Theme Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

Improved Essays
Many people disagree with the meaning of morality. Morality is known as the separation between good and evil. The line can easily be blurred because what one person believes to be bad another person could believe is good due to the way they were raised.
Every character has moments in the book where they are immoral but some more so than others. Tom is the novels main antagonist and is probably the most immoral in to the story when compared to the other characters. Tom antagonizes and coaxes Mr.Wilson to kill Gatsby and then runs away from the problem as if he was never a part of it in the first place. Although Tom does not do anything that is much different from the other characters his actions are the most intended to hurt others.
The second
…show more content…
Daisy is easily responsible for a lot of things such as Myrtles death, Gatsby’s death, being a gold digger, and many other things. Daisy basically manipulated Gatsby into believing that she was in love with him and then ran off Tom in the end.
Any person who has read The Great Gatsby knows that Nick Carraway is at least more moral than Tom, Gatsby and Daisy but that by no means makes him a moral person. While he never truly does anything immoral, he completely lets everyone else do it without saying anything or giving a second thought to it. Nick is the one that invites Daisy over for tea with Gatsby even though he knows she is married to Tom. Also, he keeps Gatby’s secret about the car crash with Myrtle a secret. He is a simple example of “doing nothing is still doing something,” Although Nick does not encourage bad behavior from the other characters, he still doesn’t absolutely nothing to stop it.
In the Great Gatsby Myrtle is probably the right behind first in being the most moral. Although she shows pride, greed, envy, and lust which are four of the seven deadly sins. She cheats on her husband with Tom because she is very materialistic in knowing that Tom can spoil her unlike her husband can. She shows envy on page 119 when she is looking at Tom and Jordan in Gatsby’s car and she thinks Jordan is

