Pick one of the following themes and write a 3-paragraph response about how the theme is illustrated thus far in The Great Gatsby: Hope, Disillusionment, Love, Self-improvement, Honesty/Morality, optimism, or character. If you don’t like any of these themes, pick your own.
At the beginning of your response–and on a line by itself–write a 2-part title that tells your readers what your response will be about. For example:
“Disillusionment: How Gatsby Falls for a Woman Half His Size”
After your title, write at least three paragraphs. Use at least two direct quotations from the novel. Make sure that you use proper speech tags in present tense (“Fitzgerald writes,” “Fitzgerald argues,” “Gatsby says,” etc.), followed by a comma or a colon, which introduces your quotation. Finally, don’t forget to put the page number in parentheses at the end of your sentence. For example, from a student’s essay last year:
Gatsby seems to know exactly what Daisy needs and wants from a man. Fitzgerald offers: “Her voice is full of money” (113). Instead of recognizing the superficiality and hollowness of what this observation entails, Gatsby ignores the alarm bells sounding in his middle-class head and rushes forward with a foolhardy 3-year plan to become a millionaire. His sole desire: to win the love of a money-grubbing woman who has already made her choice. Daisy’s voice is full of money, and Gatsby’s is full of stupidity. Take that to the bank, old sport.
You don’t have to agree with any of this, but you get the picture of how to use a quotation to energize a paragraph. We will read all or most of these in class, so do the best job that you can.
Love and Disillusionment: Living Someone Else’s American Dream
When Gatsby lost Daisy five years ago to Tom Buchanan, it has been his mission in life to get her to notice him again. He goes to extreme lengths to bring himself a fortune by bootlegging, as well as other not so glamorous jobs. He finally gets the house that he wants, or the house he believes Daisy will admire, and of course it’s on the other side of the island, right across from Daisy and Tom. Coincidence? I think not. Gatsby throws these lavish parties, swarming with people he hardly knows, the kind of people Daisy would be seen with. Or even better, the kind of people Daisy might know. Jordan says, “I think he half expected her to wander into one of his parties, some night” (79). Some would call this the works of the hopeless romantic. Others may call it stalking.
Gatsby creates this upper class life for himself, or rather, the life he wants to have with Daisy. He is basically putting on a show, or façade. Daisy didn’t want to marry him the fisrt time because he was poor and she didn’t have that sense of security like she does with Tom. So, Gatsby took it upon himself to build the perfect life and become the perfect man. Ultimately, he wants Daisy to realize that she married the wrong man. He wants her to admit that she never loved Tom. He will do whatever he can to make her come to this realization, even if it means he has to create this artificial lifestyle, a lifestyle that he does not fit into.
Daisy is like the prize at the end of a game, or the finish line after a long race. But, she is so far out of reach that Gatsby has to become something and do things that he normally wouldn’t, in order for him to get the girl. Sometimes, along the way, you become blinded because you want what is ahead, so close but so far away. Daisy becomes Gatsby’s dream, the unreachable dream. Gatsby says, “You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock” (92). This green light represents Daisy. Even though Gatsby can see it and it’s right in front of him, he cannot just reach out and touch it and claim it as his. In the end, love can make you do some crazy things.
“Love: Head Over Heals or Taking a Tumble”
Everyone can agree that Jay Gatsby has deep feelings for Daisy. Ever since he met her, he has been trying to impress her to win her heart. When they first met Daisy left Jay, and went on to marry Tom Buchanan just a few years later. Tom Buchanan is extraordinarily wealthy, unlike the Gatsby that Daisy knew. Was this social class difference just a coincidence? I don’t think it was. Daisy tends to like nice, expensive things that hold a lot of value, just like Tom’s wallet.
As Gatsby’s story unfolds we find that he has now become very rich. The reason for his quick success was to impress Daisy. Gatsby knows that money will attract Daisy’s eye. She had married Tom Buchanan, who came from an “enormously wealthy family-during his college years he never worried about money-and when they moved East, they did so in a fashion that rather took your breath away; for instance, he’d brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest” (6). Tom’s wealth was of course a major incentive for a pretty little girl who could have any man she wanted. Gatsby also noticed Daisy’s lovely mansion, the huge lawn that came with it, and all her other luxuries that came from money.
