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Friday, October 5, 2012
In no more than one paragraph (max 7 sentences), please respond to this question: Who is the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby and why? (20 participation points)
I think that the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy, because all of the other characters either do things that are more certainly immoral or do nothing immoral. The only truly immoral thing she does is cheat on Tom, but the other important characters do more and worse things. Tom blatantly cheats and basically tells Wilson to kill Gatsby, Wilson himself commits a murder, Jordan lies in a golf tournament (and gets away with it!), Nick clearly lies to the reader, and Gatsby and Wolfsheim are involved in illicit activities. Myrtle also cheats, which would be morally on par with Daisy except for the fact that she takes full advantage of Tom’s money. Also, Daisy had previous attachments to Gatsby, which makes her affair morally ambiguous. Another morally ambiguous thing she does is not tell Tom that it was she who drove the car, which indirectly causes Gatsby’s murder. It could be argued that Daisy’s lie is immoral, but it could also be argued that she doesn’t know the full consequences of the lie, and that the lie basically rejects Gatsby, whom she had cheated with.
The most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is George Wilson because he is equally moral and immoral. Wilson’s wife, Myrtle, recalls the story of why she married Wilson and she says that he told her that he was wealthy. He lied to Myrtle and she enacts her revenge on him by cheating on him although he tries to make up for his shortcomings by working very hard to provide for her. One of the most immoral decisions that Wilson makes is murdering Gatsby. However, he did not murder Gatsby for himself but to avenge the death of Myrtle in which Gatsby was suspected to be the murderer. Wilson may have once been a very moral man but his incessant and dedicated love towards Myrtle brought out a side of him that turned him into one of the most destructive characters in the novel.
In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald Tom Buchanan is the most morally ambiguous character because his morals are uncertain throughout most of the novel. Fitzgerald begins the novel by characterizing Tom as a wealthy, masculine, arrogant man who believes his decisions toward the way he lives his life are moral. As the novel progresses Fitzgerald reveals that Tom has supercilious opinions toward social class order, race and gender equality. Fitzgerald implies that Tom has, along with many others in the 1920’s, lost sight of his moral compass, thus making Tom’s true morality unclear. Later Tom begins to show emotion and compassion toward his recently deceased mistress. When Fitzgerald characterizes Tom in this manner, his morals become misconstrued and ambiguous. As the novel comes to an end, Tom’s true (lack of) morality is proven when he allows Wilson to heedlessly assume that Gatsby is the man who had an affair with his wife, and later inadvertently killed her; inducing Wilson to get his revenge on Gatsby, instead of the true culprit, Tom.
Nick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby,” by F Scott Fitzgerald. Nick is barely part of the plot, and acts as an observer. He scarcely gets involved with any conflicts and lets others tell him what to do. Also, acting as the narrator, Nick tells the story his way. The immoral things that Nick might have done may have been left out of the story. Nick only occasionally mentions himself, his work, his feeling, and his past life. The rest is being left untold, which makes Nick one of the most morally ambiguous main characters in the book “Great Gatsby.” --Shahrier Hussain--
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick because his morals cannot be defined as good or bad. Throughout the novel, he is a bystander, never speaking up unless the situation actually involves him, which is rather selfish and it leads to incidents like Gatsby's death. Although he doesn't actually commit immoral acts, he doesn't try to stop them either. He also claims to be an honest person who never judges people yet it is clear that that statement is a lie. Judgement is basically the only thing he does in the entire novel, and it isn't even until the end of the novel when a glimmer of morality is shown. He goes out of his way to find people to attend Gatsby's funeral and maybe it is because he finally feels responsible for the death of his friend. However, because Nick never does mention exactly why he chooses to help Gatsby, readers are left questioning his morality.
