WEALTH AND MORALITYIn the Great Gatsby by, F. Scott. Fitzgerald, those who are wealthy act as if there are no

principles concerning the distinction between what is right and wrong. They act as if they are above the law and engage in immoral behavior in their everyday life. This type of behavior does not only destroy the individuals themselves, but others around them. In the book, immoral behaviors displayed by the wealthy include unfaithfulness, ambitious behavior, greed, cheating, lying and deception. The reader sees that the wealthy has a sense of morality in heir hope of happiness and the dreams they want to fulfill. However, they allow themselves to become corrupt in fulfilling their dreams which leads to their down fall.

Gatsby is an ambitious individual who engage in immoral and illegal activities to make money, so he could gain the affection of the vanity worshipper, Daisy, but he ends up losing her and everything else, including his precious life. Gatsby’s behavior is similar to that of Macbeth in the play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare; Macbeth was determined to become king so he killed Duncan, his best friend and several other people. Because of Macbeth’s ambition and reckless behavior he ends up dying. The frightening similarity of Macbeth with Gatsby is that each man was deceived by illusion. Macbeth’s illusion was passed on to him by witches. Gatsby’s illusion came from his deep desires to have Daisy. Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George Wilson, also possesses an ambitious and an unfaithful character, she thinks only for herself and what she can achieve from having an affair with tom, which only can be seen by the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg (a pair of fading spectacled eyes painted an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes), who George Wilson recognize as the eyes of god. The bible also comments on immoral individuals, stating that “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. Myrtle died “Auto hit her. Ins’antly killed,” Mr. Wilson, page 133. The result she got in cheating on her husband is death.

A number of Characters in the Great Gatsby are full of hope, especially Gatsby who is hoping to win Daisy back, he has an “extraordinary gift of hope” (page 8), and he sacrifice himself to fulfill his dream. His struggle to get into the upper class shows how dedicated and persistent he is in fulfilling his dream; Gatsby is totally lost in his dream world not being able to find back reality, he reaches out to the green light situated at the end of daisy’s dock, as a guide to lead him to his goal, because his request for daisy is his American dream, and his dream failed, after which the light disappeared. In the same way the book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, Old Major had a dream, which he didn’t live to see because he died. In real life most of those who are rich are unhappy people but sadness is hidden by money, but the lower class are often happy and some are not satisfied and go out to seek more, because of greed. F. Scott Fitzgerald is trying to demonstrate this in the novel by using myrtle, she was happy with her husband until she met tom who she saw as her way out of poverty. Myrtle thinks that becoming rich would take away her sadness, so she hid her thoughts of morality to get the happiness that she needs. Morality is a value based off conduct; the foundation of a person’s values determines their sense of right and wrong, in this novel greed and need for status seems to determine the way in which majority of the characters behave. Tom has no remorse about his

affair with myrtle Wilson; he seems to feel that his wealth sets him above or makes him better than George Wilson. Myrtle feels she is owed the kind of treatment that tom gives her; since her husband cannot offer her the kind of treatment that tom can, so for myrtle wealth erases morality. Daisy on the other hand is a woman who worships wealth; she would go for the wealthier man, and finds no problem in seeing Gatsby to see what possession he has so she can decide if she wants to be with him, this shows how materialistic daisy is.

The couples in the great Gatsby shared an interesting similarity, unfaithfulness. Tom, daisy and myrtle were all unfaithful to their spouses. Their love for themselves was greater than their love for each other. Tom and myrtle had an affair throughout the novel while daisy became very close to jay Gatsby who made an illegal fortune allowing him to buy all the luxurious things of life that could impress her to such an extent that she is willing to leave her husband. There is no sign of true love with these couples because each wanted something from the other, tom wanted to own myrtle, myrtle wants tom’s wealth, and daisy wanted Gatsby for his wealth. Tom and daisy know each other’s affairs, but neither of them cares, because they see nothing wrong with what they are doing, this is what allows a person to be immoral because they are unaware of their wrong doings. Gatsby and Daisy both have a dream, a romantic notion, which determines their behavior. More than money, it is a dream of true love that guides Gatsby and daisy to do what they do There is no code of right and wrong, that dictates their behavior, instead, there is a romantic vision of the “right life” that both of them strive to achieve. Gatsby feels that he can accomplish this through daisy; she for a while feels the same but later decides that it is only through tom that she has the chance to fulfill this vision.

Vanity can lead one to be immoral. Daisy wanted Gatsby for the wrong reasons and Gatsby wanted wealth for the wrong reasons. He wanted to prove himself to daisy. Sometimes in trying to prove to others we lose ourselves. It is not possible to please everyone ; therefore Gatsby’s plan to woo Daisy with wealth is a failure from the beginning. Gatsby act as an enabler to her superficiality because he provides for her the thngs she needs to stay with him. He obviously loves her, but she loves money. Therefore money stands between the two of them, creating havoc in their lives. Even fir the most mral peron, greed or need for wealth , can cuse that individual to act out of character, doin whatever it akes to fulfill heir desires. Ultimately, gred can lead to death if the individual goes the extara mile, such as commiibng murder, to get what they want. Fitzgerald commebts on the end result of grees, showing that once it leads to immorality, death and destruction will be a possible outcome.

“If a person holds no ambitions in this world, he suffers unknowingly. If a person holds ambition, he suffers knowingly but very slowly.”- Alan Lightman, Einstein’s dreams. Gatsby was suffering because of the ambition he held to have daisy, the ambitious character of myrtle, caused her husband to suffer, until he couldn’t hold it, so he went suicidal. “We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming - well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.” ― Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses, Gatsby was dreaming to give himself hope so he cn have daisy and did everything in his power to achieve her, he didn’t stop dreaming because to be with daisy ws the only thing he lived for. The wealthy people

in the novel are the most unfaithful, they do everything that is not suppose to be, the wealthy people in the novel has no sense of morality.