Morality In The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, provides a reflection on the societal issues and attitudes of a modernist, post-war era. The “Roaring Twenties” was an age of prosperity, consumerism and liberalism that led to unprecedented economic growth and significant changes in culture and lifestyle. The right to vote redefined women’s roles and gave rise to a “new breed” known as the flapper, that drank, wore excessive makeup, and flaunted her disdain for conventionalism. The introduction of prohibition led to an increased demand for black market alcohol and bootlegging, thereby providing a financial basis for organized crime. Despite the progression, the 1920s was an era of social tensions

As mentioned, Gatsby had a few dishonest jobs, which in the end, quite evidently aided his success. The Prohibition of 1920, in which alcohol was made illegal, backfired on the U.S. Instead of remedying the yearning for alcohol by

To what extent of a person becoming more well- known, popular, rich, and more or less famous is the limit to their values, morals, and true self? Many during the age of 1920 started to be faced with such a question. How does it happen and how do their morals go so quickly out the window when faced with a new and higher social or economic state? In this story Gatsby was a fine young man with dreams and aspirations for his future and who he wanted to become. Him deep down still had these morals inside of him, but with the increase in his wealth, like many others, these morals began to fade to the background. Fitzgerald is able to show us how Gatsby and the people he surrounded himself with lost their morals through when Daisy left Gatsby for Tom, and when Gatsby was killed.

The book begs an interesting question about morals, especially during the time where money was the end-all-be-all. Bootlegging seems innately wrong, and we are so quick to label it as such. However, a character like Gatsby is morally ambiguous and it is difficult to label him as truly good or evil.

The upper class and so called rich people were not very accepting of Gatsby. While hanging out with Tom Buchanan and Tom’s fellow rich friends, the Sloanes’ Mrs. Sloane says to Gatsby, “Well, you come,” Concentrating on Gatsby.” Tom quietly says to Mr Sloane, “ My god, I believe the man’s coming. Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?” (105)Tom shows clear arrogance and the tone that Gatsby less of a person or is not deserving to come because he may not be as rich or much of an upper class person as them. Gatsby’s dream is clearly held back here. He always wanted to be that rich high class man that would steal back Daisy’s heart but he is shunned by Tom. Later after that, Tom comments on Gatsby, “ Who is this Gatsby anyhow?.... Some big bootlegger?” (107) Quickly without knowing Gatsby very well, Tom jumps to the conclusion that Gatsby is a bootlegger, or someone who earned their money in a not so legal or correct way. Just because someone has money, does not make them an upper class person, again tying to fact that Gatsby’s dreams were

Organized crime was major thing during the 1920s. It was such a big deal Fitzgerald used real organized crime to help form ideas for his book. Organized crime is an illegal act that is committed by a criminal group or organization. During the whole novel of the great gatsby, Jay gatsby came into all of his money by being a party of organized crime. In the book, Fitzgerald refers to a man named Meyer Wolfsheim. This character was influenced by a real gangster, and in this book he symbolize the gangster character in the 1920s. If this book can say anything, it's that organized can reach anyone. During his path for inspiration, Fitzgerald used real life organized crime for his novel. He used real life murders and crime in his book. In one of the chapters Fitzgerald describes

Bootlegging became a means of serious wealth and survival in the beginning 1920’s, and Gatsby (who had previous teachings from his mentor Dan Cody) got connected with a mobster, the big time gangster, Meyer Wolfsheim, who Gatsby would call, “the man who fixed the World’s Series back in 1919”. Meyer Wolfsheim was a business associate of Gatsby; he (Meyer) helped him (Gatsby) to make his profit off distributing illegal alcohol. In the movie of “The Great Gatsby, where Gatsby invited Nick to lunch with Wolfsheim, when Gatsby excuses himself, Nick and Meyer talk a little. Wolfsheim made sure Nick understood that he (Meyer) “made” Gatsby. With Gatsby’s newly illegal wealth from his criminal disposition in organized crime, he is now what old rich people would call, “new money”. This “new money” from the wave,

After going through the “Great War,” also known as World War I, soldiers came back home in the middle of prohibition, a time where the almost all recreational alcohol was illegal. Despite the government's intentions to protect the people from alcohol abuse, prohibition forced people to find unorthodox ways of attaining alcohol. Prohibition unofficially made people rich because so people made lots and lots of money making and selling alcohol illegally–bootlegging. This is the setting for the famous novel, The Great Gatsby. In this book, F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies the true corrupting nature of wealth and shows just how powerful the desire for money can be through the corruption of the American dream, Gatsby’s dream, and the main characters.

