Discussing the theme of telephones employed in The Great Gatsby

The Paradoxes of the Telephone

           The Great Gatsby is arguably the greatest piece of American Literature of all time. Its subtly intertwined motifs and symbols provide for a kaleidoscope of brilliant thoughts that can only be fully discovered by reading the novel multiple times. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the recurring motif of the telephone to show the irony of its use for two opposite reasons. Throughout all of The Great Gatsby, the telephone continually connects and disconnects people, builds and hides relationships, and is a way to be reached or be unreachable.

           The telephone is repeatedly shown as an item that connects the speaker and another person while disconnecting them from those physically there. Jay Gatsby is legendary for his prodigal parties complete with entire orchestras, celebrity guests, and lavish food spreads; but, while socializing, he is constantly called away from his guests by the "shrill metallic urgency" of the telephone (20). Upon meeting Nick Carraway, he is immediately called away by "a butler with the information that Chicago [is] calling him on the wire," (53). Fitzgerald is trying to show that technology will never be able to replace humans. Talking on a telephone will never be equal to speaking in the flesh. The emotions that pass over the face and sparkle in the eyes will usually reveal more than the facade of a voice. Perhaps Fitzgerald is suggesting that he opposes the advancements in technology and wishes to return to the time when people needed to be physically there in order to hear their voice. The idea that the action of using the telephone can connect you and disconnect you to people at the same time is almost parallel to the idea that the telephone allows you to be reached or unreachable.
            Telephones are used to reach people, to get a hold of them, but telephones also allow people the option of being unreachable. When one does not want to be found or reached, one can choose not pick up the phone or answer the door, rendering them unreachable to the outside world. Society has become so dependent on the telephone as a means of communication that people automatically assume that the person they are trying to call will always answer the phone. Nick "called up Daisy [Buchanan] instinctively and without hesitation. But she and Tom had gone away early that afternoon, and taken baggage with them," (172). Nick was disappointed that he wasn't able to speak to them. Daisy and Tom take advantage of the possibility of being unreachable by leaving no forwarding address or telephone number. One of Gatsby's business associates, Meyer Wolfshiem, also takes advantage of being unreachable by telephone. His "name wasn't in the phone book" therefore, in order to get in touch with him, Nick had to write him a letter and go see him (173). By being unreachable by phone, it goes back to the idea of life before the invention of the telephone, when one had to be face to face with someone in order to hear their voice and communicate. The possibility of being misinterpreted is much higher if you are talking on the phone, or to relate it to this century, on the Internet. The only way to be one-hundred percent sure that someone understands you is to talk to them face to face. Even so, communication, no matter what form it takes place in, will always help people form relationships and bonds.

           Throughout The Great Gatsby, the telephone is used as a device to simultaneously build, hide, and destroy relationships. Gatsby's absences due to the telephone calls during his parties result in him improving relations with the speaker on the phone but missing out on the chance to build relationships with his guests. These phone calls are usually about his mysterious job and he typically retreats to an empty room to take them; therefore, he continually keeps his relationship with his work a secret. Tom Buchanan also uses the telephone to develop a romantic relationship with Myrtle Wilson. He communicates with her via the telephone in order to keep their affair secret, although he's not very successful. Jordan Baker, a friend of his wife, Daisy, frequently suspects "that [its] Tom's girl on the telephone" every time he receives a phone call (122). Without the telephone, Tom and Myrtle would not be able to communicate, therefore ending their relationship. Fitzgerald wanted his readers to see that the telephone could be either a savior or a devil to a relationship and he proved this by having Nick destroy his relationship with Jordan Baker over the phone, a move which angered her: "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now," (186). Some things in life are just meant to be done face to face, and an example would be ending a relationship.
F. Scott Fitzgerald wisely chooses to weave many different motifs and symbols throughout his novel The Great Gatsby. Colors, accidents, water, time, and, of course, telephones are repeatedly mentioned. Fitzgerald wants the reader to learn something from the novel, to gain a new opinion, or to just learn about the conflicts that were occurring in the early 20th century. His choice of motifs and symbols, especially the telephone, makes the reader contemplate the paradoxes of society. His multi-faceted characters provide the perfect ensemble to expose these faults while providing for a great novel.

by Jennifer Buckett 

Created on: February 04, 2008