The most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby” is Daisy because of her unclear love commitment and her possible indirect involvement with Gatsby’s murder. Daisy cheated on Gatsby because she got “tired of waiting” for him during the war. It is understandable how waiting for a lover for four, grueling years can stifle a blossoming relationship, but Daisy should have been informed about the war and how it dragged on for a few miserable years. Her love life is morally ambiguous because it is unclear if she truly loves Gatsby or if she has established another relationship with Tom for good. Daisy is also morally ambiguous in the mysterious circumstances surrounding Gatsby’s death. Tom is the one that tells Wilson false statements of Gatsby driving the car that ran Myrtle over, but before that, Daisy and Tom were having an inaudible conversation at their house, showing possibility that Daisy wanted Tom to lie about her complicity in Myrtle’s death. Daisy wasn’t sure about her true love and made morally ambiguous decisions that could have been the true cause of Gatsby’s death.
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan, because although she is the primary cause of all the mishap that occurs during the climax of the story, she is clearly conflicted throughout the entire book. She gives up on her lover, marries someone more suitable, and puts up with a cheating husband, only to meet her former lover once again. Based on all of this, society practically gives her the option of doing something immoral, like having her own affair, because she is in an unhappy marriage. Doing that is hardly uncommon, as Myrtle demonstrates with Tom, and she is even supported by Catherine. Everything else Daisy does is not truly categorized into good or evil. Letting Tom direct Wilson to Gatsby, for example, is immoral on such a huge scale, but Tom and his assertive personality was there to “guide” her as well (and his dislike for Gatsby is not unknown). Daisy yearns to be a “little fool”, but under the many circumstances in the book, it is impossible to tell whether being one is immoral or not, because every character judged everyone else and Daisy got tossed into the middle of it, smothered in a cloud of moral ambiguity herself.
The most morally ambiguous character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is Daisy because of her need to put on a front by appearing charming and alluring while deep down she is troubled. Her trying to put up a front is mostly seen during the dinner with Jordan, Nick, and Tom, when Tom's supposed mistress happens to phone him in the middle of it. Daisy, knowing what is going on, acts oblivious to the mistress phone call, speaking in hushed tones, entertaining her guests, only faltering as the tension began to escalate between both her and Tom. It was not until the end of the night when Nick speaks to her that the facade fades and exposes a very broken woman. As "The Great Gatsby" continues, Daisy even has an affair with Gatsby. Now, adultery is a serious matter and Daisy practically flaunts it when she kisses Gatsby the moment Tom walks out of the room, but the fact of the matter is that Tom has an affair as well. Also, Gatsby and Daisy had past relations which seems to lessen the impact of the affair since Gatsby is not some complete stranger, but the point is that the whole affair situation with Tom and Daisy seems to be less than what it is, as if it is some normal occurrence. Both Tom and Daisy are canoodling with people who are not their spouse, going against the moral values that should possess that of a husband and wife, but the way that the situation is handled, neither Tom nor Daisy get in trouble with one another. When Daisy is busted for being with Gatsby, Tom does not storm out and abandon Daisy, but targets Gatsby instead and when Tom is in an affair with Myrtle, Daisy does not demand he never see her again, but acts as if the whole ordeal does not happen.
In The Great Gatsby, the most morally ambiguous character is Jay Gatsby because of what he does to try and get Daisy. Because Daisy is rich and Gatsby is poor, he needs to find a way to compare to Daisy’s “rich house… her rich, full life” (Fitzgerald 149). However, his desire for Daisy shows that Gatsby accepts adultery and has an immoral side to him. Gatsby’s corrupt qualities are further revealed from his bootlegging of alcohol, which he probably did to try and impress Daisy with the profit from the illegal business. However, Gatsby does all this just for Daisy’s love and does not want to purposefully do anything wrong and just wants to help Daisy. One example of this is when Gatsby claims that he will take the blame for Myrtle’s death. While Gatsby has some negative qualities, he can also show a more positive and compassionate side.
The most ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Jordan Baker, because her actions throughout the novel were both good and bad. In the beginning, she is a perky woman in a white dress, but knows people’s secrets, such as Tom Buchanan’s secret affair. She is a close friend to both Gatsby and Daisy, so she decides to set up the meet between them at Nick’s house. Although she shows the caring side of herself, we find out that she cheats and lies during a golf tournament, so her loyalty and honesty can be questioned. With this in mind, she probably knows the intense history that Gatsby and Daisy share and could have used that to tear them apart, but she didn’t, which shows her loyalty towards them. However, when Gatsby dies, Jordan is not one of the few people who attend his funeral, making her morals ambiguous, because she has good intentions, but does not always show them through her actions.
