Why Is Jay Gatsby Unethical

There is a negative side of the American dream that occurs when others pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and creates a nightmare. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is told during the roaring 1920s and the birth of the American Dream. It is the story of the wealthy and eccentric Jay Gatsby, whose life revolves around reuniting himself with the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan. The novel is narrated by Nick Carraway, Daisy's cousin who moves from the Midwest to West Egg Long Island where he becomes Gatsby's neighbor. Daisy Buchanan lives just across the bay in East Egg and is married to an unfaithful husband, Tom Buchanan who attended college at Yale with Nick. Gatsby's quest for love puts him on a dangerous

James Gatz was born to two poor farmers in North Dakota. Destined for something greater, he decides to run away from home. At the age of 17 he legally changes his name to Jay Gatsby and meets Dan Cody while fishing in Lake Superior. Cody, a self made millionaire, takes Gatsby under his wing and teaches him about money and class. After his death, Gatsby swears to himself that he will become a success at any cost. While he does eventually end up successful, he does it by selling alcohol illegally. Tom points this out to Daisy saying, "I found out what your 'drug-stores' were. He turned to us and spoke rapidly. He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him" (Fitzgerald 179). Jay Gatsby is affiliated with many shady characters such as Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim is a gambler who infamously fixed the World Series. The only character in the novel who is able to acquire wealth after being born into poverty is Gatsby. The fact that he could only alter his economic status through cheating and lying challenges the concept of democracy and capitalism. Furthermore, it promotes the idea that one must inherit their wealth to be successful in the American economy, similar

Gatsby met Daisy while serving in the army at Camp Taylor in Louisville. Daisy and Gatsby quickly fall in love and when Gatsby is deployed, she writes to him. Gatsby asks her to wait for him until after the war so they can get married, but Daisy gets impatient as life passes her by and marries Tom. Gatsby, stuck in Europe, can only watch as the life he imagined and dreamed of with Daisy is shattered before his eyes. Nevertheless, he refuses to lose hope. Gatsby returns to America and works for Wolfsheim so that he too, could be successful and win back Daisy. After moving to West Egg, Gatsby peers at the shining green light from the end of Daisy's dock, his beacon of hope. However this dream only leads to his demise. Nick, when talking about Gatsby's grand vision, states that, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter” (Fitzgerald 241). The green light at the end of Daisy's dock symbolizes Gatsby's dreams and hopes. He tries desperately to restore his life to the way it was before Daisy gets married and in the attempt, his dreams elude him. The motif present of not being able to fulfill wants and desires is symbolic of the American Dream. Most people dream big only to have them crushed. The American Dream, like Daisy, is not as good as it seems. Reality is not as most, including a