Examples Of Ambiguity In The Great Gatsby

After his altercation with Tom, Daisy yells at them and drives them home, killing Myrtle. Gatsby conceals the fact that Myrtle was murdered by her husband because he is still convinced that Daisy loves him. When we are too certain, we become closed off to new information and ideas and may miss out on valuable opportunities for growth and

This was very confusing for Gatsby because he was getting mixed signals which just drove him crazier and more willing to do anything for Daisy. Later in the book, after Daisy hits Myrtle with the yellow car, she runs away. She doesn’t say anything to Gatsby, she doesn’t try to take the blame for him, she just leaves. “I suppose Daisy will call too.” He looked at me anxiously, as if he hoped I’d corroborate this” (Fitzgerald 118).

(Fitzgerald 132) Although they once had a beautiful relationship, Gatsby is trapped in the past and can not move on. He is so controlled by the idea of rekindling what they once had, that he causes a huge fight to break out, which ultimately leads to Myrtle's death and Gatsby's death. His naiveness, dishonesty and rage when he is unable to win

(109). This is the first sign of Gatsby’s poor mental state following Daisy pulling away from him. He becomes angry and seems as if he will snap at any moment because he realizes that Daisy has led him on, seeming to love him and move on from Tom, but then changes her mind and pulls away from

Not black, not white, but grey all over. Moral ambiguity is a euphemism used when a character or situation has moral elements, but it is unclear whether they are morally correct. Its usage in literature is both confusing yet intriguing to readers as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, follows the life of the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby through the perspective of narrator Nick Carraway. As the novel explores the shallow materialism of the Roaring Twenties, it focuses on how Gatsby’s pure intentions of pursuing his love interest, Daisy Buchanan, ultimately leads to immoral inclinations by leaving a trail of pain for those around him as well as himself. Gatsby’s moral ambiguity reveals how just like many others in the materialistically-driven

Jay Gatsby is a character who has new money, and Tom Buchanan falls into the class of having old money. Jay Gatsby uses illegal means such as bootlegging, gambling and securities fraud. Gatsby’s activities get revealed in an argument with Daisy and Tom Buchanan. Tom states, “He [Gatsby] and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drugstores here and in Chicago sold grain alcohol over the counter” (Fitzgerald 78). Gatsby tries to use his illegal alcohol production to gain wealth, trying to establish himself as better than Tom Buchanan.

Additionally, Gatsby's actions, such as his involvement in bootlegging and his manipulation of those around him, can be seen as morally questionable. As Gatsby says, "I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything" (Fitzgerald, 91). This quote suggests that Gatsby's past is not as perfect as he makes it out to be.

Wilson was clearly broken from Myrtle’s death. Daisy and Tom are more to blame here for her running Myrtle over and him giving her a reason to. George may have killed Gatsby, but he wasn’t in control when it

After the affair between Daisy and Gatsby, as well as Tom and Myrtle was discovered, Tom and George made different decisions in how they dealt with the affair. Tom and Daisy decided to move away with their daughter to avoid their problems and guilt and hide in their wealth, but George on the other hand made the terrible decision to take “justice” into his own hands. After Tom told George Gatsby was the one having the affair with Myrtle and is who ran Myrtle over, George decided to go to Gatsby’s house and shoot Gatsby which ended in his death, and proceeded to kill himself in the same fashion. “They’re a rotten crowd,” I shouted across the lawn. “You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.”

Commonly, illegally obtaining money is present while in search of fame. In correlation to Gatby’s hidden identity, he disguises illegal actions done to gain his money. In an attempt to amend his relationship with Daisy, Gatsby makes “a social mystery around his identity and involving himself in illegal dealings” (Hacht). To ultimately get his desired wealth, he goes to the extremes which includes criminal activities. Tom finds out about Gatsby’s illegal actions: ‘"I found out what your 'drug-stores' were."

The hippocratic character of Tom is prevalent throughout the book as he becomes enraged with Daisy for having an affair with Gatsby, despite his long lasting affair with Myrtle. In addition, this is seen yet again when Tom grows infuriated with Gatsby after discovering his wealth comes from selling illegal alcohol while throughout the book, Tom frequently enjoys the pleasures of this illegal substance. While it is clear Tom, who is part of the upper class, has skewed morals himself, his true imorality is evident preceding the death of Myrtle Wilson. Following the death of Myrtle and Gatsby, Nick questions whether Tom has been affected by any of this in which Tom responds that he is infact distraught. However, Tom is not particularly upset by the death of Gatsby, rather upset because his “toy” Myrtle is not longer alive leaving him nothing else to play with.

In Scott Fitzgerald's ”The Great Gatsby” the sense of Nick's disillusionment is a big overarching idea that is displayed in many ways including the selfishness expressed by the characters, the corruption in the city , and the regularized cheating. The characters in the book more than not always express a sense of selfishness and a sort of fakeness and a lack of awareness for others. You’re a rotten driver,” I protested. “Either you ought to be more careful, or you oughtn’t to drive at all.

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, its protagonist, Nick, possesses a chronic ambivalence towards life. Throughout the novel, he claims to hold himself to a higher moral standard, reserving judgments and being aware of the crude nature of life. Despite this, he does not follow through on his beliefs, continuing to stay in West Egg and surrounding himself with people that immerse themselves in opulent lifestyles. This ambivalence is seen in his attitude toward the East Coast culture, Gatsby, and the Buchanan family. Nick’s chronic ambivalence towards life is first shown in his attitude toward the East.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby," portrays two significant contradictions that exist within the characters of the story. The first contradiction is the theme of affairs, which permeates the novel, and the second is the idea of being a gentleman, which the characters strive to embody. Symbolism and imagery are crucial in depicting these two contradictions in the novel. The theme of affairs is prevalent throughout the novel, with several characters engaging in extramarital affairs.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s moral ambiguity causes him to be recognized as a character whom is neither purely evil or purely good. Gatsby’s path to wealth and high social status, in pursuit of his love for Daisy, through his diligent work ethic embodies the American Dream and can be seen as just and virtuous. On the contrary, his devious and illegal activity he commits casts an immoral shade upon Gatsby’s character. Gatsby’s lack of moral clarity in his journey for wealth disturbs the purity of the American Dream. This contributes to the idea that the American Dream is deceiving, in that it is not possible to achieve one’s goal without foregoing one’s morals.