Examples Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the Great Gatsby, wealth and status is a key theme. As a result of these themes shallowness and immorality is something that presents itself in characters throughout the novel quite frequently. For a person to be shallow it means that they lack emotional and intellectual depth, an example of this being someone who judges another on their looks or quantity of money they possess. Immorality can cross with this idea of shallowness due to the fact that as a result of the characters shallowness they become immoral or do immoral things, however it is when a person goes against the accepted ideas of what is right within society. Both of these themes are shown throughout the Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald and a way that Fitzgerald shows this immorality and shallowness is through female characters in the Great Gatsby.

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby to criticize society’s modern custom, hypocrisy. In the story, Fitzgerald emphasizes appearances. The Webster dictionary defines the word as, “an impression given by someone or something”. The author discusses how people love to make things appear as something different, something they dream and yearn for. Fitzgerald uses three major characters to describe the main behaviors of hypocrites in society: first we have those, such as Nick Carraway, that claim to have animosity towards the delusions of society, yet they become accomplices of what they despise. Then we have the individuals who are like Tom, who demand that others follow their virtues, even if they don’t follow them themselves. Finally we

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." (Fitzgerald 1). The Great Gatsby begins with the moral lesson of not criticizing others because everyone has had different experiences, yielding both advantages and disadvantages. In the book, The Great Gatsby, the characters judge each other harshly and attribute them to faults, causing all sorts of needless tragedy and despair. This could have been prevented if each character was not as immoral and fraudulent as they are depicted. However, each character, aside from Nick, adapts to the moral vacuum of the materialistic 1920’s society. F. Scott Fitzgerald develops the theme of the importance of not making judgements upon first impression in The Great Gatsby with shallow, yet symbolic interactions between characters in the book. (Nagel 113-124)

In The Great Gatsby the author F. Scott Fitzgerald develops the theme people will compromise their morals/values if they feel they can benefit in some way. In chapter two, the narrator Nick follows Tom his cousins husband to go meet Myrtle the women that was known to be the “women from New York” that Tom was cheating on with his wife Daisy. After, Tom introduce Myrtle to Nick, they both ask Nick to stay and have some drinks and party with them. Nick decision to stay and have some drinks its shows the reader how he is willing to get drunk so Tom does not judge him. The narrator Nick says “I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon” (Page 29). It tells the reader that Nick has only been drunk twice in his

Daisy is equally immoral as she marries him solely for his money and status and ignores his womanizing behaviors. He takes advantage of her throughout the entirety of their marriage. This is true even in the earliest stage of their marriage, when Daisy discovers that Tom is cheating on her with the chambermaid and continues to stay with him. After Tom is confronted for his infidelity, he sorrily and insincerely promises that “[he is] going to take better care of [her] from now on” (Fitzgerald 140). Being that Tom’s affair with Myrtle is not his first, this statement should indicate to Daisy that she should no longer be with Tom. In a similar manner at the end of the novel, Nick spots Tom “frowning into the windows of a jewelry store” (Fitzgerald 186). Tom is likely at the jewelry store to buy expensive jewelry for Daisy in an attempt to apologize for cheating once again. Tom’s habits continue even after the unfortunate deaths of Myrtle and Gatsby, which are both indirectly caused by the couple’s immorality and recklessness. Arguably, Daisy is equally at fault since she ignores clear signs of infidelity such as these empty promises and pathetic apology gifts. Both of their flaws are a product of the American Dream, thus proving its harmful effect on romantic relationships.