     Gatsby earns his money, not through hard work, but it is hinted that he is bootlegger and deals in illegal things because of his relationship with Meyer Wolfsheim, a known gangster. During Prohibition, when the consumption of alcohol was illegal, people could make a lot of money providing alcohol illegally, and they were called bootleggers. Jay Gatsby was even going against American laws in order to achieve his American Dream of getting enough money to buy Daisy's love.

The novel, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s America, New York - a class society of money -, depicts a society which exists in a state of moral confusion and chaos, through the eyes of the narrator; Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald condemns the character’s tendencies in the novel to become greedy and materialistic in order to be successful, displayed throughout the chaos that arises as a result of the repercussion of these actions. This chaos continues to grow through the unfaithful marriages and illegal practices that exists extensively throughout the novel. Furthermore, Fitzgerald explores the prejudice discrimination between the newly rich and those with “old money”. Through all of this we come to see that during the “roaring 20s” was one of moral disorder and mayhem.

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to the Prohibition era to create conflict. Many people were making million from bootlegging during this period, including Gatsby. This is significant because it shows that Gatsby is underneath the Buchanan's for making money illegally. This is what turns Daisy away from Gatsby, because she figures out that he did not earn his fortunes from the drug stores. This makes Tom look like a better choice in the end, because he is from the rich world she is

To accomplish his one main goal, Gatsby would do anything to make money, so he did it illegally. Gatsby is a very rich man, but he did not earn his money the way that most of America did. “[Gatsby] differs from the other newly rich members of society in that he did not earn his money in an honorable way.” Gatsby made his money out of illegal bonds and bootlegging. Bootlegging is when one illegally sells alcohol under-the-counter, at a time where alcohol is banned. His main goal left in life is to win back Daisy Buchanan, and to accomplish that he needed money. All that he could do was to get into illegal business, which at that time in his life, was the only easy way to get wealthy fast. Gatsby could not wait any longer to reunite with the girl he had thought about every day since he had left to fight in World War I.

“‘He’s a bootlegger,’ said the young ladies, moving somewhere between his cocktails and his flowers. ‘One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to von Hindenburg and second cousin to the devil’” (Fitzgerald 63). In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, many rumors surrounded Gatsby. Some said he was a German spy, a relative of the Kaiser, an Oggsford man, a great war hero, and a killer. One of Gatsby’s guest, Owl Eyes, even says that Gatsby didn’t exist. Among all these rumors, the one about how Gatsby was a bootlegger was true, and more, he was also involved with the man who fixed the World Series, Wolfsheim. His business through bootlegging corrupted the American Dream’s ethic of hard work and integrity, and thus Gatsby’s illegal business practices frightened his “American Dream,” the “Golden Girl,” Daisy away. During the 1920s’ Prohibition, bootleggers such as Gatsby, were common, and bootlegging was a method for people to get rich fast. Corruption not only surrounded ordinary citizens, but also the government and its officials. It led to a greater

On first glance, The Great Gatsby is about a romance between Gatsby and Daisy. The true theme behind this wonderful novel is not merely romance, but is also a very skeptical view of the extinction of the American dream in the prosperous 19s. This loss of the American dream is shown by Fitzgerald's display of this decade as a morally deficient one. He shows its incredible decadence in Gatsby's lavish and ostentatious parties. This materialistic attitude toward life came from the disillusionment of the younger generation of the old Victorian values. Also, with Prohibition in effect, illegal bootlegging practices made for yet another way for Americans to fall down the path of

The Roaring Twenties is considered to be a time of excessive celebration and immense corruption. The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a criticism of American society and its values during this era of history. This criticism is first apparent in the people who go to Gatsby's parties. They get absurdly drunk, do not know who their host is and are rude by excessively gossiping about him. This commentary is also shown in the corruption of the police. Gatsby is able to pay off the police so that the activities going on at his home will go unnoticed and so that he may behave as he wishes. This criticism is finally shown in the corruption of friendship and love, the simple fact being that there is none. People use Gatsby and