The Role Of Morality In The Great Gatsby

Although many are daunted by the power of religion, the absence of it is ruinous. The 20th century serves as a prime example of the capacity for evil and the atrocities that stem from the absence of morals through the atheistic regimes of Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, and Mao Zedong. The 1920s paved the way for moral decline unfolding the turn of the century through wasteful spending, the introduction of organized crime, the degeneration of a nuclear family, and the accrual of wealth and materialistic values. As a byproduct of a wayward society, corruption and the prioritization of money became the predominant objective in most social classes. F. Scott Fitzgerald integrates the concepts of wealth and corruption in his novel, The Great Gatsby,

Fitzgerald accentuated the changing culture of the 1920s to illustrate this decline of morals by highlighting the growing organized crime, increased economic freedoms and the difficulty to rise in social hierarchy. The misconceptions that morality was a priority in the early twentieth century were proven incorrect through the results of the institution of Prohibition Laws stating that it was illegal to consume, produce or sell alcohol. It was assumed that prohibition would decrease crime rates however, this led to continued, and even increased organized crime (Nash). Speakeasies were established in an attempt to continue the illegal production and selling of alcohol; bootlegging was a profitable crime. Once again the desire for money, notwithstanding that the means used to acquire it was illegal, persisted and became the ultimate downfall of the American Dream. People like Gatsby were seen taking advantage of bootlegging to attain their dream through corruptible means. While crime encouraged the corruption of the American Dream, the shift towards materialism also weakened the moral standards. Fitzgerald integrates the theme of moral decadence throughout the novel and, according to Jennifer Banach Palladino in the “Critical Reception of The Great Gatsby,” shows the “decline of the

In the higher social class, this can been seen with Daisy; her decision to marry Tom, and her final decision to reject Gatsby shows the influence of money. Daisy may have fallen in love with Gatsby, but her initial attraction was that “[Gatsby] had deliberately given Daisy a sense of security; he let her believe...that he was fully able to take care of her” (Fitzgerald 159). From the beginning it is seen that Daisy already places value on whether her lover is in her same social status. Because Gatsby is able to falsely portray himself belonging to the same stratum as Daisy, he is able to convince her that he would able to provide her stability in addition to love. However Daisy’s love for Gatsby is tested during the time Gatsby is away at war. Daisy’s waning love and impatience is described that “suddenly [Daisy] was again keeping half a dozen dates a day with half a dozen men and drowsing asleep at dawn with the beads and chiffon of an evening dress tangled among dying orchids on the flood besides her bed” (Fitzgerald 162). It is seen that Daisy’s decision to move on is influenced by impatience and the increasing influence to be swayed by “beads and chiffon”: wealth. The “dying orchids” represents the dying love Daisy had for Gatsby as the war progressed (162). Her desire to have financial security overweighs her desire for love, and her decision to marry Tom