Skewed In The Great Gatsby Essay

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In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, one common theme is characters using skewed morals to get what the want in life, with Jay Gatsby being a prime example. In chapter five, Gatsby offers Nick a job in reward for Nick inviting Daisy over. “Why, look here, old sport, you don’t make much money, do you?” (pg. 80) This allows Gatsby to use his skewed morals to justify his actions. By giving Nick a job, he is able to reason that he has done something nice in return, so the fact that he had convinced Nick to help Daisy, a married woman, begin an affair with Gatsby is made insignificant, and can be seen as just a friend helping a friend with a small task, instead of something that has deeply affected Tom and Daisy. In this situation, …show more content…
Gatsby admits that he was in the drug business, making money in underhanded and illegal way, and it is evident that he has used it buy most, if not all, of his fancy things. “I was in the drug business.” (pg. 87) He then justifies the money by using it to attract Daisy through material possession, all with the mentality that everything he is doing is for her. “He revalued everything in his house according to the measure it drew from her well-loved eyes.” (pg. 88) Clearly, his profiting off of other’s drug habits is wrong, and in this situation the right thing for Gatsby to have done would have been to made his fortune elsewhere, where his desire for money would not negatively affect the lives of others. The largest, and perhaps most significant example of Gatsby using skewed morals to achieve his goals and justify his actions occurs when he lies to everyone and creates a fake persona as Jay Gatsby, the generous, rich bachelor who travels the world and goes on exciting adventures, when in reality he is James Gatz, a man from humble origins who has lied to nearly everyone in his life
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