Great Gatsby the Moral Wasteland

¶ … Great Gatsby

The moral wasteland depicted in the Great Gatsby stems from the decadence of a generation of people that are submerged in a pool of greed with a limitless supply of things that bring them pleasure. The backdrop of American in the 1920s serves as an excellent backdrop for the novel because the decade saw endless parties and reckless behavior with little or no consequences. Materialism trumps spirituality because it is easier to have a good time than it is be socially responsible. This mentality is coupled with a carelessness that goes unmatched and unchecked even unto the last pages of the novel. It is easier for individuals to drink and party away any obligations than it is to face them and do the right thing. Perhaps the most significant way Fitzgerald speaks about these issues is through the setting of the lavish lifestyle. Gatsby's home, as well as the Buchanan's, provide the elaborate setting in which we can the see characters in their truest form. Gatsby's house is larger than one man could ever need and it is filled with expensively decorated room such as his "Marie Antoinette bedrooms and Restoration salons" (Fitzgerald 93) and a "Merton College Library" (93). Furthermore, his restroom is decorated with a "toilet seat of pure dull gold" (94). These homes are a welcome reprieve from the sweltering summer weather. In addition, the Valley of Ashes is a symbol for the decay that is eating away at these characters. It as a "fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke" (23). This image is a stark contrast to the lavish homes but it is significant in the novel because they characters must travel through the valley every time they go into the city.

Daisy is the character that best depicts the mortal decay in the novel. She becomes contemptible by the end of the story and we are left to wonder what Gatsby ever saw in the women. Daisy becomes involved with Gatsby with absolutely no consideration for her husband or child. Daisy is part of the generation that became corrupt by excess. They did not attempt to achieve anything great or positive; their goals were nothing more than wearing something nice, eating a delectable meal, and being entertained in a way that they deemed acceptable. Daisy is completely consumed with things and status and the most revolting aspect of her character is how she does not try to conceal this attribute. We see this characteristic in rare form when Daisy begins sobbing into the pile of Gatsby's silk shirts. Nick seems to be the only character with enough presence of mind to utter anything about Daisy's behavior. He understands how she and Tom are useless in almost every way. He states, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made" (184). While Daisy is not alone in her lack of morality, she stands out as one of the most disgraceful characters in the novel because of her lack of concern for anyone but herself.

While Gatsby does have his faults, he remains a paragon of romanticism and hope more than anything else. He is a dreamer but he is also an achiever. We must admire him for achieving his goal and becoming a success. While his modes of achieving his money might be questionable, he can know that he did become successful and he did not need the help of anyone else to do it. For this reason, Gatsby deserves a certain amount of respect. In fact, we can almost bet that Gatsby worked harder and longer than Tom ever did. If we are to hold any grudges against Gatsby, it must be in his foolishness toward Daisy but that is what makes him a romantic at heart. Gatsby is torn between the life he lives and the dream he wants. There is nothing wrong with the dream; however, what Gatsby chooses to do with it proves to be the biggest mistake of his life. Gatsby is living in the past and believes that it can be relived. Nick writes, "He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy." (113). Here we see the drive for passion and the destruction of the dream in one sentence. Gatsby could not see that all to which he was striving was already gone. For this we cannot fault him because, unlike most people, he gives everything he has to make his dream come true.

The Great Gatsby can be seen as a novel about defying time through two prisms. The first prism through which this novel can be observed is how Fitzgerald focuses on the 1920s generation. The theme of the American Dream is examined in the novel by the characters' ability to lose themselves in the corruption that surrounds the dream. The society that Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby allow themselves to become with comes apart literally at the seams because it knows nothing but to enjoy and waste. Essentially, this generation loses it soul as it attempts to break away from the constraints of Victorian principles. In addition, the generation of the 20s was enjoying a new kind of life since the war. Suddenly things were not only available but also plentiful. From social anxiety to the chase of pleasure, this generation had no reason to look back and no real compulsion to look forward.