Lexi Aldrich
Carlson
Period 6
24 October 2014
The Great Gatsby In the 1920’s, life revolved around how much money you made and how high on the social ladder you climbed. People would do anything, even something immoral, to reach the upper class. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, money and status leave the characters devoid of morality. Status can drive people to do immoral things. Myrtle uses infidelity to climb the social ladder without hard work. Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle. Myrtle is a gold digger who uses Tom to feel like she is richer and more powerful than she actually is. In Chapter 2, Myrtle rants about her husband and screams, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman... I thought he knew something …show more content…
Because Tom spends most of his time in New York “working”, Daisy feels like there is a part of her missing. To fill this hole, she starts cheating on Tom with Gatsby, who she used to love. Their love never truly went away and when they are reunited, the sparks fly again. Gatsby finds out that Daisy did not wait for him while he was at war because she found out he was not rich and wanted more. Gatsby knows Daisy married Tom just for his money and thinks that she never truly loved him and tries to get Daisy to admit it. When Daisy will not admit it, Gatsby decides to take matters into his own hands. “She never loved you, do you hear?... She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me...”(Fitzgerald 131). Myrtle and Daisy do not care about their morals; they just need to get what they want. The characters live superficially and materialistically without values. Myrtle, …show more content…
They live in huge mansions in the nicest neighborhoods with all the money and things they could want. They have the world at their fingertips and still most of them want more. This includes Gatsby. Greed affects his actions and his morality. He is so greedy that other people notice. “Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby”(Fitzgerald 107). Daisy is one of the most self-absorbed characters in the novel yet she notices when Jay is being too greedy. Gatsby also notices when Daisy is being greedy. When someone says that someone’s voice is full of money it means you can tell they’re wealthy or that they want more money than they already have. “Her voice is full of money...that was it. I’d never understood before it was full of money...” (Fitzgerald 20). Daisy is full of money and material things. It is all she cares about and all she wants. Maybe the reason why Gatsby and Daisy have loved each other all these years is because of their mutual need for more tangible things. Immorality comes from wanting more, social status, and wealth. Infidelity, materialism, and greed influence immorality. It also leaves the characters completely devoid of morality. Most of them lack all morality. Social status and image means more to the characters than acting moral. Fitzgerald truly depicted a society devoid of value and morality in The Great
Carlson
Period 6
24 October 2014
The Great Gatsby In the 1920’s, life revolved around how much money you made and how high on the social ladder you climbed. People would do anything, even something immoral, to reach the upper class. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, money and status leave the characters devoid of morality. Status can drive people to do immoral things. Myrtle uses infidelity to climb the social ladder without hard work. Tom cheats on Daisy with Myrtle. Myrtle is a gold digger who uses Tom to feel like she is richer and more powerful than she actually is. In Chapter 2, Myrtle rants about her husband and screams, “I married him because I thought he was a gentleman... I thought he knew something …show more content…
Because Tom spends most of his time in New York “working”, Daisy feels like there is a part of her missing. To fill this hole, she starts cheating on Tom with Gatsby, who she used to love. Their love never truly went away and when they are reunited, the sparks fly again. Gatsby finds out that Daisy did not wait for him while he was at war because she found out he was not rich and wanted more. Gatsby knows Daisy married Tom just for his money and thinks that she never truly loved him and tries to get Daisy to admit it. When Daisy will not admit it, Gatsby decides to take matters into his own hands. “She never loved you, do you hear?... She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me...”(Fitzgerald 131). Myrtle and Daisy do not care about their morals; they just need to get what they want. The characters live superficially and materialistically without values. Myrtle, …show more content…
They live in huge mansions in the nicest neighborhoods with all the money and things they could want. They have the world at their fingertips and still most of them want more. This includes Gatsby. Greed affects his actions and his morality. He is so greedy that other people notice. “Oh, you want too much!’ she cried to Gatsby”(Fitzgerald 107). Daisy is one of the most self-absorbed characters in the novel yet she notices when Jay is being too greedy. Gatsby also notices when Daisy is being greedy. When someone says that someone’s voice is full of money it means you can tell they’re wealthy or that they want more money than they already have. “Her voice is full of money...that was it. I’d never understood before it was full of money...” (Fitzgerald 20). Daisy is full of money and material things. It is all she cares about and all she wants. Maybe the reason why Gatsby and Daisy have loved each other all these years is because of their mutual need for more tangible things. Immorality comes from wanting more, social status, and wealth. Infidelity, materialism, and greed influence immorality. It also leaves the characters completely devoid of morality. Most of them lack all morality. Social status and image means more to the characters than acting moral. Fitzgerald truly depicted a society devoid of value and morality in The Great