F. Scott Fitzgerald uses imagery and a series of polysyndeton that backs up his argument that the changing values in the 1920s led to moral decay. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, explained Gatsby’s party in a way that depicts how the 1920’s were changing. The 1920’s were about extravagant parties and friendships that were not based on honesty. In those flamboyant parties, no one knew each other, making it easy for anyone to create a fake identity. While attending these parties, people wore their best clothing, rode on luxurious cars, and even pretended to know each other. In The Great Gatsby, there were plenty of parties, all in which relations of all sorts were made: some even forgotten the same night. There was an excessive use

Life is packed full of moral choices that must be made, and people often in life tend to skew what is morally correct in order to serve their best interests. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, the central character in The Great Gatsby, skews his mortality for Gatsby, he chose to invite Daisy over in order to help Gatsby rekindle his relationship with Daisy. “I’m going to call up Daisy tomorrow and invite her over here to tea.” (Fitzgerald, pg.79) The book Gray Mountain also contains skewed morality around love, Samantha Kofer, a laid off lawyer, partakes in inappropriate relationships. In chapter 37 we learn of the purpose of a current relationship “If I go to Gray Mountain on the weekends with you, they’re not suspicious, and why would they be?

During the Roaring Twenties, success and ideals were based off of “material abundance”(McAdams 657). Many people living in America after The Great War began to party, drink, and commit crimes. Some owned luxurious houses and cars, mostly to prove their wealth to society. Their morals changed along with their dreams. Fitzgerald, author of the novel, The Great Gatsby, created characters who embodied the idea of the new, materialistic dream in America. Hearn (qtd. in McAdams) states that “...The Great Gatsby simultaneously depicts both the allure of wealth and moral disapproval of the sometimes empty, corrupt, unsatisfying lives of those who achieve wealth.” In the novel, the characters are acquisitive, making their lives a “waste land”(McAdams

Morals are the principles on which one's judgments of right and wrong are based. Ethics are principles of right conduct. These two words are closely related. I think morals and ethics should be followed. In the book The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald characters display immoral actions. The characters simply aren’t bothered by some of their bad choices with work ethics, marriage, and common sense.

Many times in society, we see people commit evil acts with no sense of wrongdoing. Yet, we also see other people support the well being of others with minimal personal benefit. Since we see this drastic difference between people who may face similar situations or challenges in life, we ask ourselves, “Why do these variations in actions happen?” The simple, yet complex answer, boils down to the inner morals of individuals. Morality is defined as “the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” Clearly, anyone who commits an evil act lacks morality. This break from basic morality is shown in the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the novel, the characters engage in immoral acts

In The Great Gatsby the characters all have a special relationship with one another, Nick and Tom don’t particularly like each other they are only friends for Daisy. Nick and Gatsby are friends so Gatsby can get closer to Daisy, but they are good friends with each other. Nick and Jordan are friends for daisy also, they thought they were in love, but in the end they weren’t in love. Nick is the least immoral character because he never cheated on anyone, Nick lied, but only to an extent, he lied about Gatsby and Daisy being in love, and finally he didn’t murder anyone like Daisy and George did.

The American Dream is dead. At least, the version we were all brought up on. No one wants a house with a white picket fence anymore – everyone wants a mansion and 6 million dollars. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us how pure morals and the American Dream dwindle into a system of materialistic power and greed. In the novel, through Jay Gatsby and the other major characters, we begin to see their decay of morals unfold. All characters start off with hope and prosperity but, as we venture further and further into the novel, we begin to see the moral decay takes its toll on them, in very dark ways.

In The Great Gatsby and Chicago, lies run rampant; however, few characters suffer any consequences for their dishonesty. These works seem to suggest that morality in the 1920s entered a gray area, as there seems to be no rhyme or reason for who gets away with lying.

No other writer is as closely associated with the nineteen-twenties as F. Scott Fitzgerald, the modern writer who coined the term “Jazz Age” and immortalized the essence of the 1920’s. The reckless parties and glamorous atmosphere a common theme throughout his books, with underlying critiques on American culture hidden within the array of rhetoric Fitzgerald so expertly employed. None of Fitzgerald’s books describe the 20’s character quite as well as The Great Gatsby, a book that takes place between the midwest and New York, following Nick Carraway over the course of two years. The narration emphasized that morality was at an all time low, and audacity was at an all time high during this extravagant decade. Fitzgerald fittingly used this time period as the setting for his novel as it allowed him to accentuate the dependency on social classes and the weak morals of this era while still maintaining realistic components.

Q: A comparative study of texts provides insight into the moral concerns of an era.