Great Gatsby Does the End Justify the Means
Name: Vikaram Veerapandian
SL 1 Class: 5.07
The Great Gatsby written by F Scott Fitzgerald, is set in the jazz age of the roaring 20s, a highly patriarchal society which was also a period of drastic change, and explored the tension between the newly formed nouveau rich and the then already established aristocratic class, and in turn revealing the critique of Fitzgerald on the apparent lack of social values and morals apparent in the society then. His disapproval of the excesses that was present in the 1920s can be seen in the way he portrays his main protagonist, Jay Gatsby and the eventual demise of Gatsby as he pursues his American dream, through illegal means. Through the portrayal of characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson, coupled with their eventual demise of these characters that sought to achieve the American Dream, we are able to see the fact that Fitzgerald does not subscribe to the saying that the ends justify the means. Fitzgerald’s opinion on the end not justifying the means is clearly reflected through the main protagonist of the novel Gatsby. Gatsby’s “end”, was to achieve his American Dream which revolved around both attaining the social status he had longed for as well as getting the love of his life Daisy back. The phrase “American Dream” was coined during the early days of America by Benjamin Franklin who proposed this dream as, “That pursuit of a better existence.. [and] a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion.” Gatsby temporarily achieves his American Dream of wealth and status, through illegal and immoral means by bootlegging during the Prohibition Era. However, the irony of the entire situation lies in the fact that Benjamin Franklin had entitled the section in his autobiography for achieving the American Dream “Moral Perfection”. Gatsby had attained all that he had hoped for through immoral means, which went against the very fundamental of the American Dream which Fitzgerald believed in. The James
SL 1 Class: 5.07
The Great Gatsby written by F Scott Fitzgerald, is set in the jazz age of the roaring 20s, a highly patriarchal society which was also a period of drastic change, and explored the tension between the newly formed nouveau rich and the then already established aristocratic class, and in turn revealing the critique of Fitzgerald on the apparent lack of social values and morals apparent in the society then. His disapproval of the excesses that was present in the 1920s can be seen in the way he portrays his main protagonist, Jay Gatsby and the eventual demise of Gatsby as he pursues his American dream, through illegal means. Through the portrayal of characters such as Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson, coupled with their eventual demise of these characters that sought to achieve the American Dream, we are able to see the fact that Fitzgerald does not subscribe to the saying that the ends justify the means. Fitzgerald’s opinion on the end not justifying the means is clearly reflected through the main protagonist of the novel Gatsby. Gatsby’s “end”, was to achieve his American Dream which revolved around both attaining the social status he had longed for as well as getting the love of his life Daisy back. The phrase “American Dream” was coined during the early days of America by Benjamin Franklin who proposed this dream as, “That pursuit of a better existence.. [and] a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion.” Gatsby temporarily achieves his American Dream of wealth and status, through illegal and immoral means by bootlegging during the Prohibition Era. However, the irony of the entire situation lies in the fact that Benjamin Franklin had entitled the section in his autobiography for achieving the American Dream “Moral Perfection”. Gatsby had attained all that he had hoped for through immoral means, which went against the very fundamental of the American Dream which Fitzgerald believed in. The James