Essay Database

hroughout Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, there seems to be a broad spectrum of moral and social views demonstrated by various characters. At one end, is Tom, a man who attacks Gatsby's sense of propriety and legitimacy, while thinking nothing of running roughshod over the lives of those around him. A direct opposite of Tom's nature is Gatsby, who displays great generosity and caring, yet will stop at nothing to achieve his dream of running off …

…characters on the extremes of the scale of moral and social considerations can be measured. Thus, The Great Gatsby presents an extremely interesting set of moral imagery. It can be said, then, that one of Fitzgerald's main talents, as shown in the novel, is in showing various levels of moral and emotional development in characters, and juxtaposing them. Perhaps it is this element that distinguishes The Great Gatsby from many other novels with similar elements.