Scott Fitzgerald utilizes many universal themes to make a classic novel, explaining the life in 1920's. In the novel, well-off citizens live everyday without care, celebrate every weekend by getting drunk and overall just live a reckless lifestyle. The way these people live is represented in the novel by Fitzgerald, who emphasizes the life of Nick Carrway, a single stockbroker living in New York, and shows us the world of the rich through his point of view. "Significant writers in the Twenties were above all dedicated to the imposing task of pointing out the error of living in terms of obsolete values-however useful those values might have been in the past (Trask 3)." Through Carrway's eyes, he uses different styles of satire to describe these characters throughout the text. Satire is seen, as humor, irony, exaggeration, and use of sarcasm to criticize other people's actions and lighten the situation in this book. "Satire" is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues (dictionary.com). The Great Gatsby creates elements of satire within the narrative by using sarcasm, humor and irony.
The use of sarcasm plays a big part in the novel when Fitzgerald presents sarcasm to display humor. "Sarcasm" is defined as the use of irony to mock or convey contempt (dictionary.com). The Great Gatsby demonstrates sarcasm through the character Gatsby, the wealthy protagonist who he possessed a "Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God." As a son of God-Gods boy-he must be about His Father's business (Fitzgerald 98 )". David Trask notes, "What was that business? It was 'the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty' " (Trask 1). Not only Carraway, but also his wealthy cousin Daisy and her husband Tom are used to portray sarcasm.