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Gatsby Selfish Society

Decent Essays

In the timeless classic The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald describes the prevalent, rich culture of high society in the East Coast and uses the life of Jay Gatsby to disclose the trappings in this social structure. After he returned from World War I in 1918, Fitzgerald wrote this book when America was entering a new age of dreams. Fitzgerald is quite critical of the high society while he is also trying to raise his own social status. With his earlier success of This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald’s life is resembled Gatsby’s extravagant social ambitions. Since Fitzgerald was from the “moral” Mid-West of Minnesota, his residence resembled Nick Carraway’s, Gatsby’s only friend (“F. Scott Fitzgerald” Web). Whether Fitzgerald was comparing the path of his life to Gatsby’s or just protecting his perceptions of high society is unsure. Gatsby’s new riches allows him into high society in West Egg with frivolous parties. However, the ultimate goal in all that Gatsby does is to win the love of Daisy and Gatsby allows himself to be enticed into immorality by having an affair with this married lady from East Egg (Topham Web). This relationship propels Gatsby into a selfish society which only looks out for itself. This scandalous relationship ends in the death of Gatsby and his dreams. The Great Gatsby exposes the immoral culture of high society, unravels self-seeking motives of the heart within this culture, and warns of the ultimate demise of such selfish behaviors. To

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