Hi everyone- I'm enjoying your responses so far. As you proceed, try to include reasons why the character is both immoral AND moral--that is what makes someone morally ambiguous, rather than simply immoral.
Instead of giving examples of why the characters are BOTH mortal and immoral, can we say why they are NEITHER moral or immoral? What I'm trying to say is, can we use the LACK of moral evidence instead of trying to prove both the mortal and immoral parts of it? Thanks. Shahrier Hussain
In “The Great Gatsby”, Daisy is the most morally ambiguous character because of her unclear love towards Gatsby and Tom. She gives up on her relationship with Gatsby because he didn’t contact her during his time in the military, yet it can also be related to her selfish and high standards for men which is why she eventually married Tom. Daisy is showing parts of her morality through her love for Gatsby and yet she rejected him at the end like how most women would have done in her situation. Later in the story, Daisy’s affair with Gatsby proves that she has some degree of immorality, but it was driven through realization of Tom’s affair; therefore it wasn’t completely her fault. More signs of Daisy’s moral ambiguous nature are shown when she did not tell Tom that she drove Gatsby’s car that killed Myrtle which shows how she might still have feelings for Tom after hearing his declaration of love for her even though she knows about his affair. Daisy’s wavering feelings for Tom displays her moral ambiguity which might have led to her ignorant acts, including the death of Gatsby.
A morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick Carroway. Nick doesn't show much emotions or thoughts about himself throughout the novel. The only statement he had said about himself is that, he cannot judge others. As we read "The Great Gatsby", we can see that he's a biased narrator. Although he says he cannot judge others, he has been doing so with every person he has met, not realizing that he is. Nick also is a bystander or an observer perhaps through every situation he is in. He doesn't get involved unless he feels like he needs to. We the reader do not know whether his intentions throughtout the novel have been good or bad. His morality has been left unsaid by Fitszgerald, leaving a neutral feeling about Nick's morality. Thus making Nick Carroway a morally ambiguous character.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the most morally ambiguous character is Nick Carraway. Nick is a very passive character; he acts as an observer throughout the whole book, never really taking part of any of the events. He spends a lot of time with Gatsby who has many immoral characteristics, such as his illegal selling of alcohol. The more time Nick spends with him the deeper he gets dragged into situations where reasoning has no place, like his place as the ‘common friend’ in Gatsby’s affair with Daisy. Nick tries to distance himself from Gatsby realizing that getting involved with him would only lead to more trouble but in the end, he always ends up back by his side. Later on, after Gatsby and Wilson have died Nick meets Tom and is disgusted by his selfish act of telling Wilson the lie which killed both him and Gatsby, he chooses to never forgive and therefore associate with the Buchanan’s ever again. Nick’s judgment of other people, although he states that he is an honest and non-judgmental man which is an obvious lie, is obscured as he allows the immoral to go on with their choices yet he is repulsed by them also, making his morality undefined.
*Sorry for the deleted comments guys and my indecisiveness D:
Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as the most morally ambiguous character for his desperation to achieve status and wealth by means of committing immoral acts. There is much known and unknown about the truth concerning Gatsby’s immorality as he participates in illegal activities with Wolfsheim, engages in affairs with Daisy (in spite of her married status), and continues to fabricate and hide his actual identity. His ambivalence in morality is shown as he takes part in these immoral acts chiefly to secure the love of Daisy (who previously agreed to wait for Gatsby) by building his status to level with Daisy’s wealth and provide her a sense of “security” (149). Gatsby’s ambivalence in morality is also illustrated through his connection with his father, despite his act of running away from home during the family’s financial crises and completely hiding his past and identity. Furthermore, Gatsby’s past self-improvement plans, which hints at his morality, contradict his present actions as he engages in immoral acts in the pursuit of his dreams. Hence, because Gatsby’s immorality is paralleled with his morality, there is uncertainty to the actual morality of his character.