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, F. Stott Fitzgerald shows the change in America’s morals in the “Jazz Age” using characters like, Daisy, Gatsby, Tom, and Myrtle. The Great Gatsby, shows the change in our society after World War I, by using characters who had changed over time. This time period known as the “Jazz Age”. During this time America’s morals were changing and society was changing as well. The first appearance of morals changing, is when Tom is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle showing that husbands were not staying faithful to their wives and families after World War I.…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known. " A quote by Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby. The author portrays Nick as a moral guide through a novel filled with deception. Gatsby, the describes his life story, putting together various parts of information. Allowing rumors to be spread regarding his occupation and his wealth, he does not let much of his identity to be known.…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, does not identify as good or evil; he is morally ambiguous. Fitzgerald’s story takes place in America during the 1920s. Gatsby is in love with Daisy who is married to Tom, the antagonist. Through the story, Gatsby is trying to win the love of Daisy. This leads him into situations that cause him make both good and bad decisions.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The morality of people is sometimes respected by some people and sometimes not. People sometimes throw morality to the side if it is in their benefit of to obtain something he or she wants. This message is very evident in The Great Gatsby, so I am going to show how each of the characters, events, food, or settings represents this message Jay Gatsby- Jay Gatsby was infatuated on getting Daisy to fall back in love with him and gain wealth. To do this he threw away his ethics and committed some crimes to get wealth. Not to mention the affair he was having.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Thesis Statement: I believe that wealth does not immediately define the morals and sins of those who are possession of it, due to many lower class characters partaking in immoral acts, morals being shaped by upbringing, not bank, and that lower class citizens have a wealthy and greedy mindset, but are, in fact, not wealthy themselves. Subclaim 1: In The Great Gatsby, a majority of the characters portrayed as being part of the lower class are shown to be just as immoral as those who were born into wealth. Evidence 1: “I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited—they went there.…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the first chapter she bitterly declares that everything is terrible and, projecting on her daughter, says that the best a girl could aspire to is “a beautiful little fool” (p. 22), scornfully mocking herself as she claims that yet she is ‘sophisticated’. She pursues an emotionally fulfilling affair with Gatsby, but when faced with the reality of leaving her husband, is thrown into turmoil when it is revealed that Gatsby lied about his station and that his wealth is…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In society people’s egos appear to come before the ones they love. The wealthy, Kentucky born Daisy Buchanan is Jay Gatsby’s one and only true love. While Gatsby is off in the military, selfish Daisy sets aside her love for Gatsby to marry the extremely wealthy Tom Buchanan. The careless couple is secretly having affairs behind the others back, Daisy with Gatsby, as well as Tom with Myrtle Wilson. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The morality of the characters in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby can be questioned. Rather than merely good or bad, black or white, honest or dishonest, characters are often grey -- neither good nor bad but morally ambiguous. Though Nick Carraway is presented an honest narrator and objective observer who values trust, Nick Carraway, as a character, becomes involved in the moral ambiguity of the wealthy East Coast and inadvertently, he himself assumes some of the faults which he criticizes the other characters for, illistrating that even a fundamentally good character such as Nick can be tainted by the admiration of wealth. Nick’s honesty as a narrator is crucial to the integrity of the novel as a whole.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She was born into money and married into it. On Daisy’s weeding day she got a letter saying that Gatsby had not died in the war. At first reading it she did not want to marry Tom but she got herself drunk and did it. Daisy main reason for marrying Tom was for his money. When Gatsby again comes into Daisy’s life…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In chapter seven, Daisy was overwhelmed with Tom and Gatsby fighting over her. She confessed to loving Gatsby but also confessed that she loves Tom. Daisy is careless because she did not take responsibility in her actions when she ran over Myrtle; which killed her instantly. At this point, Daisy does not even stop. Instead of Daisy taking blame for this, Gatsby jumps in and offers to take full responsibility.…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of Nick Carraway, who moves next door to a man by the name of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby, in love with the woman he was once with, Daisy, climbed the social ladder to fame and riches in an attempt to win her back. The novel follows Gatsby’s progress to a relationship with Daisy, then his downfall when she rejects him. The Great Gatsby explores fallen dreams and the emptiness of wealth, through the display of violent actions of humans and the cruel irony of life. Fitzgerald utilizes these devices, supported by symbolic imagery, to convey messages more profound than the themes one may see on the surface.…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gatsby and Daisy’s relationship was also another example of immorality. Gatsby was a bootlegger and this illegal profession helped him earn his wealth. Mr.Wolfsheim, directly linked with Gatsby’s riches, was a member of the mob and had people killed. The worst case of this book showing immorality is the fact that two people were murdered and one committed suicide. “‘It ripped her open-’ ‘Don’t tell me, old sport.’…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Tom and Gatsby are both dishonest and deeply flawed men who commit consistent shows of indiscretions. For example, Tom condemns Daisy’s affair, but does not have the decency to be discreet about his own. Gatsby’s shady business dealings with Wolfsheim and illicit ways of acquiring wealth can, without a doubt, compare to Tom’s unscrupulous character. Both Tom and Gatsby lie and cheat, but Tom does it for the sole purpose of self-indulgence, while Gatsby does what he does in pursuance of his dream. Tom and Gatsby both have controlling personalities, and will do what they can to get what they want, regardless of the consequences.…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theme Of Injustice In The Great Gatsby

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 8 Works Cited

    Throughout The Great Gatsby, the wealthy take advantage of the lower classes. For example, although he was rich, Jay Gatsby was seen as lower class because he did not inherit his money. Accumulated money and upward social climbing were looked down upon (Tunc 69). This is the very reason that Tom would not accept Gatsby into his social circle. Nonetheless, this wealth made Gatsby vulnerable to the higher social classes, who took enjoyed and benefitted from his lavish parties.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 8 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How does Fitz present the moral corruption of the 1920s? Fitzgerald criticizes the moral corruption of 1920s society in in the text ‘The Great Gatsby’, as one of materialism, frivolity, and hedonism. The theme of moral corruption is reflected in numerous ways, which Fitzgerald is inherently criticising through his portrayal of materialism and frivolity in upper class characters of the novel, and the symbolism of location. This links directly to the themes of the American Dream, mass consumerism, and Gatsby’s parties. First, arguably, Fitzgerald presents society in the 1920’s to be attracted to a lack of substance and purpose in their lives.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays