Preview

Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
429 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby
The description of the valley of ashes shows how glorified the Eggs look compared to the other cities in New York. The Eggs hide their depravity behind a fake life of parties and big houses.
Fitzgerald includes the billboard of the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleberg to further emphasize the moral decay that has been shown through ought the book. The eyes symbolize that someone is always watching you, causing a guilty conscience to make a person make better decisions when faced with obstacles.
Myrtle treats her husband, Wilson, very poorly. She acts like Wilson is only there to boss around and walk over.
When Wilson is described as being coated with white ashen dust, it gives the effect that he is an old, worn down man that is innocent. Wilson doesn’t
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Myrtle's Use Of Symbolism In The Great Gatsby
    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Myrtle's Use Of Symbolism In The Great Gatsby

    It is the ground for which all of New York's ashes are dumped, and those who live there must shovel the ashes frequently. George and Myrtle live just on the cusp of the valley, and this is symbolic of the fact that they reside in the shadow of the…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Examples Of Daisy Selfish In The Great Gatsby
    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Examples Of Daisy Selfish In The Great Gatsby

    way he behaves, but also to his lover, Myrtle Wilson because he has a strong personality. And Daisy…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Tom Wilson Important In The Great Gatsby
    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why Is Tom Wilson Important In The Great Gatsby

    Due to the wealth gap between Tom and Wilson you may think they could not be more different but you would be wrong. Tom’s wealth is exemplified when Nick states,” Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay (6).” So Tom has lots of money and Daisy had never been unfaithful. Tom on the other hand has no respect for women and has ventured off several times and at the moment was seeing Myrtle. Wilson was poor as shown when Nick went to his gas station and, “The interior was unprosperous and bare; the only car visible was the dust covered wreck…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Wealth Can Breed Carelessness In The Great Gatsby
    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Wealth Can Breed Carelessness In The Great Gatsby

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using the literary devices and/or techniques of irony, flashback, and point of view. Throughout the story, Nick Carraway exposes the affluent main characters through their hideous actions and words. Whether to them it is virtuous or not, the result was completely repulsive. First of all, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the theme of “Wealth can breed carelessness” using irony. According to the text, when Jordan is driving with Nick, “‘They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted. ‘It takes two to make an accident.’ ‘Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself.’ ‘I hope I never will,’ she answered. ‘I hate careless people. That’s why I like…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby
    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Role Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    The Prohibition commenced on 16th Janurary 1920, which was followed by the Volstead Act (formally known as National Prohibition act) a year later. The government's intent was to raise the nation’s moral standards, however, it had the opposite effect. In practice it was difficult to enforce and it was not difficult for drinkers to find alcohol, as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel makes very clear. Bootlegging, the unlawful production and provision of alcohol, became big business, making fortunes for criminals such as the gangster Al Capone. This appears to be the principal source of Gatsby’s wealth, the core of corruption within his…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scott Fitzgerald's Use Of Moral Corruption In The Great Gatsby
    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Scott Fitzgerald's Use Of Moral Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    Society tends to have a myriad of unspoken problems that plague its entirety as a whole. With numerous underlying issues that slowly fester from the center of the core to the outside, society constantly attempts to suppress and ignore the genuine problem. One of the ever present obstacles that seemingly will go unattended to is moral decay. Though many people may recognize the issue at hand, it’s become a pattern to let it be as it is, as opposed to fixing it from within. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the decaying of social and moral values through his use of symbolism and characterization.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Flaws In The Great Gatsby
    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Flaws In The Great Gatsby

    Just like someone said: Your character is your destiny. It decided one’s sense of worth and the ways of thinking and attitude. So, what are the great flaws in the character of main characters and how this lead Gatsby walk into the depths of despair? Let’s start from Gatsby.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Morals And Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Morals And Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    In The Great Gatsby, there are a variety of themes. Of all the themes the book has to offer, the film captures best, the lack of morals and the corruption of the American Dream. Towards the beginning of the film when Nick first meets Myrtle she is immediately showing her lack of morals by the way she interacts with Tom, giving Nick a sense of their secret affair. In addition, the party she hosts at the apartment is over the top inappropriate compared to the one in the novel as Nick is exposed to sex, drugs, and destruction. But it can be more relatable to the viewers with today’s parties and the modernized music playing in the background. A final example would be Daisy giving Tom a pen to write down any numbers of random women he’d toy with,…