In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s novel "The Great Gatsby", Nick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character because his passiveness cannot clearly be defined as either moral or immoral. Throughout the book, he falls into the background and acts as a bystander. Although he is not the source of any problems nor tries to worsen the wrongdoings of the other characters, he does not help the situation either. Being a mutual connection amongst most of the characters, Nick sees or is told of all of the crimes and immorality. Despite his defense of not wanting to be involved, he still has the opportunity to better or bring justice to the story. However, Nick does act as an upstander by defending Gatsby when everyone forgets about him once he had passed. Nick Carraway’s good intentions, such as the belief of inclining to “reserve all judgments,” yet lack of action as given the opportunity to improve a situation, sets him in the middle ground as a morally ambiguous character.
In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character would be Mr. James “Jay Gatsby” Gatz. By the way Gatsby tries to achieve his goal of being a “well rounded man,” he was being immoral. During the 1920s, the selling and consumption of alcohol was illegal, and the way that Gatsby reached his goal of having money was by “bootlegging” alcohol, which is selling it. But with the money Gatsby makes from his bootlegging, he uses it to, not only try and get Daisy and show that he can take care of her, but also to try and improve the life of his family. Despite Gatsby running away from his family, he still tries to help them out because he’s able to. So, Gatsby’s immorality of bootlegging alcohol to gain money is somewhat evened out by the way he intends to use the money to take care of Daisy, if they got together, and to support his family that he ran away from.
In The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is considered to be one of the most morally ambiguous characters because of his reserved characteristics. Although he is fully aware of the immoralities taking place around him such as the affairs between characters, Nick still remains oblivious to the situation. Nick is also an observer to all the gossip that takes place throughout the novel. If he had a sense of morality, Nick would have distanced himself from the fraudulent society. Despite his association in these immoral events, Nick does display actions of kindness such as his willingness to arrange Gatsby’s funeral services. Nick’s also begins to gain a sense of morality as he recognizes that life is not a party and that he was simply “unadaptable to Eastern life.” Nick’s morality is indefinite because he played the role of a bystander, but eventually realized that society was impeding on his ability to move forward in life.
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is Nick Carraway, the narrator. Morals are the principles of right and wrong people live by, and Nick quickly establishes that he does have guidelines, stating that, "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements" (Fitzgerald 1). However, he is susceptible to gossiping in social settings, breaking his own moral code. Thus comes the ambiguity: does Nick breaking his own code technically make him immoral? It all comes down to where one chooses to define morality. On one side, he gossips and drinks, he smokes and cheats. On the other, he at least attempts to live by his own moral code, in a time when blatant immorality-when a couple could discuss their affairs in front of guests-was prevalent.
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is the scarcely seen Owl Eyes. He is immoral for two reasons, as proven by his remark, "I've been drunk for about a week now," (FitzGerald 46) the first is that he is an alcoholic. Owl Eyes is also arguably an accomplice to theft because in the third chapter he along with another drunk were caught not only driving off in but also crashing Gatsby's new coupe. Owl Eyes is moral because even though he was drunk for about a week he tried to "sober himself up," by sitting in the library, which is the responsible thing to do. He is also moral because unlike the rest of Gatsby's former guests, when Gatsby passed Owl Eyes felt obligated to go to his funeral, which shows that he thought more of Gatsby than just a instrument to fulfill his partying needs. -Hannah Szentkuti
The most morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick Carraway because of his reluctant way upon acting during immoral situations. When Nick goes with Tom to meet Myrtle, Tom's mistress, Nick displays absolutely no opposition in meeting Myrtle even though Tom is married to Nick's cousin. Upon actually seeing Myrtle for the first time, Nick describes her face as "no facet or gleam of beauty" (Fitzgerald 25) in his thoughts, but does not say this aloud showing that Nick is reluctant to say immoral statements, even if he believes his thoughts are correct. Also, Gatsby talked Nick into helping Gatsby set up a date with Daisy, once again demonstrating his lack of opposition during a dishonorable situation. Though, when Nick turns 30, he realizes he is "too old to lie to myself and call is honor" (Fitzgerald 177) showing that Nick is capable of becoming a socially moral human being. Nick also tries finding people to attend Gatsby's funeral, proving that Nick is an ethical person as well. Therefore, though Nick seems disinclined to act upon immoral situations and yet proves to be somewhat ethical, Nick proves himself to be the most morally ambiguous character in the novel.
