The "Real" in Realsitic Fiction

            We live in a world of judgment.  And naturally, as evolutionary beings, we have adapted to this dilemma.  The hard truth: pre-conceived notions, bias, expectation, jealousy… all these traits and more form the groundwork of human society.  Using duplicity and deception as our adaptive tools, we strive to appease the criteria of those around us. We change our clothes to match trends, mold our humor to fit the majority, put up a false front to seem happy.   Why?  Why devote so much effort to please others?  I believe a large part of the human condition revolves around acceptance.  Quite simply, homogeneity prevents exclusivity.  The “Great Gatsby” parallels this postulate throughout its story.   A lot of the novel’s main characters chore to seem nonchalant, complacent, and happy.  They all want to fit in.  I provide the following character analyses.  Gatsby—friendly, gentlemanlike, and composed, but internally unstable and dark.  If you have not yet noticed the repetition of Gatsby’s sketchy phone calls and furtive business dealings, then please reread.  Jordan—beautiful, wealthy, and witty, but privately cynical, bored, and dishonest.  I mean she cheated in a golf tournament.  Someone wants sycophants.  Daisy—extroverted, graceful, and charming, but mentally depressed, forlorn, and empty.  When the narrator inquires Daisy about her daughter, she tries to sound superficial. She states she hopes her daughter will turn out to “be…a beautiful little fool” (17).   No comment.  With all these characters' inner demons, one would expect them to openly share their problems.  Yet, they all laboriously attempt to cover up any of their discomfort.  All in the name of public opinion—how unrealistic.  Really, who would act in such a way?  Well, I think the curious can find proof virtually anywhere in reality.  We all fall victim to conformity some time or another, wanting to feel better about ourselves through other mediums.  However, in my perspective, “true happiness”, a phrase long proclaimed in AP English, emerges from diversity of self, channeling uniqueness, no matter the consequence.  In my short lifetime, the people I respect the most do not make the most money, or hold the most power, or even have the most friends.   The people I admire, who I applaud, have no fear to show their innate selves, mistakes and all.  They wear their insecurities on their sleeve, impervious to the trivial judgment of others.