Dishonesty In Gatsby

Humans define Morality as a set of principles designating the good from the bad in behavior and ideology. We use it to guide each other and set parameters for acceptable actions, but these parameters change over time. In the 1920’s, several factors resulted in a looser morality, much of which encouraged dishonesty, including drinking in backlash against prohibition laws. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which takes place in this era, characters constantly lie to or outright deceive each other. For instance, the narrator, Nick Carraway, extols his own honesty, but as his audience, we see how he has repeatedly withheld information from his peers in important scenarios. Jay Gatsby, the man Nick follows in the story, much more blatantly …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald’s critique of dishonesty and its role in 1920s life. He selects three of its forms, ranging from simply lying by omission to infidelity to outright criminal activity, and demonstrates how their use leads to misfortune for the perpetrators and those affected by the lies. Jay Gatsby uses the illegal bootlegging business to get rich and attract Daisy Buchanan, but his friends begin to disappear due to his connections until none remain. Tom’s affair with Myrtle may have satisfied a craving, but his actions resulted in harm for Daisy and perpetuated adultery on a societal level. And Nick’s white lies may have seemed the least harmful at first glance, but ultimately resulted in Gatsby’s death. Furthermore, Fitzgerald’s views reveal themselves through the Jordan Baker, whom Nick describes throughout the book as very dishonest, when she breaks up with him at the very end: “You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn’t I?” (Fitzgerald 177). The quote draws parallels to Myrtle’s death, the circumstances that Nick lied about that resulted in Gatsby’s death. It reflects on the dishonesty from many characters, Nick in particular, that led to misfortune and tragedy. Fitzgerald tells the reader that those who lie will bring nothing but bad, much like a bad driver who will cause a …show more content…
Technology aids some of the practices, while some remain relatively similar to their predecessors. While the government no longer bans alcohol, today certain drugs have laws prohibiting their use, and many people break these laws. Like the illegal alcohol business of the 1920s, many dangers present themselves in the drug trade, including deceit and murder. And like in the final days of prohibition, people have created movements to decriminalize the use of the least harmful of these drugs, such as marijuana. Infidelity has been aided by technology and hook-up sites such as Tinder, making it no longer necessary for cheaters to search for mistresses at parties in their own community. But with omissive lies, the internet and social media provide many with a platform to speak up about injustices or secrets. Generally, the average person is more likely to want to tell people the truth if they don’t have to say it to anyone directly, or have a relatively anonymous source to do so. While Nick’s personality may have prevented it, he could have told the Daisy about Tom’s affair easily if the Whisper app had existed at the time. So while modern technology allows easier ways for people to be dishonest, it also gives more ways for people to reveal lies as well. The dishonesty of the characters in The Great Gatsby allow us to reflect on how modern society