What Is Morality In The Great Gatsby

Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, "American Dream" during the early infancy of our country, proposing this dream as, "That pursuit of a better existence … [and] a higher quality of life through hard work, determination, and devotion." While this may be what many of the characters in The Great Gatsby believe (Jay Gatsby in particular), one critical ideal is discarded in Fitzgerald's twisted refinement of Franklin's definition: morality. It is apparent that Jay Gatsby achieves his wealth and social status through illegal and immoral means, such as bootlegging alcohol. The irony becomes remarkably stunning when one realizes that the section of Franklin's autobiography, which outlines his method for achieving this dream, is entitled "Moral Perfection".
We, the readers, are witness to multiple adulterous affairs, murder, illegal alcohol use, as well as a lack of camaraderie between friends. Fitzgerald's diagnosis that decadence is the real killer of the American dream manifests itself in many characters and in many ways throughout The Great Gatsby. The most obvious is Gatsby who's dream is to come back from his time spent in the armed forces, much wealthier than he left, with the hope that his newfound wealth will allow him to win back the heart of Daisy who he left behind. When Gatsby left he didn't have the financial power to secure Daisy's devotion to him, for she became much more interested in the material possessions than love, which made her vulnerable to Tom Buchanan's wealthy appeal. Gatsby sees that the only way he can reclaim her is by impressing her with a fortune . Gatsby becomes so intent on accomplishing this goal that in his mind the ends justify the means, without question. We are never told exactly how Gatsby procures his wealth, except that it most likely from illegal bootlegging and perhaps some ties to the mafia. This is Gatsby's first major deviation, chronologically, from Franklin's American Dream. Next, he turns his back on our narrator, Nick, who offers to help him achieve his
If we look closely at all the characters it becomes apparent that almost every major character is engaged in some sort of activity that is compromising his or her morals. We've already discussed Nick and Gatsby, but Daisy, Tom, and Myrtle are all guilty of the same sin – adultery. Faithfulness is only inherent in one married person in the book, George Wilson, but George has his own personality flaws and ends up committing a deadly sin of his own – wrath. He has trouble controlling his temper and eventually snaps after he wife is killed and murders Gatsby and commits suicide. George is the only one that seems to have lost his dream a long time ago, when his wife began resenting him, then cheating on him, and has turned to religion to find happiness. He claims, after believing that Tom killed Myrtle, that, "God sees everything". George has lost faith in the world for some time and it seems as though he's only living for the next life, which is proven by the fact that he is able to kill himself. The only people who don't really seem to be emotionally scarred, or killed by the events that take place in the novel are the surviving women in the book. Daisy's dream is money, though as we know, it wasn't always that way. Jordan is