Illusion and Reality in The Great Gatsby and 'Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee explore the idea of illusion and reality in people’s lives. Fitzgerald’s novel was written during the height of the Roaring Twenties in 1924, where people led lives filled with extravagence but also illusion as a way of recovering from the damage of the First World War. Albee’s play is set during the Cold War, at a time ruled by tension people often turned to illusion as a way to forget what was going on around them currently. Both writers explore the question of whether it’s appropriate to be living life hiding behind a facade or whether you should face reality.

The idea of a ‘perfect American family’ as a key to successfully achieving ‘The American Dream’ is an idea that is linked closely to the texts Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Great Gatsby. In both texts numerous characters are affected by this social pressure and it is an important part of many of their downfalls. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George and Martha create a fictitious child in hope of living up to society’s expectations as well as fixing their own problems between them. They base their lives around this illusion which ultimately does more harm than good as we see when George and Martha use this child as a weapon against each other such as when Martha accuses George of not being ‘completely sure it’s his own kid’. By referring to their kid as ’it’ in this sentence they foreshadow the confirmation of the child not being real. Albee himself said on The South Bank Show that the child ‘became so real that it was corrupting their relationship.’ The idea that something George and Martha created with such detail, going as far as to describe even the smallest things such as the ‘antique bassinet from Austria’ shows just how important children were to them as well as the pressure society has put on them to form the perfect American family. The death of the child being the climax of the play could also show how far gone George and Martha, particularly Martha was in their illusions and how they needed to break out of it if they wanted to live in a well lived, fully immersed life which would not be dictated by society’s false ideals of a perfect American family and the American Dream. In The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy have perfected the image of their family however in reality their relationship is crippled. Tom is described as not being able to ‘stand the person he’s married to’ and they are rarely seen with their daughter, who is often being cared for by the staff. Daisy refers to her daughter as ‘a beautiful little fool’ which reveals a lot about her character and how its most important to her that her daughter fits in with society's expectations of a woman (being docile and submissive) helping them to continue the image of a perfect American family. The difference between The Great Gatsby and WAOVW? is that Tom and Daisy revert back to their old ways after the book’s events deciding to lean even further into their illusion that they are the perfect American Family whereas George and Martha realise its not a realistic ideal to have and realise they need to change.

The American Dream promises of happiness and wealth in return for dedication and passion. However, for many of the characters in The Great Gatsby and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? this is not reality. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George and Martha had a lot of hope as a young couple to get far in life. George was expected to ‘take over the History Department’ and then even ‘take over the college’. George did become the head of the History Department during the war however Martha’s Dad decided he ‘didn’t have it in him’. George seems dedicated and passionate about his job and yet doesn’t get anything in return. Instead he is burdened with being a failure in the eyes of society, the same society that worships these promises. George is the only person who seems content with his position at work, he believes the most important part of his job is educating young people not the status of it, and yet Martha’s resentment towards him for not succeeding in the way she and society wanted him to is a much more prominent theme in the play than George’s own content which I believe perfectly displays the true nature of the American Dream . The Great Gatsby also shows Gatsby as a victim of the American Dream. Nick mentions ‘what preyed on Gatsby’ as a reason for his horrific end. The word ‘preyed’ makes Gatsby seem small and helpless, a contrast to how we see him for much of the book. Critic Matthew J. Bruccoli describes him as someone who was ‘betrayed by the promises of America’. I agree with this as Gatsby who devoted his life to becoming wealthy and successful suffered one of the most tragic fates in the book. He embodies the American Dream by demonstrating his passion and resilience towards achieving his goal of success and wealth (Nick describes him as having ‘the resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American’), and as a consequence, is betrayed by it. I believe this quote also applies to George Wilson. We are first introduced to George in the Valley of the Ashes - a place that represents the moral decay and corruption of a capitalist and materialistic society (a result of the American Dream). This tells us a lot about George’s position in society. Although George has ambition he is not from the right class or background to succeed in the American Dream.