So to win Daisy’s heart it makes sense that Gatsby would need money. He loves her so much that he moves across the lake from her into a gigantic mansion. He also throws extravagant parties open to everyone, hoping that one day she will wander on over to his mansion and see how wealthy a man he has become. Will Gatsby’s pan really work though? Not once has Daisy wondered unto his lawn for one of his parties, she has not seen his new wealth and he has not yet impressed her. His head over heals love for Daisy maybe making him tumble and fall.
However he hasn’t fallen yet. It is evident that Daisy still has some spark of emotion for her young love Gatsby. This is shown when Daisy and Gatsby finally reunite due to Nick’s little tea party. After having tea Gatsby shows Daisy his house and while they sit there listening to the piano Nick see’s “Gatsby’s hand take hold of hers, and as she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion” (96). They were lost in each other’s touch and stare; their love for each other was renewed if it had ever been lost.
Love: For Better or Worse
In the Great Gatsby there is a lot that is going. I chose my title “Love: For Better or Worse” because I think that it fits the book exactly. When people think of the word love, they think of a close relationship between two people; whether it be between spouses, brother and sister, or even friends. Love is a word that is only used in certain situations, it should not be taken lightely. In the sense of the Great Gatsby, I think that love is used in different ways other than just a close relationship. Yes this is included, but I think that it can also fit with the love of their money, and the love of their social class. It’s what these characters live off of.
Nick says, “ My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this Middle Western city for three generations. The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we’re descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather’s brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on to-day”(3). This quote is a perfect example of how these characters thrive off of their social status. They all know exactly where they came from. They know what class they are in, and who is above or below them. In Nick’s case, when he moves to West Egg, he is considered to be in the lower class of the society he is apart of. He is one of the few characters that is happy or comfortable with who he is. He doesn’t do anything extreme to try to make himself something that he’s not. His neighbor, however, is the exact opposite. Gatsby has changed who he is all together to prove himself to Daisy. Fitzgerald says, “ He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one, before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silg and fine flannel, which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in may-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher-shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and fain orange, with monograms of Indian Blue”(92). In this quote you start to understand that Gatsby is trying to show off to Daisy. He is showing her all that he has. Even though he has all this money, which to some can bring happiness, he still doesn’t have Daisy; the one thing missing from his life.
Just in the case of Gatsby, Daisy is also unhappy. She is married to the wealthiest man in East Egg, but she is missing the real love. She fell in love with Gatsby many years ago, but didn’t marry him because he was poor. Tom isn’t happy either. He has all the money anyone could ask for, but is still missing something; which is why he is having an affair, trying to fill that empty gap. Money, and the love of money isn’t what bring happiness. If there is true love, like there is for Gatsby towards Daisy, then there may come happiness.
“ Love: Are you in love, or do you just love”
Gatsby is stuck in a love triangle with Daisy, Nick and Tom. Tom and Daisy’s relationship is not true love, its purely held together with fear and money. Gatsby has such an uncontrollable and crazy love towards Daisy that he will do anything to make her realize she’s the one for him. He was so blinded by this love that he was never truly able to understand Daisy’s situation. I love you now- isn’t that enough? I can’t help the past”. (132). Gatsby has always wanted Daisy to say that but never expected it to tare her apart the way it did. Gatsby did not know his limits with trying to get his point of his love across and pushed it to the limit. Crazy love is not always good, sometimes it can go too far and have a negative outcome.
Daisy is not looking for love, she is looking for money. Which is why she married Tom, because Gatsby was broke at the time. Daisy always loved Gatsby but chose not to follow her heart, Tom could not handle seeing Daisy with another man so he kept her around.
“’I never loved him,’ she said, with perceptible reluctance. ‘Not at Kapiolani?’ demanded Tom suddenly. ‘No’” (133). Hearing this only made Gatsby realize his love for Daisy was stronger then ever. Through this all Tom is not able to realize that Daisy is not with him for love, he is scared to see her happy with someone else so he will not do anything about it. He will just continue to cheat on her and never truly be happy.
