The Great Gatsby Seminars

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Great Gatsby” is the novel that reveals the decay of fundamental moral norms and humanistic values in the American society. The author reveals the decay through the life and personalities of characters of the novel. Practically all the characters but Gatsby are immoral, pragmatic and degrading people. The writer shows how the wealth can ruin a pure dream.

At this point, it is possible to refer to the relations and life stories of Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan Jordan Baker, Meyer Wolfsheim and other characters. Analyzing these characters we see the role which play money and social position in their lives. For example, Daisy doesn’t have any purpose in the life the only thing she thinks about is wealth. She married a rich man whom she didn’t really love, and later she preferred to stay with him but not with Gatsby.

The relations between Daisy and Gatsby reveal the contrast between decaying moral views of Daisy, which were typical for the society, and idealistic view of Gatsby, which were absolutely strange for the society in that time. As for Gatsby, his love to this woman is the most important thing in his life while for Daisy he is a toy, an entertainment, one more love affair. That is why her choice proves that wealthy social position of her husband is more important for her than real and serious feelings of another man. She does not have any moral values. Even her daughter does not evoke any strong feelings in her soul. Actually, her love affairs with Gatsby were caused mainly by her boring way of life, because she needed some new impressions, new feelings. Daisy does not care about other people’s feelings and sufferings. May be she does not care about human life itself because when she kills Myrtle Wilson, she does not even stop (Bruccoli, 1985). The same is the case when Gatsby is killed. So if she has any aim in her plain life it may be only entertainment or amusing herself.

As for Tom his life seems to be even worse than the life of his wife though they are alike in a way. Like Daisy Tom does not have any purpose in the life. He looks only for new strong feelings and cares only about his earnings. He needs money it is his God. He is sure that money can give him everything he wants and this attitude to the wealth is usual for people of his type. Tom plays other people. He has a mistress Myrtle and he demands a total obedience from her side. It shows us that she means nothing for him as well as his own wife. To prove it we need to remember that though he became furious when he guessed about close relations between Gatsby and Daisy but, at the same time, he didn’t do anything to help his wife when she killed Myrtle.

Practically the same trend to decay of moral and humanistic values can be traced in less important characters of the novel. Dan Cody makes fortune in his copper mining business but his life is a mess. Jordan Baker is a champion golfer but she doesn’t have any moral values as well as Meyer Wolfsheim who is a racketeer, bootlegger and a gambler.  

Thus, F.S. Fitzgerald shows the decay of the American society because his characters ignore traditional American values. They are immoral people pursuing nothing but wealth.
     
References:

Bruccoli, Andrew J., ed. New Essays on The Great Gatsby. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ed. Andrew Turnbull. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963.
Lee Brian, American Fiction 1865-1940 New York: Continuum Publishing, 1988.