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Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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Prominently known pastor Charles R. Swindoll once said, “We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.” Similarly, the story of Jay Gatsby illustrates the tragic consequences of trying to recapture the past and overcome societal expectations. The Great Gatsby follows the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy young man who throws extravagant parties in hopes of winning back his lost love, Daisy Buchanan. Set in the roaring 1920s, the novel portrays the exotic and luxurious of the era, as well as the moral decay that came with it. As the book slowly reveals Gatsby's past and his relationship …show more content…

Gatsby asks Nick to invite Daisy to his house for tea, hoping to rekindle their relationship in a more private setting. Gatsby’s desire to recreate the past consumes him, exemplified by his strong desire to meet Daisy. His fixation on Daisy shows his longing to return to a time when they were together. Additionally, with desperation in his voice, Gatsby states, "Can't repeat the past?...Why of course you can!" (Fitzgerald 116). Gatsby believes that, due to his extreme wealth, he can change the past to his desire. This exemplifies how he attempts to relive the past and is too blinded by his desires to see that this is unattainable. All things considered, Gatsby’s attempts to relive the past with Daisy Buchanan display his desperation and unwillingness to let go of the …show more content…

This is evidenced by the highly extravagant parties that he often throws and how he exhibits his wealth. Such parties aim to impress Daisy in hopes of winning her back. However, in doing so, Gatsby ultimately demonstrates how the American Dream has become more about material success than personal fulfillment. In addition, Gatsby goes to great lengths to fit in with the upper class and win Daisy's love; he changes his name, creates a fictional backstory, and adopts a wealthy persona. This further highlights how the American Dream has become more about image than authenticity. The pursuit of material success and the constant need to present an idealized image have become the driving forces behind the American Dream, and Gatsby embodies this in his

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Gatsby then tries to fix his relationship with Daisy. Nick tries to calm Gatsby down by stating, “I wouldn’t ask too much of her,” I ventured. “You can’t repeat the past.” “Can’t repeat the past?” he cried incredulously.

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Gastby’s romanization of the past with Daisy has been causing him to repeat the past to be able to impress her. Within The Great Gatsby, Gatsby has been romanticizing his past to Nick, while also trying to replicate it within the present. His way of looking at the past is through what is known as a Rosy Retrospection, which is known to give a person expectations that are difficult to follow. There are two parts of his past that make him the way he is today, in which he longs for Daisy.

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Gatsby wants everything to be like the past when Daisy was his lover but

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Gatsby’s life and The Great Gatsby revolved around his obsession with the past, which inevitably impacted

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Kier Keith Stele AP English Language and Composition March 8, 2023 Gatsby’s and America’s Dream The American dream is an idea perceived as an ideal society for humanity as a whole which has become increasingly falsified with time. Whether it is through racial violence, economic disparity, or living better off as a human, these factors describe the American ideals as impossible. This inflated view of the American dream has led to a definite destruction economically or socially of people who place too much faith in the American Dream. Fitzgerald's vision of the American ideals in the Great Gatsby is similar to today's ideals of the American dream.

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In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the character of Jay Gatsby is an individual of hope who pursues his ideal of bringing back together his past with Daisy Buchanan through the wealth, of his mansion’s gleaming parties located right across the bay. However, from the view of Nick Carraway, there is no way to bring the past back, as he saw Gatsby as a hopeful person to do so. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald uses many aspects of symbols which have significance towards the concepts of moral corruption and the pursuit of his dream. To begin, Fitzgerald has usage of colors throughout The Great Gatsby which depict the significance of the chase of the ideal, and moral corruption.

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Gatsby was a very optimistic character. He never gave up on his dreams for his relationship with Daisy. As Gatsby states “Can’t repeat the past? Why of course you can!’ He looked around him wildly, as if the past were lurking around him here

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Gatby finds this ridiculous and can not believe that someone would think he “‘Can’t repeat the past?’” and responds to Nick ‘Why of course you can!’” (Fitzgerald 110). Gatsby’s memories of his past with Daisy are linked to his feelings of hope and optimism. He associates Daisy with a time in his life when he was full of potential and believed that he could

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‘You can’t repent the past.’ ‘Can’t repeat the past?’ He (Gatsby) cried incredulously. ‘Why of course you can!’ (Fitzgerald 110).

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In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the theme of moral decay is best displayed through lying, adultery, and manipulation. Throughout this piece of literature the characters morality is in constant question. The first introductions of the characters they give the impression to have morals with little fault. However throughout the novel the characters morality or ethics begin to decay and the true nature of the characters begin to arise. Fitzgerald uses lying, adultery, and manipulation to portray the decay of morality in the characters of the novel.

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Fitzgerald establishes this tone through the dreamy setting that reflects Gatsby’s yearning. For example, Gatsby “knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God” (110). Gatsby’s decision to link his self worth with Daisy creates his current desperation to recreate the past with her. In addition, Fitzgerald continues to construct a wistful tone by illustrating Gatsby’s delusional determination to recreate the past: “‘Can’t repeat the past?’ He cried incredulously.

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Jaco’Bee Campbell Ms.Thornton English 3H-0 18 September 2015 The Madness of Loving in the Past Finding love is hard but, once an individual finds love and then loses that special person the conflict is inevitable because the moments and memories were unforgettable. Although a person may convince himself that he is over his feelings, it is easy to drive himself crazy over something that should've been left behind. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the main character Jay Gatsby as a person that is obsessed with his past which leads him to madness.

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In The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, one of the characters is “stuck in the past”. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is constantly longing for a past relationship he had with a woman named Daisy, who moved on from Gatsby and married another man when Gatsby left for the war. Gatsby’s view of the past is used to develop a major theme of the novel: the moral decay of society. The novel begins with Nick, the narrator saying how the events that happened in New York, where the novel takes place, caused him to leave, and how he doesn’t like any of the people he was involved with.

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The story of The Great Gatsby is a well thought out novel that has many underlying lessons. F. Scott Fitzgerald puts a lot of emphasis on the lessons in this book, but a majority of them are hidden between the lines. As you look deeper however, you find that the largest lesson in The Great Gatsby is seen from Gatsbys perspective. Even though you may feel stuck in the past, others do not need to stay with you. This is shown through Gatsby's desire to keep what he had in his past.

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This hinders Gatsby from moving on and focusing on his own life and happiness. In the beginning to gain Daisy's affections, Gatsby accumulates extortionate wealth and displays extravagant gestures, such as organizing luxurious parties every Friday and showing her his grandiose mansion after the Tea Party with Nick. To Gatsby the memories of the past with Daisy are everything that he wants. Therefore winning Daisy back becomes his primary goal in life. When Nick tells Gatsby, “You cannot repeat the past,” Gatsby replies incredulously,“Why of course you can.”

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