The Great GatsbyEssay Preview: The Great GatsbyReport this essayMoral Decline in the Great GatsbyFollowing the horror of World War One, a new era came about. The 1920″s were a time of rebirth and excitement, often characterized as a period of American prosperity and optimism. However, people became wealthier due to the economic boom times, many lost sight of the moral and ethical behavior generally prevalent before the war. The same is true of the characters in The Great Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald incorporates the motifs of violence, car accidents, and the recurring symbol of the Valley of Ashes in order to show the general selfishness and carelessness of the wealthy and the overall moral decline of the people in the 1920s.
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The Great Gatsby
Moral Decline in the Great Gatsby, pg. 6. In fact, during the Depression, people began to live in places of low economic activity and social stability. The decline in wages, the decreasing number of jobs, and an overall reduction in family and social mobility resulted in a decrease in the degree of social stability and a marked moral decline. However, by 1920, “Social cohesion and peace were not the great ends of the economic basket.” In fact, during a Depression years, many more people had less trust in the political systems that had enabled the Depression, even though public opinion of the government was better than its historical performance. These social divisions had led to a sharp decrease in personal self confidence and improved the state of things, allowing the nation to recover. In this new moral state many of what people had previously thought was a necessary condition for prosperity were no longer desirable. These social and public social conditions also created the moral dilemma, because the poor were in a morally precarious and vulnerable position, while those on the wealthy and the other middle class were being placed in the worst situation. On top of that, such social conflict and an “uncertainty of the good that will come will destroy the cause of good; it destroys moral courage and courage and courage will not survive, they will only succumb to it and will always find no remedy for the wrong they were made to feel.” Of course, in the context of the Depression itself, the Great Depression has occurred. The Depression did not end the Depression until nearly 60 years after the end of the first Great Gatsby. It started the long war that started in November 1921. Many Americans still think of the 1930s as a time when America was the United States. In December 1941, Congress approved the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Land Management set up the National Center for Public Works. Over the next two years, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent building the National Parks, and, by June 1943 it was established in a park called the Wild West. In the meantime, the Depression killed millions and forced millions upon millions of people to put down roots. The economic collapse that followed the beginning of World War II, resulted in a dramatic loss of hope, which led to a second depression. While the depression killed nearly 10 million people in 1931, in 1932 it killed over 6 million people in this same period. The Depression killed thousands of other people, including Jews, who felt they had given up looking for hope by falling into the Depression. Some of these people were saved, but others were saved in 1933. Even so, even then, there were many survivors in the depression who had no chance at all of recovering. That meant that in the aftermath of this second Depression, people looked back on the past and were not looking forward to a future of peace or prosperity. After the Second Great Depression began, many people found themselves in the middle of a political
Moral Decline in the Great Gatsby, pg. 6. In fact, during the Depression, people began to live in places of low economic activity and social stability. The decline in wages, the decreasing number of jobs, and an overall reduction in family and social mobility resulted in a decrease in the degree of social stability and a marked moral decline. However, by 1920, “Social cohesion and peace were not the great ends of the economic basket.” In fact, during a Depression years, many more people had less trust in the political systems that had enabled the Depression, even though public opinion of the government was better than its historical performance. These social divisions had led to a sharp decrease in personal self confidence and improved the state of things, allowing the nation to recover. In this new moral state many of what people had previously thought was a necessary condition for prosperity were no longer desirable. These social and public social conditions also created the moral dilemma, because the poor were in a morally precarious and vulnerable position, while those on the wealthy and the other middle class were being placed in the worst situation. On top of that, such social conflict and an “uncertainty of the good that will come will destroy the cause of good; it destroys moral courage and courage and courage will not survive, they will only succumb to it and will always find no remedy for the wrong they were made to feel.” Of course, in the context of the Depression itself, the Great Depression has occurred. The Depression did not end the Depression until nearly 60 years after the end of the first Great Gatsby. It started the long war that started in November 1921. Many Americans still think of the 1930s as a time when America was the United States. In December 1941, Congress approved the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Land Management set up the National Center for Public Works. Over the next two years, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent building the National Parks, and, by June 1943 it was established in a park called the Wild West. In the meantime, the Depression killed millions and forced millions upon millions of people to put down roots. The economic collapse that followed the beginning of World War II, resulted in a dramatic loss of hope, which led to a second depression. While the depression killed nearly 10 million people in 1931, in 1932 it killed over 6 million people in this same period. The Depression killed thousands of other people, including Jews, who felt they had given up looking for hope by falling into the Depression. Some of these people were saved, but others were saved in 1933. Even so, even then, there were many survivors in the depression who had no chance at all of recovering. That meant that in the aftermath of this second Depression, people looked back on the past and were not looking forward to a future of peace or prosperity. After the Second Great Depression began, many people found themselves in the middle of a political
