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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 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 involvement in Tom
the end, giving up their morals is useless, they each fail at achieving the status they desire. 's class, she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She loses all sense of morality by hurting others in her futile attempt to join the ranks of Tom's social class. In doing so, she is leaving behind her husband who loves her. Myrtle believes he is no longer good enough for her. "'I married him because I thought he was a gentleman.' She said finally. 'I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn't fit enough to lick my shoe.'" (Fitzgerald, 39). With the hope of being accepted into an upper social class, Myrtle's morals and prior beliefs are gone, being replaced by the false impression that by betraying her loving husband, this new social world will embrace her. A second character that falls victim to the de! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. T
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, lost love, love daisy, myrtle believes, middle class, truly loves, daisy daisy, buy love,
Approximate Word count = 894
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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