In The House of Mirth, Percy Gryce is a wealthy, eligible young bachelor upon whom Lily, one of Wharton's central characters, sets his sights. Gryce is used by Wharton as a vehicle to convey the superficiality and brutality of New York high society, often through Darwinian references. The idea of ​​survival of the fittest was gaining increasing influence in science and society at the time of the novel's publication. Wharton plays on this scientific discovery and uses it as an extended metaphor in which to animalize her characters, thus making them appear wilder to the reader. In addition to this, the animalization of the characters is used to satirize society as it conflicts with each of the characters' belief that they are far more sophisticated than anyone else, or any other "species" for that matter. Wharton uses a variety of other literary techniques and extended metaphors throughout the novel to describe Percy Gryce mocking the society he is a part of. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Percy Gryce is initially described as a shy man by the omniscient narrator, who describes him as "hiding himself behind an unfolded newspaper." Wharton's lexical choice of the verb 'dissimulate' is synonymous with 'act' or 'pretend', meaning that Gryce is actually pretending to read the newspaper to avoid contact with Lily Bart, a traveling companion and the film's protagonist. novel. The narrator (Wharton) then continues to emphasize how particularly "absorbed" Gryce is in his newspaper, again inviting the reader to question the legitimacy of Gryce's true motives when he "reads" the newspaper. Wharton did this to lead the reader to the initial conclusion that Gryce is a shy man who does not enjoy the company of others. Wharton then offered Lily to start chasing Gryce, a man who minds his own business. Wharton mocked New York high society here as, despite Gryce's best attempts to avoid talking to anyone on the train, Lily totally ignores him and only looks to his wealth as an indicator that he is attractive to her despite his obvious personality defects. This theme of superficiality is often used by Wharton to mock New York high society as this is the characters' common trait, vanity. Physically, Gryce is a man with "a face that appears to have been dipped in crimson". Crimson is used by Wharton to connote Gryce's aristocratic/wealthy side. (The colors of Elizabethan clothing, including crimson, provided information about the status of the man or woman who wore it. This was not only dictated by the person's wealth, but also reflected his social position.) The color crimson also demonstrates despondency /blushing on Gryce's part as he is an awkward man and notices Lily Bart's "hand grasping the back of his chair". Gryce is also shown to have "the reddish tint in his beard" "deepened" again, providing further implications about his wealth and embarrassment. Wharton did this for ironic purposes which in turn poke fun at New York high society. Gryce is then presented by Wharton as "prey", which makes him a victim of the cruel, cold-hearted, and superficial society that is depicted throughout the novel. This theme of Hunter and Hunted continues when Wharton shows that "Lily had already known the species." Wharton did this to mock the society that Lily and Gryce are a part of through the use of irony. The irony is that the sophistication the characters believe themselves to be is put in stark contrast to the animals they behave like. This.