Moral Issues In The Great Gatsby

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Writers explore moral issues in many different, yet equally valid, ways. Some writers might place a character in a moral dilemma in order to show analysis through the character’s choices and internal deliberation; while others might transcend an external conflict to represent a greater moral issue. Regardless of which method the author uses to analyze the issue there is almost always an inherently opinionated perspective presented. In William Shakespeare’s theatrical work, “Hamlet” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby the two methods of moral discussion are used in both works. While the main characters in both works undergo internal and external moral conflicts, they depict the underlying issues in different ways. In “Hamlet,” …show more content…

Throughout the book, a character, Jay Gatsby, pursues a married woman, Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald explores how adultery is dishonorable by showing how negative the novel becomes the more contact Gatsby and Daisy have. Eventually Gatsby is murdered as a result of the adulterous actions of another man, and the murderous actions of Daisy Buchanan. When Fitzgerald kills off Gatsby he is commenting on adulterous actions as a whole. While Gatsby himself was not directly accountable for the death of the wife of the man who killed him, the depravity surrounding the event negatively affects all involved. Consequentially the reader is left feeling less empathetic towards Gatsby and angrier towards Daisy and Gatsby’s killer. Fitzgerald manages to both analyze and comment on the morality of mankind by not only showing the negatively resulting from the immoral actions, but also how the narrator Nick, who himself is no pillar of ethical fortitude, views those involved in the adulterous conflict with great …show more content…

Whilst both authors put forth an opinionated view of moral issues, the opinions presented leaned more traditionally. Immorality in every instance was analyzed through an inherently negative lens. This biased exploration of moral issues leaves the reader with a conflicting mindset. One might like the characters and disagree with how they acted, or the bias put forth changes how the reader views the characters as a whole. Looking through the inner conflicts and external conflicts present in both works one can see the similar methods authors take to examine moral issues as well as the difficulty of removing a personal investment an author might

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