Jay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald due to the actions he commits in his quest for the American Dream. The American dream, for Jay Gatsby, is becoming rich, powerful, and attaining his one true love, Daisy. For one, Gatsby's pursuit of his love is morally just because of the five years he has longed for her, and all through that time there is no documentation of Gatsby having another significant other, exemplifying his love's purity. However, in order to attain Daisy's love, Gatsby needed the money and status to win her over. Gatsby gains this needed money and status through the illegal and immoral action of bootlegging prohibited alcohol. In addition to this, Gatsby commits the immoral action of lying in order to bolster how others perceive his social status. Gatsby's moral ambiguity is shown throughout the novel because of the varying degree of the morality in his actions.
The most morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Tom Buchanan because of the way he behaves in both moral and immoral situations. Immorally, Tom is racist because he disapproves of intermarriages between Blacks and Whites, and he deems that his "kind" is better and should lead the world. Also, Tom thinks of himself as superior to others and speaks in a demanding way, being predominant by using his physical appearance as an advantage to control others. Though when Myrtle is killed, Tom shows his moral side by revealing his inner emotions by crying. His actions shows that he was sad because she is gone forever and all he had were their memories with one another, proving that he is moral due to his humane grief. Yet, when he came to a conclusion that Gatsby is the person who killed Myrtle, he becomes immoral again for when he hears that Wilson shot Gatsby and took his own life, he fled without a trace along with Daisy and did not attend his funeral. Thus, Tom is morally ambiguous because both his moral and immoral side equate each other, resolving him in being an ambivalent character.
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the narrator, Mr. Nick Carroway. Nick is found stating that he is “inclined to reserve all judgments,” meaning that when he feels the urge to say something, to judge someone, he should not. Without always realizing it, Nick continues to judge nearly everyone he meets. Nick is the narrator, yet he is biased, seeing as he is the witness, yet sometimes alludes immoral situations. He occasionally shares his judgments with us, concerning immoral situations, but does not always share his thoughts with others. Whether or not Nick is a moral character, is undefined, thus entitling Nick as the most morally ambiguous character.
Daisy is one of the most morally ambiguous individuals in Mr.Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" due to the fact that she partakes in indecent actions yet in the end she was repentant and returned back to her husband, Tom. One of Daisy's immoral actions consisted of driving off after she'd hit Tom's mistress with the car and then letting Gatsby take the dire consequences. These actions do seem to take a toll on Daisy as she later goes on another trip,which was Mr.Fitzgerald's way of hinting that perhaps Daisy was affected with grief of killing her long lost lover. On the other hand there is the fact that she is meek as she rejects the temptation of going away with Gatsby. This is her way of trying to regain her morality and prove to Tom that she is loyal to him. The sudden and abrupt metamorphosis of Daisy's character demonstrates her moral ambiguity.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character of the book. When Nick is among friends and people who commit dishonest actions daily, he barely partakes in any of it. Though Nick chooses not to participate in any of these morally wrong actions, he judges them during his inner monologues, and chooses not to stop any of the mischievous events where he is a bystander. Take Daisy and Gatsby's affair as an example. Nick knows exactly what they are doing is debauched, but he does not advise either of them to stop their immorality, nor does he notify Tom about the whole ordeal. In fact, Nick fuels their affair by helping Gatsby out when he hosts their little tea party at his house. Nick is rarely seen to be performing in any unlawful deeds, but he passes judgment on each one and does not go out of his way to end them, therefore leading him to be the most morally ambiguous character.