In conclusion, being married does not insure true love. But money triumphs over true feelings in the world, which is a sad thing to say. In reality most people will think there in love, but are blinded by other factors and stay with people for their wealth.
“Self-Improvement: Do It Yourself”
Throughout the first five chapters of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” self-improvement is one of the more prevalent themes. Although you may say love, disillusionment, optimism or the “great American dream” are bigger, self-improvement is behind the development of any of the other themes in the book. Nick Carraway says, “…[I was going to] become again that most limited of all specialists, the “well-rounded man” (4). Nick is the prime example in the book of working your way up the social ladder. He is determined to better his status, learn the bond business and become an overall better man.
Tom Buchanan on the other hand is a completely different story, and has led a completely different life than Nick. Tom inherited his extreme wealth from generations and generations of family before him. He is arrogant and very stuck up with his money. The author offers, “His family were enormously wealthy-even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach…” (6). It provides evidence to the fact that the characters in Fitzgerald’s novel are from many different levels of the social ladder. Having a wide range of characters like that allows for a more in depth look at the differences between the ways they live their lives.
Besides Nick and Tom improving their status, Jay Gatsby is somewhat of a rag to riches story. He wasn’t in it for himself, he did it all for Daisy, to win her back from Tom. He lost Daisy because she married for money, which Tom, one of the wealthiest men in America, had. As a result of their marriage, Gatsby worked his way up and gained wealth, fancy cars, a huge mansion and servants just to impress Daisy. Gatsby’s self-improvement could be his downfall, because Daisy did not fall in love with the rich, wealthy man he turned himself into. Daisy fell in love with the middle class man he used to be before she left him.
“Disillusionment: Gatsby and his Great Dream”
The Great Gatsby is much more then an act, it is a façade. We learn that he was not born of money, nor is his name actually Jay Gatsby; rather a stage name for a lower class young man named James Gatz. This man, Jay Gatsby, holds a worldly and god like view of himself. With Nick’s suggestion of forgetting Daisy and the past, Gatsby seemed appalled that Nick would even think such thoughts. Not being able to change the past, what blasphemy! As Nick recalls, “He had talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy” (110). Gatsby may be much more of a hopeless romantic then we thought.
Girls seem to be looking for the perfect guy and want nothing more then undying love; Daisy seems to be no exception. Of course Daisy is still in love with Gatsby! She probably would have married him if money wasn’t an issue. Jordan Baker describes Daisy’s wedding breakdown in detail. She recalls Daisy saying, “Take ‘em down-stairs and give ‘em back to whoever they belong to. Tell ‘em all Daisy’s change’ her mine. Say: ‘Daisy’s change’ her mine!’” (76) In this scene it shows how Daisy does love Gatsby, but because of the social class conflict it is impossible for them to be together. In rebuttal to her marriage to Tom, Gatsby becomes exactly what Daisy needed for perfect marriage material.
Even though Gatsby may have the heart of the girl of his dreams; he will never be able to marry her. In the time period this novel is set it was abnormal for a woman to divorce her husband if he was considered upper class. Not only was this abnormal, but it was extremely rare for the same woman to then marry a man of the same social class. Suspicions would be raised and the obsolete life of Gatsby would be uncovered. Gatsby’s great dream is perhaps not as great as Gatsby himself.
Power and Money: Who really wins in the end?
A theme that keeps reappearing in the book The Great Gatsby is power and money can give you anything in the world. Tom Buchanan is a man with an extremely wealthy backgroud, so rich he never has to work a day in his life. He’s one of the men that thinks he is above everyone and everything and nothing that applies to normal people applies to him.
Tom has no problem sneaking around behind his wife, Daisy, even if they’ve only been married for 5 years and are still a relatively young couple. Jordan said hesitantly, “Tom’s got some woman in New York” (15). He thinks he can have his cake and eat it too, because he would never think Daisy would leave him or even speak up for herself.
