How Does Fitzgerald Present The Moral Decay In The Great Gatsby

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In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald carefully incorporates the idea of movement to underscore the moral decay of the wealthy elite in New York. The migration of the characters from the West to the East represents their pursuit of endless prosperity of social status. However, this movement embodies a restless, aimless lifestyle, exhibited through extravagant parties, endless dances, and an eternal state of leisure, unlike the suffering people of the Valley of Ashes who are deemed not superior. These activities represent a sense of emptiness in the wealthy. Fitzgerald’s depiction of constant movement highlights the depression and moral decay of the characters, whose wealth allows them to have an artificial life with pleasures that can be temporary but ones that do not provide true satisfaction. By illustrating the …show more content…

At the parties “The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word” (40). With the lights growing, there is an added sense that all of the parties are an artificial show for all the rich people to maintain the glamor of their wealth by interacting with other elite members. The easy laughter and constant motion within the parties highlight the insincerity of the interactions and over-enthusiasm from guests as they are always in search of validation. The insincere interactions also continue throughout the parties as people are constantly floating around to have conversations with people whom they have never met. As guests are having “enthusiastic meetings” it shows the facade they put on when going to these parties in order to deem their value and position in

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