Michael Fecht Mrs. Myers Academic English II 5/21/18 Immorality in the Great Gatsby Money dictates how people act and how they go about their day. It is very crucial; everything costs money. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, everyone has money. The wealth that these characters have is a must for them. they show their wealth by flaunting the expensive attire they have or throw these parties in their expensive homes. Money can make one feel powerful and invincible. It can also lower one’s morals. Materialism has corrupted Tom, George, and Gatsby. Tom is a very immoral character as he lies and cheats. Carla L. Verderame states that “There are no spiritual values in a place where money reigns.” The novel shows this …show more content…
However, this is not the case. He got his wealth through immoral actions of his; He got rich by selling alcohol, which was illegal at the time. In the future, the government lifts the prohibition laws. However, at the time, it was immoral; it was wrong to sell alcohol. “ ‘Oh I’ve been in several things,’ he corrected himself. ‘I was in the drug business’(Fitzgerald 90). Doing anything illegal is considered immoral. Selling drugs is very illegal, as the substance being sold could kill people. “The only way Gatsby can be with Daisy is by building a social mystery around his identity and involving himself in illegal dealings” (Lehan 271). By getting rich, he has corrupted his morals. He thinks that the only way to get Daisy would be to have all this wealth. While it is true, it has killed him. It has broken all the morals he had once possessed “However, the characters in The Great Gatsby show that in order to reach social and financial success a person might have to sacrifice his ethics by telling lies, oppressing others, or breaking laws.” (Lehan 270). Gatsby wants all this wealth in order to live the American dream. He wants to get Daisy but seems to be unable to achieve that without breaking laws. Tom and Gatsby are two immoral characters; The wealth that they have acquired has caused them to be like this. Money is the driven force behind them. Money can damage one’s morals. It also can make them feel powerful. Every important
Gatsby has spent numerous years trying to authenticate to Daisy, and the populace around him, that he is worthy of her. If Mr. Gatsby were to give that up now, he would lose what he feels is his entire life. Since this is not possible, he has to contend to convince to others that he truly is old money rather than old money. Due to this, he has consumed his life around her and refuses modify his ways. “‘ Her voice is full of money,’ he said suddenly.”
Firstly, Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy led to his successes that eventually led to failures of money. Gatsby understands winning over Daisy he must impress her with money. Therefore, he starts illegal affairs (bootlegging) to become rich. Gatsby wanted to become rich enough so Daisy can love him and want to be with him. This quote for example shows that, “The one on my right was a colossal affair by a standard-it was a factual imitation of some hotel de ville in Normandy with a tower on one side spanking new under a thin beard of raw in, and a marble swimming pool, and more than…”(pg.11).
A person becomes corrupt when he looks for illegal ways to achieve success. Jay Gatsby is an example of a man who used unlawful ways to attain wealth. In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan proclaims, “I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were… He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong” (Fitzgerald 133). Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband and whom Gatsby abhors, announces that Gatsby is not truly an honorable man.
Affluenza in The Great Gatsby Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald characters consistently show signs of Affluenza. Their wealth generates injurious, unpleasant effects on their cognitive and social health such as a sense of entitlement, irresponsibility and failure to acknowledge consequences. Tom and Daisy present signs that one with Affluenza would present. On account of Tom being accustomed to an upscale life, his consideration of the events that follow his actions have disintegrated. Tom handles situations differently than someone who does not have his money to fall back on would.
Title The Great Gatsby is a book that contains an abundance of motifs. F Scott Fitzgerald uses these motifs very masterfully to enhance the novel The Great Gatsby. One of the motifs that he uses is that money corrupts. The corruption is shown in many different ways and through many different people.
Gatsby spent their years apart motivated to win over Daisy by gaining wealth. In his eyes, gaining wealth became equivalent to getting Daisy. He stated, “her voice is full of money” (Fitzgerald, 2004, p.120). His life revolved around money and Daisy, who had symbolically chosen Tom’s pearls and wealth over Gatsby’s letter of love. He threw parties in order to attract her with his wealth.
The wealthier one gets, it seems, the more one rationalizes their decisions and actions. The more one stains their morality little by little until they no longer need to choose what’s right and wrong but what benefits them. Whether it’s right or wrong is then irrelevant. From people to companies, wealth is the source of
Gatsby has spent his whole life trying to prove to Daisy and everyone around him that he is worthy of her. The only way to be on the same social level as her is to turn himself into new money. Since this is not possible, he has to try to convince to others that he truly is old money. To do this, he becomes rich, and lies about his past, but the only way for him to complete this idea is if he is with Daisy. She is the final piece in his American dream.
Certainly not for a common swindler who'd have to steal the ring he put on her finger" (Fitzgerald 133). Tom knows Daisy will choose comfort and security of money over real love. Daisy views Gatsby as her past without tom. Gatsby's wealth was always a dream while Tom's wealth was always reality. Daisy being with Tom will secure her a spot in the famous and respected "old money" society whereas her being with Gatsby she will be surround by people like him with "new money" who wants to be accepted by those with "old money".
He thought daisy would never leave him no matter what horrible things he did because she needs the money to live the life she has always cherished. This betrays him because she finds love in Gatsby and she can still live the wealthy life she wanted. The wealth corrupted everyone one in this story to think it brought happiness. Even
The Great Gatsby Greed can ruin a person’s life. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows this in his classic novel, The Great Gatsby, a sad love story about the rich title character, Jay Gatsby, and his obsession to win back the love of the now married Daisy Buchanan, his former girlfriend. The extravagant lifestyles of Gatsby and the wealthy socialites who attend his parties lead to lost dreams and wasted lives. These men and women are absorbed by material pursuits. In Jay Gatsby’s case, all the money in the world could not replace what he truly desires, Daisy.
Humans, by our very nature, are always striving to achieve more in life. Unfortunately, our materialistic society, and that of the Roaring Twenties, interpret this as striving for wealth. That pursuit often becomes all-consuming, eventually hindering our pursuit of gratifying life goals. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts wealth as a fraudulent thief whose pursuit must be abandoned for the sake of tangible fulfillment. He illustrates the dangers of attempting to find gratification in wealth through the life of Jay Gatsby, who ironically sacrifices morality, identity, and love in order to gain wealth, which he attempts to use to justify his claim to these very things.
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. One of the major themes explored in this novel is the Hollowness of the Upper Class. The entire book revolves around money including power and little love. Coincidentally the three main characters of the novel belong to the upper class and throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows how this characters have become corrupted and have lost their morality due to excess money and success and this has led them to change their perspective towards other people and they have been portrayed as short-sighted to what is important in life. First of all, we have the main character of this novel, Gatsby who won’t stop at nothing to become rich overnight in illegal dealings with mobsters such as Wolfsheim in order to conquer Daisy’s heart.”
Since the beginning of time, people have chased money. People have been blinded, fooled, controlled, and isolated by money. From the rise of the first empires to the American “gilded-age,” to the height of the pure illusion of money during the Jazz Age. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the isolating nature of the Jazz Age during which the story was written through the wild nature of the book and concepts of old and new money. One of the ways The Great Gatsby displays the isolating nature of the Jazz Age is through the tension of old and new money seen throughout the book.