In the novel "The Great Gatsby", by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is Jay Gatsby. Due to his actions in the story, his morals are without a doubt ambiguous. He is a liar and a generous man. Gatsby obtained his wealth illegally through bootlegging, but told Nick a different story. However, he shares his wealth by throwing lavish parties every night where everyone is welcomed. With the money Gatsby made from his business, he was able to support his father and purchased a house for him and for that Mr. Gatz is very proud. With different styles of manners, Gatsby's morals can be defined as ambigous.
Jay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, because of his affiliation in numerous forbidden activities and the fact that he allowed the Buchanan’s to pin Myrtle’s murder on him. Gatsby attained his distinguished level of success through a cause that was considered belittling at the time. He provided many with the easy attainable alcohol that so many in his time era yearned for; this act was prohibited making him seem formidable and immoral at the same time. However, he employed these actions for a noble cause; Daisy, who will eventually turn her back on Gatsby and allow him to take the blame for Myrtle’s death. Gatsby had the option of turning Daisy in, since she was the one to undertake in the crime and not Gatsby, but he did not making his actions noble and moral. Gatsby’s affiance in various moral and immoral affairs change his moral identity from time to time, thus, making him morally ambiguous.
In the story, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous because his actions are immoral but his intentions are moral. Mr. Gatsby had an ulterior motive from the start of the novel; knowing Daisy has a life with another man, Gatsby still continues to purse her. Trying to sway a married woman is immoral because it is breaking a bond between two people and ruining a family. Even after finding out that Tom and Daisy has a little daughter, Gatsby’s morality is blinded by his love for Daisy. Gatsby thoughts were moral path towards Daisy because Gatsby was convinced that Daisy was also in love with him so he gave Daisy was she wanted. To further degrade himself, Gatsby uses Nick to gain a closer relationship to Daisy and brushes him away after Daisy was at the palm of his hand. In all Gatsby’s moral intentions were blinded by his single goal to gain Daisy’s love which lead to immoral actions.
Jay Gatsby is a morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby is immoral when he does his bootlegging crimes, but is seen to be quite moral when he uses the money with good intentions. In the first place, Gatsby became rich for the sake of being with Daisy, and uses his money to impress her. Other than that, Gatsby tries to take the blame for Daisy when she hits Myrtle, also for her sake. What Fitzgerald was trying to do by making Gatsby to do crime for good purposes was to show how flawed a character Gatsby is. Gatsby is lying and committing crime all for the sake of Daisy, but he feels no remorse for his actions. Gatsby is a flawed character since he is so focused on reaching Daisy, that he is willing to do anything, even crime, to reach her.
In the novel The Great Gatsby ,by F Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is Nick Carraway. Nick witnesses all of the dreadful events between his unfortunate friends, however Nick never takes action to stop the events from surfacing. Nick apathetically watches as Tom cheats on his wife, Daisy, and causes the couple's relationship to fade. Nick loses his chance to prevent a murder from happening by telling Daisy of the immoral mistress, Myrtle. Nick's decision suggests that he doesn't want trouble to come to Tom, or he just didn't sense the need to rightfully tell Daisy of the affair. He takes no action upon the situation, thus Nick can't be considered immoral or moral on such little evidence.
In the novel "The Great Gatsby", by F. Scott Fizgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is the narrator, Nick Carraway because of his behavior and his silence. Throughout the course of the novel, Nick is a silent observer and rarely speaks up for himself. In contrast, Nick has the habit of judging the people around him even when he claims that he does not judge people at all. One of the few times Nick actively displays his morality is when Nick has his epiphany about turning thirty years old and then, again, when he goes out of his way to make sure Gatsby isn't alone on the day of his funeral. Nick shows how much he cared for Gatsby as a friend and slowly becomes an upstander by seeking out others and gets frustrated with them when no one wants to come to Gatsby's funeral. Although Nick comes out of his shell a little bit, he is still too cryptic of a character to decide if he is moral or immoral.
