The Moral Lens of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald creates a world full of lessons in morality in his novel The Great Gatsby‚ with a character list featuring two or more people who embezzle‚ forge or steal to make money‚ three people having romantic affairs‚ and a few murderers. Throughout Fitzgerald’s novel he employs many concepts pertaining to the justification of these immoral acts and the way that it is seen from the perspective of the character committing the moral crime. His protagonist
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If the Great Gatsby‚ by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ is a morality tale‚ then its lesson is beyond comprehension. As noted on the blurb on the back cover‚ the book does take place at the height of the 1920s‚ a time when ‘gin was the national drink‚ and sex the national obsession”. And yet‚ for the purposes of the novel‚ this is a superficial assessment of the Jazz Age‚ or else what Fitzgerald really meant to say about the Jazz Age. While much can be said of Gatsby’s decadence‚ and his gaudiness‚ and the
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F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the honest and moral narrator‚ Nick Carraway to portray the many immoral people and their corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. Many of the characters in The Great Gatsby are materialistic‚ as they try to satisfy their materialism by doing immoral things. Nick‚ who is slow to judge‚ shows the reader the significant contrast between his ‘American Dream’ and how the other characters have corrupted ‘American Dream’. Nick is one of the many characters in this
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‘How does Fitzgerald tell the story?’ questions Chapter 1 The novel takes the form of a 20th century romantic tragedy‚ this is revealed by contextual means. In chapter 1 Fitzgerald highlights the tragic form of the novel as Nick says ‘what foul dust that floated in the wake of his dreams’. this creates the effect of foreshadow the tragic events of the novel especially as the writer uses the past tense to refer to the eponymous character which creates tension as the impression is given the narrator
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The Great Gatsby: The Destruction of Morals In The Great Gatsby‚ the author F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the destruction of morals in society. The characters in this novel‚ all lose their morals in attempt to find their desired place in the social world. They trade their beliefs for the hope of being acceptance. Myrtle believes she can scorn her true social class in an attempt to be accepted into Ton’s‚ Jay Gatsby who bases his whole life on buying love with wealth‚ and Daisy‚ who instead of marrying
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glasses; Fitzgerald suggests that these wealthy partygoers are simply drifting around aimlessly until they see the bright lights and follow. This moth simile is important in describing the characters’ nature. Neither Gatsby nor his guests feel obligated to accept responsibility; they are depicted running wild in the bay‚ relaxing on the sand‚ and partying nearly every night. Such careless actions represent feelings of superiority brought by their wealth that eventually leads to their moral demise
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An Analysis of Morals within The Great Gatsby Following the end of World War I‚ the citizens of the United States began to experience the transition from a war-effort focus to an artistic‚ cultural and capitalistic-driven society. The increasing rise of new capitalists establishes new social classes that not only define the identity of risk-taking entrepreneurs in the Roaring Twenties‚ but also contributes to an even greater divide between the traditional of-the-earth working class citizens and their
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Shaw Jr/Sr Honors English 8 May 2009 The Mind and life of Fitzgerald and the Great Gatsby: A Psychoanalytical Criticism Like many writers today F. Scott Fitzgerald either consciously or unconsciously wrote about himself in the book known as The Great Gatsby. Many of the books characters such as Daisy‚ Nick and even Gatsby himself show characteristics similar to people in Fitzgerald’s life and also Fitzgerald himself. Nick and Gatsby show lifestyles and desires of Fitzgerald’s‚ when Daisy and
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Interpretation of Literature 6 December 2013 The Great Gatsby: Luhrmann v. Fitzgerald From super evildoer Tom Buchanan‚ to a modernistic‚ rap party‚ the Great Gatsby‚ directed by Baz Luhrmann‚ contrasts the written version of the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald in many ways. This contrast provided by the movie creates a different interpretation of the intended meaning and importance of the characters‚ scenes‚ and images in the written version. This is evident through the emphasis or importance
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Moral Responsibility in Gatsby Bang! Gatsby’s dead! George Wilson shot Gatsby! However‚ who is morally responsible for killing Gatsby? The obvious answer would be George since he pulled the trigger. However‚ it is clear‚ if for no other reason than for the unimportance of George in the book‚ that others were also partly responsible. In The Great Gatsby‚ by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ Tom‚ Daisy‚ and George are morally responsible for the death of Gatsby. Tom‚ because of his tattling on Gatsby‚ can be
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