Examples Of Judgement In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald uproots the intertwined judgements of individuals and society in East and West Egg during a summer closely after the war. In society, judgements arise to take over the actions and thoughts of each person. Each character has experienced a different upbringing and lives a different life ranging from privileged folks who are filled with money to those living unfortunate lives in the valley of ashes. In a novel spanning less than a year, Fitzgerald writes in Nick’s as he recounts his experiences with people who are like a rainbow of colors tainted with blackness of the judgemental society and thrown onto a broken palette where judgements overshadow ambitions and struggles. Fitzgerald uses the relationship …show more content…

Gatsby utilizes his aspirations to build a wall around him to stack up as an invincible barrier against the judgements of society. However, while Gatsby becomes engrossed in continuing to build his wall higher and higher, he fails to see its flaws, allowing the “foul dust [to float] in the wake of his dreams” (Fitzgerald 2). The “foul dust” represents society’s judgements of Gatsby, which clouds his vision, allowing Gatsby’s thirst for validation to overpower his will to build on his ambitions. Despite Gatsby’s financial stability and success, he becomes vulnerable to the pressures of society and allows them to manipulate his mind, showing that once the arrow of judgements has struck, it instantly affects even the “biggest and baddest”. The “foul dust” can easily enter into Gatsby’s mind because he remains in a childlike state and becomes preoccupied with the idea of perfection, fostering Gatsby’s microscopic views of his dreams. Eventually, Gatsby’s footing on his ambitions slips as the judgements of society, like the “foul dust”, floats around Gatsby to quietly yet viciously tear down his triumphs. Each judgement which Gatsby faces from society pecks away at the once-invincible wall and eventually brings upon the downfall of Gatsby as the societal pressures seep in through cracks on the

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