    • 336 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Was Responsible For Gatsby's Death
    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Was Responsible For Gatsby's Death

    tells Wilson. With the mental state and intentions on receiving revenge to his wife's murderer,…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Morality In The Great Gatsby
    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Role Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the wealthy class that live in New York, and takes place during the “Roaring Twenties”, and era of economic prosper and recklessness after World War I. Fitzgerald highlights the irresponsibility and lack of morality that derives from wealth. Throughout the novel, there are a number of characters that abuse their wealth or power in a way to excuse their moral irresponsibility. Through Gatsby’s disputed accumulation of wealth and Tom’s unceasing trysts, Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of two men who choose to use their wealth and objectives as an excuse for their immoral habits.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby
    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Examples Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    How human beings behave in society is dictated by moral standards of conduct that are generally accepted as right or proper. This sense of morality can become perverse such that the lines between right and wrong are blurred. The person becomes depraved and their behavior eschews what is generally considered to be right. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald the characters are portrayed in an immoral manner. F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the destruction of morals in society during the era of the “Jazz Age.” The main characters: Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby are categorized as morally corrupt; they lose their values in attempt to find their place in the social world. These…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Significance Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby
    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Significance Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

    Eckleberg. “The eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg are blue and gigantic- their retinas one yard high. They look out of no face, but, instead, from a pair of enormous yellow spectacles”(Fitzgerald 23). These eyes are used to represent God, and how as George says “you may fool me, but you can’t fool God”(Fitzgerald 159). He says this to Myrtle and what this means is that God is looking down on them, and he knows what she is doing even though he may not know everything. He later goes on to say “God sees everything”(Fitzgerald 160) This is said when George Wilson is looking out the window at the sign of T.J. Eckleburg. When he says this it represents what the sign means and how God is pretty much judging them for how hard they are working to achieve their dream or the American dream. Also another thing that describes the desperate need of people trying to achieve the American dream is all of the animal names that are used in the book, for example, there is Wolfsheim and Owl eyes that are barely talked about in this book. Using the eyes on the sign of Doctor T.J. Eckleberg Fitzgerald again tells us that the American dream is…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby
    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Theme Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

    F. Scott Fitzgerald displays several prominent themes throughout The Great Gatsby. For example, Fitzgerald uses moral corruption, albeit there are other themes, but this one is the most prevalent. Without this theme, the novel would not have progressed anywhere near as fluid as it did the way Fitzgerald wrote the novel. Throughout the novel, the theme of moral corruption, aside from being subtly shown through the entire novel, becomes more prevalent throughout. This is demonstrated by Gatsby’s behavior and dreams corrupting Daisy’s morals even further than they already are. There is also the fact that there are acts of adultery committed by Tom and Myrtle. Aside from that, there is also Daisy’s second corruption as shown in the reason…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Human Nature in the Great Gatsby
    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Human Nature in the Great Gatsby

    Human nature refers to the general psychological characteristics, feelings, and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans. F. Scott Fitzgerald with the use of selection of detail, selective diction, and imagery, portrays both condescending and bona fide aspects of human nature.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    gatsby essay: moral decay
    • 400 Words
    • 1 Page

    gatsby essay: moral decay

    It is easy for someone to lose their morals when encountered with enormous amounts of money. Moral decay is clearly painted in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby showing the corruption driven by a green light that is represented as money. Both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, men of money are mirrored opposites of each other; possessing general similarities in which certain differences are distinguished. For example, both men have money, Gatsby’s means of achieving wealth, though illegal ways that are more justified than Tom’s. Tom earns money from inheritance, whereas Gatsby constantly works to achieve a social rank acceptable to Daisy’s liking. Both men show off their money. Gatsby throws numerous amounts of parties in an attempt to attract Daisy, whereas Tom brags about his money to impress. Finally, both men share a relationship with Daisy, where Daisy is Gatsby’s number one priority, whereas Tom sets her to the side. Tom is more selfish and self-centered, completely dislikes Gatsby’s selfless behavior. Although Gatsby has justified reasons for attaining wealth, his selflessness leads him to his end whereas Tom’s immoral actions keep him from harm.…

    • 400 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics