The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Broken Moral Values In The Society
For some individuals that lived in the 19th century, the years subsequent to World War I and II were recounted by indignation and unhappiness. The society had been suppressed by a worldwide clash that brought about devastation and hatred. After the wars, many social ways were deserted. It left people to redefine themselves in a world that had crushed their beliefs and dreams. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald displays how the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, is isolated from his society because of his reclusive behaviors, looks, and social stance, which reveals the corrupt moral values of the surrounding culture and society.
Society tends to judge and label people differently based on their actions in public. Some describe Gatsby as “an Oxford man” while others say that he is a “German spy, ” and even blame him of “killing a man”. People judge Gatsby all differently based of his remote behaviors that he presents. The allegations people make of Gatsby without knowing his actual character alienates him to a great extent . This shows how the unscrupulous society contemplates Gatsby to be irregular, making him seem rebuffed from the people in the town. Gatsby’s isolated behaviors make the society see him as someone with no value. He is also not very intriguing to the people in the town, which is caused by the absence of a friendly attitude that he presents in public. The isolation of Jay Gatsby continues and gets more dreadful for Gatsby. Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan, constantly says cruel statements about Gatsby to his friends, like how he is treated like a “slave for Daisy”. Tom says this because Gatsby always helps Daisy bring in “groceries to the back door”. This shows how Gatsby’s kind acts and care for others seem odd and irregular to the public.
Some people in a society are inclined to reject others who are not of much interest or is secluded from participating in certain activities. During Jay Gatsby’s parties, he is always “alone” and timidly “looks from one group to another. He is an enigma to his guests. This shows how the people show no endeavor to be affable to Gatsby. The author exhibits the idea that the unsurpassed state of mind of an individual in society has to and an individual who is not like their ways of doing such, then consequently, they are isolated from society. During one of Gatsby’s parties, he observed ladies “swooning into men’s arms” and ladies cuddling with their husbands. Nobody even approached or tried to speak to Gatsby at his own house. This shows how Gatsby is estranged from the public as they acknowledge him to be insignificant and not worth communicating with.
People in a society sometimes immediately make assumptions about who an individual is based on their social stance. A group of people at Gatsby’s party were talking about how they “picked him for a bootlegger” when they first saw him. This shows how his absence of proper social stance indicates to the society that he is a criminal. The town people think that he just earns his money from misleading and illegal ways. Also, one day Lucille, Gatsby’s neighbor came over to Gatsby’s house and “tears her gown on a chair”. Gatsby then asks Lucille to give her “name and address” and later that week she got a package “with a new evening gown”. As soon as the others in town hear about what happened, they discuss about how unusual it was of Gatsby to have bought a gown for Lucille. The kind gesture that Gatsby created, isolates him much more from the public. What he thinks is the right thing to do, others seem to think it is strange. Hence, the public considers Gatsby to be an unusual man and his ways of doing such are unknown to them.
Sometimes people take immediate action toward others who have secluded behaviors or seem unusual. Towards the end of the novel, Daisy “killed Myrtle” and Gatsby decided to take the “blame for it because he loved Daisy. ” Immediately, when the public found out Mr. Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, shoots Gatsby. The society made immediate decisions based on Gatsby’s behaviors that he presented in public before. The society accepted what Mr. Wilson did to Gatsby, which does not shock anybody. He is isolated by the public’s beliefs because of his conscience. The author really shows the reader the broken moral values of the surrounding culture.