Albee decided to name George and Martha after the first President and First Lady of the United States. Because of this the audience may have imagined them as being representative of typical American values such as optimism or hope. Except George and Martha are the opposite of that. They are loud and abrasive and argumentative such as when Martha screams ‘screw you!’ to George just as Nick and Honey arrive, however they do still represent America, but in a different light, a more realistic one where the ideals that are representative of America like unrealistic success, wealth and even happiness are not sustainable. In The Great Gatsby, the setting is used to show this unsustainable lifestyle. The contrast between East Egg and West Egg and the Valley of the Ashes represents this false idealism. The name ‘ashes’ has connotations of death and creates an extremely solemn setting. Further descriptions such as ‘grotesque gardens’ and ‘dumping ground’ emphasise this further. It shows the consequences of unsustainable living which is caused by the American Dream. ‘The eyes of Doctor T.J Eckleburg’ looks over the Valley of the Ashes in the form of an advertisement board, overseeing the consequences of the new America. It may have been in the form of advertisement to also represent the new America, where advertisements were becoming more popular. Both texts present the American Dream as being unsustainable as well as an illusion.

Marriage in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is depicted in a pessimistic light. Nick and Honey, who are originally presented as the picture perfect couple do not seem to have such a loving marriage. It is revealed by Nick that the only reason he married Honey was ‘because she was pregnant’. Couples during this time often would get married if the woman became pregnant as to not be shunned by society. As this was the situation Nick and Honey found themselves in, they used marriage to solve their problem. Nick also states how there was never any ‘particular passion’ between them and so it gives the impression that they are stuck in their marriage. We see the marriage unravel as the play goes on, with Nick committing infidelity and also the revelation of Honey’s lack of want for children of her own and Nick marrying her for money, however we never really see any real consequence become of it. They go back to how they were, pretending to be a perfect couple to the rest of society. In TGG, we also see this illusion of marriage with George and Myrtle. Whilst they are definitely not presented as a loving couple like Nick and Honey, Myrtle did marry George because she thought he was wealthy, one of the reasons she thought this was because George ‘borrowed somebody’s best suit to get married in’. Myrtle desperately wants to escape her social class which is made evident through the use of her ‘crowded’ apartment which she attempts to make a place of luxury with ‘furniture entirely too large for it’ but instead does the opposite and makes it feel chaotic and overcrowded symbolising that she can never escape her social class. She thought marrying George would solve this problem before finding out the truth. This may be why she started her affair with Tom as when she sees him for the first time he is wearing ‘a dress suit and patent-leather shoes’ - clothes which greatly connote wealth. To Myrtle, Tom represents promises of wealth and a new life.

Both writers present marriage as being imperfect behind closed doors. In TGG Tom and Daisy cheat on each other during the book and they do so with little guilt. With the obvious signs of a flawed and imperfect marriage, they still care for each other. After Myrtle’s death Nick sees them ‘conspiring together’ with an ‘unmistakable air of natural intimacy’. This shows that even through everything they have put each other through they still care deeply for one another, the phrase ‘natural intimacy’ shows this as it displays how even though their marriage may not be as perfect as they pretend, they still have a deep connection. Another example of this is the fact that Daisy could not say she ‘never loved’ Tom as it wasn’t true. Albee presents marriage similarly through George and Martha. They are seen continuously arguing through the entirety of the play which could be seen as an example of the Theatre of the Absurd, a core element of this was taking a tragic theme, in this case a seemingly failing marriage, and making it comedic, such as Martha saying very childishly ‘Poor Georgie-porgie’ in a condescending manner in the midst of an argument. This is far from what audiences may have expected a typical American couple to be portrayed like on stage, adding to the effect. However, just like Tom and Daisy they have some loving moments between them. At the end of the play George comforts Martha by putting ‘his hand gently on her shoulder’. After the chaos that had previously ensued and knowing the secrets we didn’t know at the beginning of the play it is arguably more sincere than any of Tom and Daisy’s interactions as we know they have no ulterior motive (Tom and Daisy had stability and social status to think about) whereas George and Martha have hit rock bottom together, they can only rise back up with the help from one another. The tender gestures we see between George and Martha, and Tom and Daisy, gives up hope that the illusion they are hidden behind could become reality.