Tom also thinks it is okay for him to hit his mistress. They were having a good time, drinking, having out with friends. Myrtle brings up Daisy and Tom hits her breaking her nose. “Making a short daft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand” (37). Not only is Myrtle a married woman but he’s married to someone that Tom is an acquaintance of, George Wilson, who seems to be a good guy but rather on the poor side. Myrtle would rather take Tom being a jurk to her just so she can lead a double life. As usual, the rich guy gets away with everything, just because he can pay to be out of it.
“Love; A Shield to the Truth”
Gatsby is so in love with Daisy he does not realize the she only cared about one thing; money. Daisy and Gatsby had a passionate moment back in the day before he had to go off to the war, but while he was gone,
Daisy found Tom. He was perfect in every physical aspect and what made him even more perfect to Daisy was the fact that he had money. Gatsby foolishly came up with a plan that he thought was fool proof; he would become rich and win back the woman of his dreams.
In the back of his mind, I feel that Gatsby realizes that maybe Daisy really is not
as perfect as he thought, but he pushes those thoughts away because they ruin the daydream he has placed himself in. “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams” (95). Gatsby needs a wake up call to show him that Daisy really is not the woman that he wants. He wants the 18 year old Daisy he was with before he went off to war. She has been spoiled by Tom and all of his money and as a result that is all she cares about. She has become to accustom to the lavish lifestyle that Tom has made her; she would never really accept the real Gatsby, the middle class Gatsby. He would have to pretend to be a rich man just to please her.
Gatsby is just setting himself up for disappointment. Even if he did win Daisy’s heart, she would turn out to be something completely opposite of what Gatsby
expected. He would be heart broken and put forth all of the effort for nothing. He tries to brag to Daisy about his huge house to see what kind of reaction it will get out of her. “My house looks well doesn’t it?” (89). He wants to make sure Daisy notices how well he is doing and how much money he has.
“Love; A Shield to the Truth”
Gatsby is so in love with Daisy he does not realize the she only cared
about one thing; money. Daisy and Gatsby had a passionate moment back
in the day before he had to go off to the war, but while he was gone,
Daisy found Tom. He was perfect in every physical aspect and what made
him even more perfect to Daisy was the fact that he had money. Gatsby
foolishly came up with a plan that he thought was fool proof; he would
become rich and win back the woman of his dreams.
In the back of his mind, I feel that Gatsby realizes that maybe Daisy really is not
as perfect as he thought, but he pushes those thoughts away because they
ruin the daydream he has placed himself in. “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams” (95). Gatsby needs a wake up call to show him that Daisy really is not the woman that he wants. He wants the 18 year old Daisy he was with before he went off to war. She has been spoiled by Tom and all of his money and as a result that is all she cares about. She has become to accustom to the lavish lifestyle that Tom has made her; she would never really accept the real Gatsby, the middle class Gatsby. He would have to pretend to be a rich man just to please her.
Gatsby is just setting himself up for disappointment. Even if he did
win Daisy’s heart, she would turn out to be something completely opposite of what Gatsby expected. He would be heart broken and put forth all of the effort for nothing. He tries to brag to Daisy about his huge house to see what kind of reaction it will get out of her. “My house looks well doesn’t it?” (89). He wants to make sure Daisy notices how well he is doing and how much money he has.
Love: Gatsby’s romantic love for daisy
In the book the great Gatsby love is all over; from tom having affairs with Mrs. Wilson, and Gatsby enduring love for daisy. Love is a powerful thing that is uncontrollable but I never saw anyone that did so much to get a woman like jay Gatsby did. Gatsby throw all these splendid parties to try to impress daisy, and hope she would just walk over, but he did not succeed. Gatsby met daisy five years ago but he was poor and daisy wasn’t interested in him. Later he became rich a bought a mansion across the lake from daisies, hoping she would notice him and love with him again.
In the story, Gatsby creates and does all these things to make daisy notice him but it doesn’t work. He lights up his house with thousands of lights. He even sends his gardener to cuts nick’s grass. He even has a huge library where the books have never been read. Gatsby does all these things but he has one problem. Daisy is married, and in the 19th century divorce was very rare. Love back then was different. Back then people just married mostly for money not necessary for love.
