In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is a morally ambiguous character. The novel takes place in the 1920s and involves Nick Carraway as the narrator. A morally ambiguous character is a character whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely good or purely corrupt. Gatsby is a morally ambiguous character because of his relationship with Meyer Wolfsheim, his attitude towards Nick Carraway, and his desperation for Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby is portrayed as a morally ambiguous character because of his relationship with Meyer Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim has made an impact in both Gatsby’s life and success. He says he “‘raised [Gatsby] up out of nothing, right out of the gutter’” (171). This quote shows that …show more content…
Nick starts off by judging Gatsby and does not truly like him. Gatsby is shown as naive and does not realize how Nick feels toward him. He continues to be friendly around Nick even though Nick thinks of Gatsby as an awkward person. An example is, “At a lull in the entertainment [Gatsby] looked at [Nick] and smiled” (47). This quote explains Nick and Gatsby’s first encounter. At this time Nick does not know who Gatsby is, but Gatsby knows Nick. Gatsby actions toward Nick comes off in an amicable way. Gatsby seems like a welcoming person because he smiles occasionally and wants to associate with a random stranger, Nick. Another quote is, “‘Want to go with me, old sport? Just near the shore along the Sound’” (47). This quote shows that Gatsby invites Nick to hang out during their first meeting together. Gatsby is already fond of Nick because he is not inviting just any stranger to hang out with him. Out of everyone at his party, Gatsby chooses Nick. This proves that Gatsby can be defined as purely good because he likes to approach people and does not seem to have any bad intentions. He can be defined as purely corrupt because he uses Nick to achieve his goal. This shows Gatsby as being selfish and will do whatever he can to achieve his goal in pursuing