In TGG it is made evident from the beginning that Tom and Daisy do not have a stable relationship, although they would like everyone else, even themselves to think so. This is evident when Tom’s ‘woman in New York’ calls. This seems to be popular gossip and Daisy is aware of Tom’s infidelity yet she chooses to pretend she isn’t as she doesn’t want to face the harsh truth and the reality of it. This causes her to feel trapped in the marriage, creating even more tension. Another example of their toxic relationship is when Tom is accused by Daisy of having bruised her knuckle and he doesn’t deny it. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? George and Martha also have a lot of tension in their marriage, however this has been built up over time, by this point they seem to be tolerating each other more than anything. This is easy to see by the way they treat each other and order each other about, particularly Martha, such as when she says ‘Go answer the door’. At the beginning of the play they have yet to directly acknowledge it. It is when George exclaims that he ‘can’t stand it’ that they seem to address it for the first time as it leads to one of their biggest downfalls as a couple. Both couples do not seem happy together but instead of facing reality they choose to ignore the problem.

Albee and Fitzgerald both raise some questions regarding morality on living life as an illusion. One of which is: Is it okay to ignore reality and live in an illusion? Albee stated on The South Bank Show that ‘the people who waste it, waste consciousness’ are wasting ‘one of the most valuable things you could possibly have’. Albee makes this quite evident by the destruction of his characters while they live their life in illusion. George is the one most ready to lose the illusion and is the driving force of the play initiating the game of ‘bringing up baby’. He realises it's not okay to live as they are and that it is important to change before it’s too late. Gatsby, however, does not realise this in time and is met with a tragic end. I believe Fitzgerald was also communicating the idea that it is not okay to live like this otherwise the same fate will await as consequence.

Both texts explore another important question concerning morality and living in illusion instead of truth: Is there hope people can change their lives? The ending of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? has a small, but significant element of hope towards the end. The final line of Martha saying ‘I am’ to the title question ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ demonstrates that Martha is taking one step forward in her life to improve it and live out her life fully. In the 1966 film adaptation, George turns off all the lamps in their house and the couple turn to face out the window. This symbolises how they are erasing all the false or artificial truths in their life and turning to look out into the real world. It provides a glimmer of hope which is essential in conveying the message to the audience that it is possible to change, it’s possible for the audience to change. Albee held existentialist beliefs and hoped to use theatre to better people's lives so an optimistic ending would be a key way of doing this. However, TGG explores this question in a much more pessimistic point of view. As a modernist novel, the ending contains many tragic or unjustified ends, demonstrating how if you change too late, your fate is unavoidable. It sets out more to scare the reader into change than give hope to the audience, like Albee’s play.

The American Dream is said to be accomplished with perseverance and the right attitude but both texts make it important to establish it as an illusion. It raises the question: Is it right to give up morals for the the American Dream, even if it is only an illusion? In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Nick states how part of his plan to advance his career is to ‘plough a few pertinent wives’, and later he commits infidelity which takes him one step closer to achieving The American Dream. The pressure of achieving makes him commit an immoral act, and yet, we have George who is an outsider to the American Dream. He’s smarter than Nick and chooses to not follow the ideals and pressures of society and proves you can still withstand your morals in a society dictated by the illusion of The American Dream. TGG shows the opposite of this. Myrtle is an outsider of The American Dream and is not able to escape it so dies as a consequence. It is interesting that it's Daisy who kills her, as she is someone who very much lives in comfort of American ideals. The American Dream is presented in both texts as a grand illusion and yet the characters are driven by immoral acts to achieve it, even though it is not real which shows the moral compass of many of the characters such as Gatsby, Tom and Daisy and Nick in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? They all repeatedly commit acts of infidelity and in the case of Gatsby, criminal activities. These make you question whether the characters even deserve to achieve such a dream if it does exist and may be what leads to their demise. Fitzgerald demonstrates how it's almost impossible to live a life outside of the immoral pressures of the illusion that is The American Dream.

In conclusion, both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” illustrate the importance of living life without illusion and hope the readers or audience will be influenced by their work to do the same. They convey that no matter how far into your illusion you may be, there is still hope to live a life driven by reality as seen when the characters from their respective texts are met with the reality they were hiding from, when this happens they have no choice but to face the truth. With both texts being written in times so strongly influenced by superficial aspirations it was an important time to convey these ideas and show society that there is still hope.