As the story unwinds, we no that daisy’s husband is the one of the richest man in the world and Gatsby could not have an affair with his wife. Finally Gatsby has a chance to win his love when he goes to nick’s for a tea party, and Gatsby and daisy finally meet for the first time in five years.” The rain was still falling, but the darkness had parted in the west, and there was a pink and golden billow of foamy clouds above the sea. Look at that she said, and then after a moment; I’d like to just get one of those clouds and put you in it and push you around.”(85) They look out together and Gatsby shows daisy around his beautiful house. Daisy ended up in tears and admits to Gatsby that she made a mistake.” They’re such beautiful shirts, she sobbed, her voice muffled in the thick folds. It makes me sad because I’ve never seen such- such beautiful shirts before.”(84) There love for each other has finally come. At that point Gatsby new that daisy was in love with him.
“Love and Money: Equals the perfect Marriage?”
In the first five chapters of “ The Great Gatsby,” I noticed that love and money have played a big part in the telling of this story. I chose this title because marriage also has a theme in this book. Tom and Daisy Buchanan are married but that is a marriage built on money and not true love. It doesn’t help that Tom is having an extra marital affair either. George and Murtle Wilson are also married, which once again is not in the bond of true love or even money. Murtle thought she was in love and found the perfect man to raise a family with but now it’s her biggest regret. Murtle says, “ I married him because I thought he was a gentleman…I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe”(34). By the way Murtle feels we clearly know having no money and no love for the other spouse doesn’t equal the perfect marriage.
Now Jay Gatsby has money and loves Daisy. Gatsby has created a lifestyle he knows Daisy would like. Since Daisy didn’t want to marry him when he was a broke nobody, his drive for success has come from the love he has for Daisy. Gatsby most definitely wants to marry Daisy and have her realize she married the wrong man. He will do whatever it takes to get her. Fitzgerald writes, “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay”(78). To some people that might be a little bit extreme. He is so infatuated with Daisy that he sees the need to throw lavish parties in the hopes that one night Daisy would come over. Gatsby is so in love with Daisy; that he is blinded by the fact that she clearly only has interest in him again because she sees he is wealthy.
Well since we know that Gatsby wears his heart on his sleeve; hopefully he will be able to win over Daisy. Although that seems very unlikely because if the fact that Tom is cheating on Daisy hasn’t made her want to leave Tom already I can’t imagine that she’s planning on leaving him at all. So there must be something more to her deciding not to get a divorce from Tom. Gatsby is in love and has money that Daisy could love. So this could have potential to equal the perfect marriage if it comes down to love and money.
“Class: The Old vs. The New”
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a reoccurring theme of social class and wealth. There is also a very strong correlation between the two within the entire novel thus far. There are two separate sides of the peninsula in which Gatsby, Nick, Tom, and Daisy live. Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway live on West Egg, which is considered to be where the people of “new wealth” reside. Tom and Daisy Buchanan live on East Egg where the people of “old” or inherited wealth reside. Those from West Egg are considered basic, unrefined, and unsophisticated. On the contrary, those from East Egg tend to exert more corrupt, experienced, and materialistic behaviors.
Nick Carraway is a man of “new wealth.” He is renting his house on West Egg and is among those who are considered to have made their fortunes too recently to have established social connections. Nick is unlike the others on West Egg because he has personal social connections on East Egg. Interestingly enough East and West Egg are separated only by a “courtesy bay” (5), but more significantly in spirit. The barrier that the water creates between these people is symbolic of the barrier that keeps these people apart and from much of what they want.
Those from West Egg strive to be on the same social and economic level as those from East Egg, but ultimately realize the difficulty in doing so. The citizens of East Egg realize the lack of sophistication of the inhabitants of West Egg and will never accept them as equals. Those from East Egg attend Gatsby’s parties simply to mock the events going on around them. This novel exhibits the common theme of differences in social class. As long as we can remember things have always been this way and unfortunately, they look as though they will remain the same in the years to come.
