Is living a false life of fame and fortune worth all the pain of lies? This is a question that many characters face throughout the novel The Great Gatsby. They must make difficult decisions to decide if all this is worth suffering or should they continue to live a normal life? Throughout the book, many characters lie and cheat. Even though each character cheats in their own way, they all do it for the same reason, which is to be rich and have a high social class. The theme of this novel is that sometimes it is worse to live a life full of lies and riches than to live a normal life. Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy and wants to spend the rest of his life with her but unfortunately, when they first met, he couldn't. In the novel, Gatsby says that the only reason Daisy didn't marry him was because he was poor. So, to win Daisy, Gatsby had to be rich. However, to keep his illegal way of earning his wealth a secret, Gatsby must lie. Gatsby even has to lie about his past. On page 65, Nick says, “…and I knew why Jordan Baker thought he was lying. He rushed the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it, or choked on it…” Gatsby has to lie about his family, his childhood, and his education to name a few. In fact, Gatsby even lies about his name, which is actually James Gatz, so that Daisy doesn't find out about his poor past. He had to lie and cheat about everything to get the girl of his dreams. Throughout the book, many people at the party spread rumors about Gatsby and how he got his money. He doesn't correct them because he doesn't want anyone to find out the truth or he won't have Daisy. Gatsby lies so much that he has to cover up old lies with new ones. On page 90, for ...... middle of paper ...... but it would still be a good stable house. There would be no more cheating or lying. It would not have been deserted because like the manor itself. It would be the same for Gatsby if he didn't lie about his entire life and just had a normal life. Gatsby had to build a new life full of lies to have Daisy. Myrtle constantly lied to herself that she deserved better, which led to jealousy and rejection. But in reality, their real life wasn't that bad. They wouldn't have to put up with the lies and all the horrible consequences that come with them. Even though their lives wouldn't be very special or extravagant, they would be simple and wouldn't have to worry about falling for lies. All these points prove that it is sometimes worse to live a life full of lies and riches than a normal life.