ipl-logo

What Is Morality In The Great Gatsby

752 Words4 Pages

In the 1920s, there was a division between the people who were born into money and the people who worked for it, or the “old money,” and the “new money.” While there were major differences between the two groups, they had one fundamental similarity. This was that they both lacked a sense of morality. In the Great Gatsby, the old money are portrayed as very superficial and immoral. One example of this is how they viewed the “new money” as nobodies. The biggest example of their lack in morality, however, was in how Tom and Daisy Buchanan dealt with Daisy’s murder of Myrtle Wilson. Daisy let Gatsby take the full blame for it without any expression of guilt or remorse, even though she supposedly loved him. Gatsby’s death was even caused by taking the blame for Daisy’s crime, and yet she did not bother to attend his funeral. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness...and let other people clean up the mess they had made” …show more content…

This was due to the fact that he was neither part of the old money or the new money, and therefore was not corrupted by wealth. He was the only person who waited for an invitation to attend one of Gatsby’s parties, and also the only one who sought out his host. Since he was the only one to get to know Gatsby, he was the one to plan his funeral. “I found myself on Gatsby’s side, and alone,” he said. “From the moment I telephoned news of the catastrophe to West Egg Village, every surmise about him, and every practical question, was referred to me” (Fitzgerald, 164). Every other person who was involved with Gatsby, such as business colleagues, found excuses not to attend, including having picnics or just not wanting to be involved. Fitzgerald shows through Nick that the difference between people who were wealthy and people who weren’t was compassion for

Show More
Related

Moral Ambiguity In The Great Gatsby

569 Words | 3 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates a morally ambiguous character that can’t be defined as strictly good or evil. Moral ambiguity is the driving force towards Gatsby’s actions. The character Gatsby demonstrates morally ambiguous qualities that initiate plot throughout the whole novel. Morally ambiguous choices can be viewed towards Gatsby’s character throughout the novel. The first glimpse of Gatsby is introduced in the first chapter while Nick is “exempting him from his reaction” of a “uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever” already placing Gatsby in a position of moral ambiguity (Fitzgerald 2).

Read More

Does Money Buy Happiness In The Great Gatsby

1077 Words | 5 Pages

Gatsby believes that money can buy him whatever his heart desires. Gatsby’s misunderstanding of the way money functions in the society he lives in results in the failure of his attempt to gain both status and the

Read More

Examples Of Immorality In The Great Gatsby

686 Words | 3 Pages

Michael Fecht Mrs. Myers Academic English II 5/21/18 Immorality in the Great Gatsby Money dictates how people act and how they go about their day. It is very crucial; everything costs money. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, everyone has money. The wealth that these characters have is a must for them. they show their wealth by flaunting the expensive attire they have or throw these parties in their expensive homes.

Read More

Negative Effects Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

854 Words | 4 Pages

It was ironic that even Nick, a person who was “inclined to reserve all judgment” (Fitzgerald 1), was able to see how money had made Tom and Daisy careless and lazy. Nick also notices that Daisy and Tom had disappeared right after Gatsby’s death. Daisy and Tom were wealthy enough to move out of Long Island, while they made everyone else solve the problem that they had left behind. It is easy for rich people to become weak and only focus on

Read More

The Role Of Wealth In The Great Gatsby

747 Words | 3 Pages

In The Great Gatsby the characters in the novel come from various social classes. Nick, Daisy, and Tom are from Wealthy families who have been wealthy for a long time. These characters are referred to as “Old rich” because of their families’ long histories of wealth. Jay Gatsby, unlike Daisy and Tom, did not belong to a wealthy family, and he earns his wealth through his own hard work and success. Although Tom and Gatsby are both wealthy, Tom and the other “Old rich” people look down at Gatsby.

Read More

Examples Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

756 Words | 4 Pages

The Roaring Lack of Morality in the 20s Morals were not thought of as a strict moral code during the roaring twenties, and many people found them rather irrelevant. Those whom threw parties, cheated, and lied, were those who were happiest during these times. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, paints a picture of the 1920s by expressing many themes: the need for wealth, the want for love, and the act of betrayal in marriage through the Modern Era.

Read More

Examples Of Hollowness Of The Upper Class In The Great Gatsby

995 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. One of the major themes explored in this novel is the Hollowness of the Upper Class. The entire book revolves around money including power and little love. Coincidentally the three main characters of the novel belong to the upper class and throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows how this characters have become corrupted and have lost their morality due to excess money and success and this has led them to change their perspective towards other people and they have been portrayed as short-sighted to what is important in life. First of all, we have the main character of this novel, Gatsby who won’t stop at nothing to become rich overnight in illegal dealings with mobsters such as Wolfsheim in order to conquer Daisy’s heart.”

Read More

Examples Of Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby

839 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More

Human Nature In Lord Of The Flies

1170 Words | 5 Pages

Alexander Karaivanov Mrs. Jackson Period 5 4/10/24 The Good in Human Nature Evil, “profoundly immoral and wicked” is a word that could describe the human nature of the boys that Goldwing illustrates in his novel Lord of the Flies throughout the actions he writes (Oxford Dictionary). Alternatively, contradicting Goldwing's view, human nature is more positive and innocent than evil. Despite the illustration that Golding depicts of human nature being wicked, it can be seen that humans are more good than evil because human nature is the natural behavioral traits that a person possesses, causing there to be an internal innocence. Within the novel Lord of the Flies, written by Golding, he constructs an idea where human nature is inclined toward

Read More

American Dream In The Great Gatsby And The Social Network

971 Words | 4 Pages

He had the opportunity of creating a big life for himself on his own, but he never took it. This is similar to Sean Parker in the Social Network because he had went to Harvard, but also did not finish. (Find example in movie scene). This shows that neither of the characters valued education, and were somehow brought up and ended up making a lot of money. Their american dream came to them at the time, and didn’t have to work much for until they realized it wasn’t enough and had to try for what they really wanted, which for Gatsby was to have Daisy, and for Parker to have a big website and to be known along with

Read More

The Great Gatsby Moral Corruption Analysis

1909 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More

Examples Of Immorality In The Great Gatsby

1659 Words | 7 Pages

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

Read More

The Role Of Greed In The Great Gatsby

780 Words | 4 Pages

All of the people at his parties did not care much about Gatsby, as none of them attended his funeral; they were only there to eat, drink, and be merry. These attendees represent the majority of the wealthy society during the 1920’s. There was a surplus of leisure and wealth, and those who didn’t obtain a high status envied those who were able to. Those who were wealthy were greedy to become wealthier, and showed gluttony through their materialistic

Read More

Materialism In Gatsby

708 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, social class is a key theme, as seen by every character having their own distinct class. Tom, Daisy, Jordan, and even Nick are old money, Gatsby is new money, and the Wilson 's are no money. In short, the more money you have, the better off you will be. In the epigraph of the novel, there is a poem by Thomas Parke D 'Invilliers, who is a fictional character created by Fitzgerald himself. This poem is about using materialism to win over the affection of someone, which is exactly what Gatsby tries to do.

Read More

Theme Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby

619 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel itself, Gatsby in the end is poor, just as he was when he was born. “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left- the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine”(Fitzgerald, pg 179). Jay Gatsby was born a poor man, and even though he rose up in his social class to be one with the rich, powerful people of the time, he was still a poor man. There is a big difference in the social class in the 1920’s, that nobody could escape

Read More

More about What Is Morality In The Great Gatsby

Related Topics

Open Document