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Examples Of Immorality In The Great Gatsby

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Characters throughout The Great Gatsby present themselves with mysterious and questionable morals. Affairs, dishonest morals, criminal professions, weak boundaries and hypocritical views are all examples of immorality portrayed in The Great Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, lies and mischief fill the lives of many and significantly damage numerous relationships.

First, Jay Gatsby's whole life is consumed into a massive lie. His personality traits set him apart from others and the attention he accumulates motivates him to falsely portray his life. "Under the circumstances Nick hardly expects any section of Gatsby's fabulous story to be true..." (Donaldson 161). Gatsby manipulates Nick throughout the novel, causing …show more content…

Nick and Daisy experienced a closeness when they were reunited with each other, but people change and choices in their pasts were uncovered and led Daisy to abandon a true friend. After losing Daisy in a miserable situation he also lost Jordan due to nearly the same issues. Jordan did not see Nick for who he truly was anymore and when she decided to give up on their relationship she did so and never looked back. “...Nick declares that after returning from the East he "wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever", he connects the war with cynical, guilty, disapproval of the New York...”(Lathbury 70). Nick lost who he truly was and his relationships with others caused an emotional drainage that he could not bare. He was an honorable individual but dishonesty filled his life and determined the outcome of his cherished …show more content…

If his mind is not occupied by his mistress Myrtle, he is drowning in thoughts of Gatsby’s suspected crime-filled life. “Indeed, Tom Buchanan's sources appear most reliable in his characterization of Gatsby's drug store chain as ‘just small change’ compared to his stolen bonds” (Pauly 116). Buchanan is a hypocrite towards Gatsby. He denounces Gatsby’s life actions as being morally evil but Tom’s actions are no different than Gatsby’s in the sense that both men are unfaithful to themselves and their nearest relationships. Tom is competing with Gatsby through deception and treachery, and their dangerous habits wound them

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Amanda Michleski English III CP Guadagnino Gatsby Response Journal Chapter 1 Nick introduced himself before telling the story. He seems like he is not very close to his father and that he does not talk to him very much. He says he is not judgmental, since his dad advised him not to be. Even though he listened to his father, he discovers through his life that being judgmental, at least a bit, would be beneficial in certain situations if he was. Everyone wants to confide in Nick, and tell them their problems.

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Nick’s father also established morals in Nick that parallel his, to never judge a person based off of first impressions because you don’t know what that person has been through. Nick began to break away from his family traditions with World War I. Following his graduation, Nick participated in World War I, unlike his great-uncle as he sent a substitute to the American Civil War. With a hesitant, but supportive family, Nick sought to move east to New York and try his hand in the

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The theme of The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is, the upper class is a very shady set of people who are dishonest and unfaithful. Characters like Nick, Gatsby, Tom and George have twisted views on their own reality due to unfaithfulness and dishonesty. Nick is constantly lied to in the story, for example, Gatsby lied to him about where he got his money. Lies, similar to the one above, give Nick s twisted views on the reality of his friendship. Gatsby has a twisted view on love due to Daisy marrying Tom right after he left for the war.

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Anne O’Hare McCormick has said “The foundations of the world will be shaky until the moral props are restored.” This quote is ironic, considering the theme of The Great Gatsby is a moral wasteland. The Great Gatsby in its entirety is one great big amalgamation of a moral wasteland. The story follows Nick Carraway, living in his tiny cottage next to the elusive Gatsby in West Egg, New York. Throughout the story, there are many different forms of immorality shown in different characters.

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In F.Scott Fitzgerald's novel,The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby embodies the morally ambiguous character that is in almost every novel. In this book the reader cannot infer that gatsby is purely evil or purely good by the way Fitzgerald make Gatsby seem. Fitzgerald make Gatsby seem evil by saying the rumors that are going around town about him. He makes him seem good by showing the compassion he has towards Nick and Daisy. Finally, he makes it seem as if Gatsby may be a bad person by the affair he is having with Daisy.

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What does it take for a person to be truly evil? Is there such a thing as truly evil people? Do perfect role models exist? Each of these questions are prominent and reoccurring throughout the book The Great Gatsby and have significant meaning to the message that the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, is attempting to convey.

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The acts of violence in The Great Gatsby convey moremeaning than merely being acts of aggression. According toThomas Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like aProfessor, violence is one of the most personal and evenintimate acts between human beings, but it can also be culturaland societal in it’s implications. Tom Buchanan fits this profilebecause of actions that he has shown within the book. Evenbefore getting deep into the book, we found out the Tom wasan aggressive man and he was abusive. On page 37, Tom showsa violent act towards Myrtle, another character in the book,and her breaks her nose with his open hand.

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It is made clear to the reader that Nick gains quite an interest in Gatsby. He actually begins to become obsessed with him. The book states, “Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn. If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him… It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.”

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An important theme in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the corruption of morals because of wealth. It doesn’t matter if one comes from old or new money, wealth will corrupt the morality of even the humblest. The first example of wealth corrupting morals is in the indifference to infidelity between the married Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. The next example of wealth corrupting morals is seen in Jordan Baker’s actions to keep her luxurious lifestyle. Third, Jim Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth lead to the corruption of his morals.

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