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Morality In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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5. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the issues of the decline of morality are brought to the forefront. The Great Gatsby is set during the 1920s, a time of moral and social decay, in which several characters grapple with issues such as wealth and greed. Certain characters, such as Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, struggle with choosing between their wants and doing the right thing. Throughout the Great Gatsby, definite conventions of the time such as obsession with others and oneself along with the desire for wealth define the characters. Throughout the Great Gatsby, the issue of obsession is brought to light. From the beginning of the novel, Jay Gatsby is obsessed with Daisy Buchanan. Every night, Gatsby stays up and watches the “green light” …show more content…

Gatsby believes that wealth is the only way that he will “gain respect” (47) from Daisy so he acquires money by whatever means possible. The need to become wealthy for Daisy, drove Gatsby to the point of getting involved in “illegal activities (123) in order to become rich for Daisy. On the other hand, Daisy Buchanan determines who she will marry by how much money a person has. When Daisy was young, she has a relationship with Gatsby, but breaks it off because he does not “have enough money” (112). She then decides to settle on Tom, who is “abusive” (23) which Daisy tolerates due to the fact that Tom is extremely wealthy. The need for money drove both Gatsby and Daisy to extreme situations and provided them unpleasant circumstances. Throughout The Great Gatsby, many characters are faced with difficult situations due to the society that they live in. Gatsby is overly fasinated with Daisy which drives him to extreme levels to impress her. However, Tom is overly fixated on himself and causes the death of an innocent man. Both Daisy and Gatsby struggle to obtain wealth, often which lead to abusive situations and illegal activity. The characteristics of the time such as obsession and the desire for wealth characterize the situations that many of the characters face in their every day

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