The moral of The Great Gatsby is that the American Dream is illusory. Gatsby's dream was to be with Daisy, but even after he attained her lifestyle, he was unable to be with her. Meanwhile, the people that had money, like Daisy and Tom, could not achieve happiness either.
Gatsby's tragic flaw is his inability to wake up from his dream of the past and accept reality. His obsession with recapturing his past relationship with Daisy compels him to a life of crime and deceit. He becomes a bootlegger, does business with a gangster, and creates a false identity.
Jay Gatsby lives his life by the over bearing morals and values of devotion, corruption, and his will to control. Gatsby has an uncanny devotion for the things and people he desires. Gatsby is a poor man who feels that he can win his love Daisy back, if he achieves enough material wealth.
The author conveys that morality has little value to the characters in Gatsby because they take any means necessary in order to achieve their dreams and fail to think about the consequences of their impulsive actions. Any morals the characters in Gatsby have are ignored when it comes to obtaining status and wealth.
The exemplary ambiguous character in Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby,” is Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a morally ambiguous character because of the actions he takes in order to achieve his own goals, Daisy. Furthermore, through Gatsby's moral ambiguity, Fitzgerald reveals that setting a facade is ultimately bad.
The other characters weren't directly involved with the murder but they were they cause of it, hence they are partly responsible for his death. Tom, Daisy and George are morally responsible for the death of Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby is not moral because the characters are static. All the characters in the Great Gatsby are immoral since none engages in positive actions or behaviors. Throughout the novel, the characters do not change their ways because they fail to see past what they possess as in wealth.
The character of Gatsby symbolizes a corrupted dream: his wealth is a solution to his problems and his incorruptible love for Daisy. Despite his hard work, his corruption and materialism prevail over hard work, integrity, and real love.
As literary critic Adam Cohen stated, “Gatsby was a fervent believer in the gospel of self-improvement.” (Cohen, Jay Gatsby is a man for our times) Mr. Gatz concluded that “Jimmy was bound to get ahead.” (Gatsby, 173) Gatsby was willing to sacrifice simple joys at the time for future success.
Gatsby gains his money by becoming a bootlegger and does so because of Prohibition. Like many, he takes advantage of what is happening in the country and makes it work for him. Gatsby's parties and wealth also play into the consumerism aspects that were taking over the country at the time.
His death symbolizes the loss of his pursuit of a higher social class and his lost love of Daisy. Nick Carraway mourns the loss of his friend and his ties to the elite class. He abandons his dreams of wealth and status. Gatsby's death symbolically marks the end of the American dream.
Gatsby has an internal conflict where he is insecure about his identity. If he were to have a certain identity ( being rich ) Daisy would have married him.
Analysis: Irony in the Novel
Despite all the opportunities that the American Dream appears to offer, Gatsby is unable to transcend classism or win Daisy's heart. It is ironic that he was also unable to access wealth through moral and legal means, despite serving his country and working hard.
Gatsby's dream, personified in the green light, is the primary symbol of the novel and ties into Fitzgerald's overwhelming critique of the American Dream throughout the novel. Gatsby's car has many roles throughout the novel, so much so, it could even be considered a secondary character.
Upon seeing the shirts, Daisy cries and explains, “It makes me sad because I've never seen such—such beautiful shirts before.” One reason for Daisy's reaction could be that she only cares about material goods, and so something like fine clothing can make her feel affection for Gatsby.
Though Gatsby has always wanted to be rich, his main motivation in acquiring his fortune was his love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he met as a young military officer in Louisville before leaving to fight in World War I in 1917.
The most notable was in 1987 when the book was officially challenged at the Baptist College of South Carolina, due to its sexual references and profane language. Other reasons cited to challenge or ban The Great Gatsby are due to its content of extra-marital affairs, or adultery, bootlegging and violence.
Another example of Gatsby's disregard for a moral code is his choice to have an affair with Daisy when he knew that she was married to Tom. Yet again, this shows Gatsby's willingness to forsake his morals in order to acquire Daisy's love, which equates to money.
Morally Ambiguous Character In The Great Gatsby
In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, does not identify as good or evil; he is morally ambiguous. Fitzgerald's story takes place in America during the 1920s. Gatsby is in love with Daisy who is married to Tom, the antagonist.
What is ironic about Gatsby's death? Gatsby's death is a moment of irony because he is still waiting for Daisy to call him so they can be together, but he does not realize that Daisy and her husband have already reconciled with one another.
By giving the false information to George, yet Tom knew he was Myrtle's lover, he directly causes Gatsby's death (Gale, 2019). His guilty conscience made him take Daisy on a trip without leaving the itinerary so that no one could find them. With this understanding, Tom Buchanan is also accountable for Gatsby's death.
Gatsby's death is inescapable in order for him to achieve his own salvation and is presented as a sacrifice paralleling the death of Christ.
Daisy's Moral Ambiguity in The Great Gatsby
Daisy had been regarded as a decent character with a tone like money (120) and a shy character when it came to standing up to Tom. She becomes morally dubious, as her appearance and behavior conceal that she is essentially up to no good.
Gatsby found that fabricating his life story was more appealing because he knew that money is the source of Daisy's allegiance. He decides to re-invent himself to sound good enough for her, which became a life consuming quest in which she became the perfect and unattainable goal which he loved more than anything else.