in The Great Gatsby advises us, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
When it comes to gossip, we all have the choice to be a Tom, a Nick or a Great Gatsby.