Disillusionment: Gatsby’s love lies
Throughout the novel “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald intertwines many themes in his plot in order to complete his commentary on modern American society. One of the ever-present themes Fitzgerald touches upon is the idea of human disillusionment. Jay Gatsby best portrays this idea in an almost pathetic way to the reader in his mad love for Daisy Buchanan. This love was one lost long ago to one Tom Buchanan, but in Gatsby’s own little world he believes that his love can be whole again. In his attempt to touch the sun he destroys his own innocence and leaves himself with nothing to hold.
Curiously enough, Fitzgerald seems to have no qualms in his creation of such a pathetic character. His views are told to the reader through one Nick Carraway. He is the first to view the great Gatsby at a very peculiar time. He describes: “He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and, far as I was from him, I could have sworn he was trembling” (20). From the beginning of this great tale, Fitzgerald sets up Gatsby as this almost untouchable force, but it is only until later that the reader is forced to see just how tangible and human Gatsby is. His flaws are his defining characteristics.
In his own way, Gatsby has created his own world where anything he dreams, he can have. And as far as he is concerned all of his wishes are for Daisy. He has tossed his entire being to this woman who, frankly, does not really seem worth it. But, nevertheless, she is everything to him. Everything he does is for her, even if she doesn’t notice it or care. His watch over the Buchanan household following the climax of the novel best illustrates this very notion. Fitzgerald writes: “So I walked away and left him standing there in the moonlight – watching over nothing” (145). Gatsby is a man clawing at what everyone else is more than aware of being impossible. But in his own mind he is justified, and thus his illusion goes on.
In conclusion, Fitzgerald clearly uses Gatsby as almost a warning to the reader to beware of such unrealistic dreams. For, everyone has dreams; it’s only when those dreams become a element of their own and unattainable that they truly turn into nightmares. These false hopes can be one’s greatest downfall, and in Gatsby’s case, they are.
Wealth: What’s honesty gotta do with it?
At the very end of Chapter Three, Nick Carraway sanctimoniously concludes, “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59). It is at this moment that the proverbial veils of deception are lifted; a revelation which depicts the correlation between wealth and dishonesty is revealed, and it makes us uneasy. So Jordon cheated in her first golf tournament, Tom’s committing adultery and his mistress, Myrtle’s, infidelity is a mockery of how the poor try to rub elbows with the rich at whatever cost. Daisy’s a gold digger who rejected her one true, Gatsby, who’s not so poor now since he’s now a big time bootlegger whose goal in life is to win Daisy back. It’s only reasonable to proclaim Nick’s saintly hood when he’s being compared to the aforementioned. It is also reasonable to conclude that money was the reason why these people did the things they did. It’s what motivates the characters in The Great Gatsby and it is, inevitably, their very down fall.
Before we learn anything about any character, even before the plot is properly introduced, we learn that Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, East Egger and seriously wealthy man, is blatantly and audaciously having an affair with someone. This event automatically brings up the question of morals instantly because we already know that he and Daisy have a child together and we think, “Well, what about Daisy?” His wrongdoing is not motivated by the need for money, however, but because of the arrogance regarding his wealth. He doesn’t think twice about the people who are hurt by his adultery most likely because he knows he has power over them because he’s rich. And the same goes for this saucy mistress, who’s insolent and wicked enough to call Tom during dinner. Myrtle’s married and not very rich and because she wants to be, or at least have a taste of the high life, she gets involved with Tom and continues to pressure him to divorce Daisy even though she herself is sinning against her husband who she disdains for being poor. And Daisy herself, would seem the victim but she herself was motivated by acquiring wealth and was too busy to notice she’d hurt someone. She rejects Gatsby, her true love, because he wasn’t and could never be (at least in her mind at the time,) rich, forcing poor Gatsby himself to deal and dabble in the very illegal and amoral business of lying about who he really is, like Nick says: “The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that—and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty. So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (98).
All in all the theme of morals in relations to money is a prominent factor in the novel The Great Gatsby. Some characters would do anything to acquire wealth even if it meant lying or cheating; this is unethical and downright wrong. But it’s a reality in all situations, and it seems the rich have it worse.