Why Is The Great Gatsby Banned

Books are banned due to many reasons including the American Library Association, parents, school administrators and teachers. There are many books in our school curriculum that have been banned or challenged in other places, but our school has never had this problem with any book. Many people are banning books to keep students from being corrupted by topics they may not understand. Yet this book, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has a theme that can be tied in with our world today. The main themes the book focuses on are teaching others to know right from wrong, how it can reflect on others future, and making decisions wisely no matter the consequence. There are some books that shouldn’t be required to read in a class, but should be allowed at the high school level.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, should be read at schools such as Westminster because it illustrates the effects of sin on both ourselves and others, shows the harm of idols in our lives, and speaks truth about human nature.

For a book to be banned, means that governments stop libraries from carrying that certain book that is banned. According to the ALA (American Library Association) the Great Gatsby was banned due to the foul language and sexual content that is portrayed throughout the book. Although sex is never brought up in this book it is inferred very frequently, and they definitely infer a lot of cheating. Tom Buchanan cheats on Daisy shortly after their honey moon, and always seems to be pursuing women at Gatsby’s parties. Tom even has a mistress (Myrtle Wilson) who you could say is the main person he cheats on Daisy with, not to mention this mistress is also married to a clueless man who has no idea that his wife is in love with another man. Than on the

Tom has been carrying on an affair with Myrtle Wilson, with no regard to who knows or cares about his infidelity. Their entire relationship is based around dishonesty. Tom has strayed so far from God that he even blames the affair on Daisy’s religion (Fitzgerald 33).

We say this because when Tom found out about the secret affair between Daisy and Gatsby, he immediately despised him. This can be shown in the text when it states “You two start on home, Daisy said Tom in Mr. Gatsby’s car (Fitzgerald 135). Tom learns that the car that Struck Myrtle matches Gatsby’s description. Tom told Wilson who had owned the car, knowing Daisy was truly responsible for killing Myrtle. Also, he did not let Wilson know that.

Myrtle Wilson was in love with Tom Buchanan. She wanted to leave her husband to be with Tom, but he had no intentions of leaving Daisy to be with Myrtle. “... he heard Mrs. Wilson’s voice, loud and scolding, down-stairs in the garage. ‘Beat me!’ he heard her cry. ‘Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward!’ A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting - before he could move from his door, the business was over” (137). Myrtle thought that the car, coming down the road, driven by Daisy, was being driven by Tom as that is the car he was driving earlier that day. She thought that Tom would stop for her and that she would be able to go away with him and get away from her husband; instead, she was killed by Daisy and indirectly killed through her affair with Tom. Similarly, Gatsby was killed as a consequence of Daisy and Tom’s actions. “The touch of a cluster of leaves revolved it slowly, tracing, like the leg of transit, a thin red circle in the water” (162). George Wilson shot Gatsby in anger as he thought that it was Gatsby who was having the affair with Myrtle. Wilson thinks this because Tom told his that Gatsby was the one driving the car that hit Myrtle. Wilson came to the conclusion that Gatsby had hit Myrtle with the car to cover up the affair. This makes Gatsby’s caused by Tom, because he told Wilson that Gatsby was driving the car, and

Another well-known banned book is The Great Gatsby by,F. Scott Fitzgerald, written in 1925. It is about a young man by the name Nick Carraway from the upper Midwest moves to West Egg district of Long Island to learn about the bond business. As the story progresses he gets to know a man named Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic mansion and is famous for throwing sumptuous parties all the time, and his story starts to unravel. Across the way on East Egg district of Long Island lives Nick’s second cousin Daisy and her husband Tom. Nick learns that Tom has a mistress named Myrtle Wilson, who is married to George Wilson(he suspects that Myrtle is having an affair, but does not know with who). When the summer begins so does all of Gatsby’s extravagant

In order for a book to get banned or challenged an individual has to file a complaint, and within that complaint they have to state what was it that they found out offensive, and a committee would decide whether if the book is banned, but if the writer wants to defend it, they could also go to a court and a judge would decide whether if it is taken away from the libraries or it gets banned, that all is according to Rebecca Alexander. Committing adultery is also a big part of this book and its inevitable to think that there weren't any sexual references because sex is never actually mentioned, in my perspective this book should have never been banned or challenged. Publisher Arthur Mincer once wrote that he thought this book (The Great Gatsby) is an amazing piece of work. Although this book has been banned and challenged many times, Most high schools in

When Daisy, all worked up from Tom and Gatsby’s confrontation, was driving too fast from New York City, she hit and killed Myrtle Wilson, leading to Gatsby’s ultimate downfall. As Daisy sped on and the other driver involved stopped, “Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust” (137). When Tom found out about his mistress Myrtle’s death, he was devastated and angry . He told Myrtle’s husband George that Gatsby owned the car that killed his wife.

Wilson’s dream is to get enough money to move away with his wife and start a new life. His dream can become true if Tom helps him, but he fails in his dream and his life is nothing to him after his wife perishes. Myrtle’s dream is to live a luxury life and because of that she’s having a relationship with Tom. Myrtle demonstrates her greed where she says, “ The only crazy I was was when I married him. I knew right away I made a mistake.

Tom is having an affair with a woman named Myrtle Wilson. Tom uses his wealth to try and make himself look powerful. He acts like a tough guy and tries to hide his affair from Daisy, making himself look like a good husband. Daisy and Gatsby start to see each other and when Tom finds out he tries to demean Gatsby through this quote. “ I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out…” (130) This shows the superficiality of Tom because in reality Tom is no better than Gatsby. Tom is doing the same thing Gatsby is doing except with Myrtle. However, he does not care that he is doing it, only that Daisy is not allowed. This shows Tom is just a hypocritical man. On the other hand, Nick Carraway showed his honesty during the novel that he still writes letters home to a woman he is seeing, signing them with love nick, and he knew he needed to get himself out of that tangle before starting a relationship with Jordan

He proceeds to fire all of his staff for his house and quits having the wild parties, with all the people over, so rumors do not spread about her being there. He does not want anyone to see them together and word gets back to Tom before he has a chance to win her over. Whereas, Tom on the other hand, is very open regarding his affair with Myrtle Wilson. Tom and Myrtle are seen all over together. She even calls him at home.

Myrtle’s husband George was distraught and wanted to find out about her lover and who killed her. Tom uses George’s unstable emotions to say that it was Jay Gatsby who killed her and who her affair was with. In summary Tom wanted to get revenge on Jay for taking away Daisy from being a stay home wife and then for the death of Myrtle, even though Daisy was behind the wheel that fateful

Both of these women know that Tom is in a relationship with another woman, although both choose to ignore it. However, when Myrtle acknowledges his marriage with Daisy, he made “a short deft movement, [and] Tom Buchanan broke her nose with an open hand’ (Gatsby, 37). Their relationship reached the point of abusive, and Myrtle was no longer being treated like a person. Daisy’s response to Tom’s other relationship was conveyed quite differently. Instead of shouting the other lover’s name, Daisy simply said “Go ahead… and if you want to take down any addresses here’s my little gold pencil” (Gatsby, 105).

Tom and Myrtle often have an affair behind the backs of their spouses. They do this at a hotel in New York City. Daisy is well aware that there is an affair going on, but she tries to ignore it. She hopes the same things from her daughter, or that she will never be aware of harsh realities, by saying: " And I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best things a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool" (Fitzgerald 22).