Duality In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Killer Society F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a gorgeous picture of the 1920’s lifestyle in his renowned novel The Great Gatsby. His story tells of both the lavish and extravagant parties and the dark, horrific undertones of the time. Fitzgerald conveys his themes of duality through his beloved and hated characters. These symbolic people all find themselves in the midst of a grave murder at the end of the book, yet the fault does not fall on one singular character, but rather the society as a whole. To most readers, Gatsby directly caused his own death due to his unhealthy obsession with Daisy. However, the true assassin, the 1920’s society, killed Jay Gatsby with its corrupt, mercenary, careless nature. Under the glitz and glam of the era,

During one particular event, some say “‘he killed a man once’”. . . ‘[or] it’s more that he was a German spy during the war’” (Fitzgerald 35). Henceforth, Jay Gatsby remains a mystery to almost everyone due to the society he lived in. He molds into the perfect, believable, and public suspect for Tom Buchanan to pin Myrtle's death on. After seeing the chaos in the Valley of Ashes and the body of his former-lover Myrtle, Tom deduces that Gatspey concocted the situation. In a later chapter, Tom explains to Nick, “‘He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave. . . [and] he was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car’” (Fitzgerald 136). George crosses the line of mental insanity after his wife died and, based on the chapter, Tom recognizes this fact. Yet, he feels no shame throwing Gatsby and his reputation into the lion’s den without proper questioning or conformation. If Tom had not been raised and lived in a world with such distrust, dishonesty, and lack of morals, the story could have unfolded differently. Although the 20’s society stands as the most likely cause of Gatsby’s death, many would say that Gatsby himself claims full