Essay/Term paper: The great gatsby: morality and gatsby

Essay, term paper, research paper:  The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby: Morality and Gatsby


Morality is a very controversial issue. That is one of the reasons what
people are interested in reading about it. Morality can lead to many questions
essentially it can lead to the question between right and wrong. In The Great
Gatsby Nick Carraway is faced with a constant struggle between right and wrong.
Truth is an issue of morality. "It all happened in a minute but it seemed
to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew."
(Fitzgerald 151) Daisy and Gatsby tried to hide the fact that they hit and
killed Myrtle Wilson while driving home from New York. Nick Carraway, however,
knew the truth and had to decide if he was going to help hide the truth or let
Daisy and Gatsby suffer the consequences. "I don't think that anybody saw us
but of course I can't be sure." (Fitzgerald 151). Gatsby felt that he could
hide the car and with it he could hide the truth. The truth is that Myrtle
Wilson was killed and Daisy and Gatsby are the ones to blame. They cannot hide
that truth.
The friendship between Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway is a questionable
one and full of doubt. "He had seen me several times and had intended to call
on me long before but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it-
signed Jay Gatsby." (Fitzgerald 45-46) The two had lived next door to each
other for awhile however, they had never associated. Therefore, along with the
invitation to the party there was some suspicion. Jay Gatsby is a very wealthy
man. Nick Carraway, although he lives in West Egg, is not wealthy nor elegant.
The two are certainly opposites. Gatsby and Carraway are bound to take
advantage of each other.
In The Great Gatsby morality is often put to the test. In the book, as
well as real life, there are consequences that follow the actions that are taken.
Morality differs from person to person. However, there is one thing that is
the same. Morality is a judgment call determined by each person, there are no
set rules.

WORKS CITED

1. Fitzgerald, Scott F. The Great Gatsby. Simon and Schuster, New
York. 1925