Oblivious Naivety Versus Hubristic Ignorance Morality, the judgement of right from wrong, is dependent on one’s conscience, yet the corruption due to ignorance can lead to vileness and immorality. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby satirizes the incorrect societal values and inevitable corruption with the existence of immorality in both the protagonist and the antagonist. Their false idolization of the personified American Dream and inherited social status results in the defiance against the Catechism of worshipping the one and only God. Furthermore, their dishonesty and inability to face the consequent reality breaks the rule of being truthful to oneself and to others. Meanwhile, their act of adultery completes their twisted ideals,
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As forbidden in the first commandment and reinforced in the Catechism, “Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons, power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc” (CCC 2113). The violation of this code can be seen in Gatsby and Nick’s discussion regarding Daisy’s voice, where his ignorant ideals reveals, “It was full of money - that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingly of it, the cymbals’ song of it… High in a white palace that King’s daughter, the golden girl…” (Fitzgerald 115). Gatsby metaphorically describes Daisy’s voice to be materialistically rich, signifying the superficial pursuit in the American Dream. In addition, the use of epistrophe, “it”, resonates with the metaphoric sound imagery of a bell, which prevails a religious allusion that denotes the supernatural, spiritual influence of Daisy’s voice on Gatsby. Furthermore, the use of colour imagery symbolizes the innocent appearance that masks the corrupt core of gold, reflecting the corruption in the idealized American Dream. Fitzgerald catachresistically compares Daisy to the King’s daughter to establish her as a trophy that represents the final recognition of Gatsby’s success and completion of his dream. In short, Gatsby, …show more content…
Marriage, a unbreakable bond that requires full fidelity, is sacred to the Catholic faith as it states in the Catechism, “Conjugal love... aims at a deeply personal unity... beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving” (CCC 1643). After meeting Daisy for the first time after five years, Gatsby cannot suppress his emotions and “his hand took hold of hers… That voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn’t be over-dreamed -- that voice was a deathless song” (Fitzgerald 93). Gatsby’s emotions, completely overwhelms his rationality, making him fall willingly into the trap of adultery. The use of euphonious consonance with “f” evokes the alluring and intimate atmosphere of their affair, highlighting Gatsby’s desire as her charm and connotative symbolism of the American Dream captivates him. Fitzgerald metaphorically compares Daisy’s voice to a deathless song, which refers to the mythological allusion of the Sirens’ beautiful yet lethal music, foreshadowing Gatsby’s inevitable downfall as he commits adultery with Daisy. He voluntarily defies the rule in the Catechism of being loyal in marriage to complete his own delusional dream. If Gatsby’s affair is a pure pursuit of his dream, then Tom’s adultery, an act out of lust, demeans the honor
As forbidden in the first commandment and reinforced in the Catechism, “Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons, power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc” (CCC 2113). The violation of this code can be seen in Gatsby and Nick’s discussion regarding Daisy’s voice, where his ignorant ideals reveals, “It was full of money - that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingly of it, the cymbals’ song of it… High in a white palace that King’s daughter, the golden girl…” (Fitzgerald 115). Gatsby metaphorically describes Daisy’s voice to be materialistically rich, signifying the superficial pursuit in the American Dream. In addition, the use of epistrophe, “it”, resonates with the metaphoric sound imagery of a bell, which prevails a religious allusion that denotes the supernatural, spiritual influence of Daisy’s voice on Gatsby. Furthermore, the use of colour imagery symbolizes the innocent appearance that masks the corrupt core of gold, reflecting the corruption in the idealized American Dream. Fitzgerald catachresistically compares Daisy to the King’s daughter to establish her as a trophy that represents the final recognition of Gatsby’s success and completion of his dream. In short, Gatsby, …show more content…
Marriage, a unbreakable bond that requires full fidelity, is sacred to the Catholic faith as it states in the Catechism, “Conjugal love... aims at a deeply personal unity... beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving” (CCC 1643). After meeting Daisy for the first time after five years, Gatsby cannot suppress his emotions and “his hand took hold of hers… That voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn’t be over-dreamed -- that voice was a deathless song” (Fitzgerald 93). Gatsby’s emotions, completely overwhelms his rationality, making him fall willingly into the trap of adultery. The use of euphonious consonance with “f” evokes the alluring and intimate atmosphere of their affair, highlighting Gatsby’s desire as her charm and connotative symbolism of the American Dream captivates him. Fitzgerald metaphorically compares Daisy’s voice to a deathless song, which refers to the mythological allusion of the Sirens’ beautiful yet lethal music, foreshadowing Gatsby’s inevitable downfall as he commits adultery with Daisy. He voluntarily defies the rule in the Catechism of being loyal in marriage to complete his own delusional dream. If Gatsby’s affair is a pure pursuit of his dream, then Tom’s adultery, an act out of lust, demeans the honor