The Great Gatsby

A detailed Summary of The Great Gatsby


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 the man she truly loves, marries someone with wealth. The romance of money lures the characters in The Great Gatsby into surrendering their values, but in the end, "the streets paved with gold led to a dead end" (Vogue, December 1999). The first example of a character whose morals are destroyed is Myrtle. Myrtle's attempt to enter into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. She enters the affair with Tom, hoping to adopt his way of life and be accepted into his cl!

ass to escape from her own. Her class is that of the middle class. Her husband, Wilson, owns a gas station, making an honest living and trying his best to succeed in a world where everything revolves around material possessions. With her


struction of their morals, is Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is the supposed hero of this novel "who believes that the riches he traded for honor can buy love and happiness and bring back the past"(Vogue, December 1999). He too abandons his morals; illegally earning the money that he believes will win back the heart of his lost love Daisy. When they had a love affair long ago, she wouldn't marry him because of his financial standing. The details of his business are sketchy, when asked he usually ignores the question. Tom though, after some investigating finds the true nature of his profession. "'I found out what your 'drug stores' were.' He turned to us and spoke rapidly. 'He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts, I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn't far wrong.'" (Fitzgerald, 141). Gatsby makes it his life's mission to become rich, thinking th!

is will be sure to win Daisy over. Daisy is married though, and his life's ambition of having Daisy fails. Gatsby surrenders his morals by breaking the law to earn the riches he thinks will buy her love but it is done for nothing, Daisy was not won over with his new wealth. A final character that succumbs to the lure of wealth and discards their moral

Some common words found in the essay are:
Myrtle Myrtle's, Gatsby Gatsby, Daisy Daisy, Jay Gatsby, Seelbach Hotel, Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby Fitzgerald, Finally Daisy, Buchanan Chicago, Vogue December, social class, jay gatsby, upper social class, upper social, myrtle believes, love daisy, lost love, truly loves, middle class, daisy daisy, buy love,

Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • GReat Gatsby hroughout Fitzgeraldamp39s The Great Gatsby, there seems to be a broad spectrum of moral and social views demonstrated by various characters. ... 513 words
  • Great Gatsby Disturbing Things in The Great Gatsby Throughout The Great Gatsby there are many disturbing instances, events, and people. These ... 887 words
  • Great Gatsby 4 The Great Gastby F. Scott Fitzgeraldamp39s ampquotThe Great Gatsbyampquot is rich in symbolism, which is portrayed on several different levels in a variety of ways. ... 657 words
  • Great Gatsby 5 ... F. Scott Fitzgeraldamp39s The Great Gatsby is an enchanting novel, which tells an exquisite story through various techniques characteristic of a gifted author. ... 523 words
  • the great gatsby The Great Gatsby Reflection of an Era During the 1920amp39s America was a country of great ambition, despair and disappointment. The ... 1027 words
  • Great Gatsby 3 ... In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald allows the reader to discover the cryptic and enigmatic secrets of his characters through their social facades. ... 861 words

Professional Essays

  • The Great Gatsby F. SCOTT FITZGERALD The Great Gatsby In the 1974 film The Way We Were, when Katie played by Barbra Streisand and Hubbell played by Robert Redford attend a ... 1038 words
  • The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby The work of Fitzgerald is the product of the Jazz era, a time when all gods had been declared dead, all wars fought ... 661 words
  • The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby The era of the 1920amp39s from which The Great Gatsby emerges is a time of partying and debauchery. Immediately, the ... 495 words
  • l The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgeraldamp39s famous novel The Great Gatsby is often considered one of the quintessential tales of lost love and social climbing. ... 1687 words
  • Theme of The Great Gatsby The major theme of F. Scott Fitzgeraldamp39s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is the American Dream, but Fitzgeraldamp39s concept of the American Dream is not success ... 1007 words
  • Passing and The Great Gatsby The main characters in the novels The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Passing by Nella Larsen are both passing in the sense that they are trying to be ... 1337 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.