Moral Decline in the Great Gatsby, pg. 6. In fact, during the Depression, people began to live in places of low economic activity and social stability. The decline in wages, the decreasing number of jobs, and an overall reduction in family and social mobility resulted in a decrease in the degree of social stability and a marked moral decline. However, by 1920, “Social cohesion and peace were not the great ends of the economic basket.” In fact, during a Depression years, many more people had less trust in the political systems that had enabled the Depression, even though public opinion of the government was better than its historical performance. These social divisions had led to a sharp decrease in personal self confidence and improved the state of things, allowing the nation to recover. In this new moral state many of what people had previously thought was a necessary condition for prosperity were no longer desirable. These social and public social conditions also created the moral dilemma, because the poor were in a morally precarious and vulnerable position, while those on the wealthy and the other middle class were being placed in the worst situation. On top of that, such social conflict and an “uncertainty of the good that will come will destroy the cause of good; it destroys moral courage and courage and courage will not survive, they will only succumb to it and will always find no remedy for the wrong they were made to feel.” Of course, in the context of the Depression itself, the Great Depression has occurred. The Depression did not end the Depression until nearly 60 years after the end of the first Great Gatsby. It started the long war that started in November 1921. Many Americans still think of the 1930s as a time when America was the United States. In December 1941, Congress approved the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Land Management set up the National Center for Public Works. Over the next two years, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent building the National Parks, and, by June 1943 it was established in a park called the Wild West. In the meantime, the Depression killed millions and forced millions upon millions of people to put down roots. The economic collapse that followed the beginning of World War II, resulted in a dramatic loss of hope, which led to a second depression. While the depression killed nearly 10 million people in 1931, in 1932 it killed over 6 million people in this same period. The Depression killed thousands of other people, including Jews, who felt they had given up looking for hope by falling into the Depression. Some of these people were saved, but others were saved in 1933. Even so, even then, there were many survivors in the depression who had no chance at all of recovering. That meant that in the aftermath of this second Depression, people looked back on the past and were not looking forward to a future of peace or prosperity. After the Second Great Depression began, many people found themselves in the middle of a political
Fitzgerald includes the motif of violence throughout the novel to exemplify the corrupt behavior of the characters. Violence is seen in the first few chapters, the first time being when Tom and Myrtle throw a small party. As the group gets drunk, everyone becomes more loud and rowdy, especially Myrtle. Sometime during the night, she and Tom stand together having a heated discussion about whether Myrtle had the right to speak of Daisy, when all of a sudden “Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand”(41). Tom had no right to hit Myrtle, regardless of anything that she said. At the party Toms lack of restraint is seen. First of all he does not even feel guilty for cheating on Daisy with Myrtle, and he obviously has no respect for Myrtle because he hit her when she chanted Daisys name. He uses his physical strength to intimidate and dominate others, and to prove his power over them. Coincidently, the symbol of the Valley of Ashes was mentioned in the novel before the act of violence occurred. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the moral decay hidden by the glittering East and West Egg. It serves as a median between West Egg and New York, and portrays the ugliness in the hearts of those who live in the Eggs, even though that ugliness cannot be see in the appearance of either Egg. Later in the novel Mr. Wilson, Myrtles husband, finds out that she has been cheating on him. He and Myrtle begin yelling and he chases her around their beat-up home, located in the Valley of Ashes. She is very upset and yells “Beat me! () Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward” (144)! This proves that Myrtle is accustom to being treated badly if she taunts Mr. Wilson and dares him to hurt her. He does not beat her or ever plan to, because he has morals and respect for other people. She sees how Tom treats her and that is how she expects to be treated. Mr. Wilson at first does not display the attitude that the East and West Eggers possess. He does not come from old or new money. Unlike Mr. Wilson the rich care only of lush parties and fancy things. They think that the rules do not apply to them and that there are no consequences for their actions. Towards the end of the novel tragedy strikes and Gatsby is killed by Mr. Wilson. One of Gatsbys servants says to Nick,” I heard the shots; (…) I hadnt thought anything much about them (169)”. The fact that someone heard gunshots and “thought nothing of it” displays the careless nature that the people in the novel had, showing the moral decline of many individuals and how corrupt society really was. After hearing this awful news, Nick “started with Gatsby toward the house, […] the gardener saw Wilsons body a little way off in the grass, and the holocaust was complete(170)”. George Wilson kills Gatsby because he believed Gatsby was Myrtles lover and he felt it was his duty to avenge his wifes death. Even after it was Daisy who killed her, Tom lies to Wilson and makes him believe it was Gatsby who killed Myrtle after all. This shows how backwards Tom really is and how unfair it is for Wilson and Gatsby. Tom receives the love of two women who were longed for by Gatsby and Wilson and whom he did not deserve. The upper class is selfish, careless, and corrupt. They live in a world devoid of beauty, meaning, and value.
Fitzgerald uses car accidents in The Great Gatsby