I think that the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy, because all of the other characters either do things that are more certainly immoral or do nothing immoral. The only truly immoral thing she does is cheat on Tom, but the other important characters do more and worse things. Tom blatantly cheats and basically tells Wilson to kill Gatsby, Wilson himself commits a murder, Jordan lies in a golf tournament (and gets away with it!), Nick clearly lies to the reader, and Gatsby and Wolfsheim are involved in illicit activities. Myrtle also cheats, which would be morally on par with Daisy except for the fact that she takes full advantage of Tom’s money. Also, Daisy had previous attachments to Gatsby, which makes her affair morally ambiguous. Another morally ambiguous thing she does is not tell Tom that it was she who drove the car, which indirectly causes Gatsby’s murder. It could be argued that Daisy’s lie is immoral, but it could also be argued that she doesn’t know the full consequences of the lie, and that the lie basically rejects Gatsby, whom she had cheated with.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is George Wilson because he is equally moral and immoral. Wilson’s wife, Myrtle, recalls the story of why she married Wilson and she says that he told her that he was wealthy. He lied to Myrtle and she enacts her revenge on him by cheating on him although he tries to make up for his shortcomings by working very hard to provide for her. One of the most immoral decisions that Wilson makes is murdering Gatsby. However, he did not murder Gatsby for himself but to avenge the death of Myrtle in which Gatsby was suspected to be the murderer. Wilson may have once been a very moral man but his incessant and dedicated love towards Myrtle brought out a side of him that turned him into one of the most destructive characters in the novel.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald Tom Buchanan is the most morally ambiguous character because his morals are uncertain throughout most of the novel. Fitzgerald begins the novel by characterizing Tom as a wealthy, masculine, arrogant man who believes his decisions toward the way he lives his life are moral. As the novel progresses Fitzgerald reveals that Tom has supercilious opinions toward social class order, race and gender equality. Fitzgerald implies that Tom has, along with many others in the 1920’s, lost sight of his moral compass, thus making Tom’s true morality unclear. Later Tom begins to show emotion and compassion toward his recently deceased mistress. When Fitzgerald characterizes Tom in this manner, his morals become misconstrued and ambiguous. As the novel comes to an end, Tom’s true (lack of) morality is proven when he allows Wilson to heedlessly assume that Gatsby is the man who had an affair with his wife, and later inadvertently killed her; inducing Wilson to get his revenge on Gatsby, instead of the true culprit, Tom.
ReplyDeleteNick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby,” by F Scott Fitzgerald. Nick is barely part of the plot, and acts as an observer. He scarcely gets involved with any conflicts and lets others tell him what to do. Also, acting as the narrator, Nick tells the story his way. The immoral things that Nick might have done may have been left out of the story. Nick only occasionally mentions himself, his work, his feeling, and his past life. The rest is being left untold, which makes Nick one of the most morally ambiguous main characters in the book “Great Gatsby.”
ReplyDelete--Shahrier Hussain--
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick because his morals cannot be defined as good or bad. Throughout the novel, he is a bystander, never speaking up unless the situation actually involves him, which is rather selfish and it leads to incidents like Gatsby's death. Although he doesn't actually commit immoral acts, he doesn't try to stop them either. He also claims to be an honest person who never judges people yet it is clear that that statement is a lie. Judgement is basically the only thing he does in the entire novel, and it isn't even until the end of the novel when a glimmer of morality is shown. He goes out of his way to find people to attend Gatsby's funeral and maybe it is because he finally feels responsible for the death of his friend. However, because Nick never does mention exactly why he chooses to help Gatsby, readers are left questioning his morality.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in “The Great Gatsby” is Daisy because of her unclear love commitment and her possible indirect involvement with Gatsby’s murder. Daisy cheated on Gatsby because she got “tired of waiting” for him during the war. It is understandable how waiting for a lover for four, grueling years can stifle a blossoming relationship, but Daisy should have been informed about the war and how it dragged on for a few miserable years. Her love life is morally ambiguous because it is unclear if she truly loves Gatsby or if she has established another relationship with Tom for good. Daisy is also morally ambiguous in the mysterious circumstances surrounding Gatsby’s death. Tom is the one that tells Wilson false statements of Gatsby driving the car that ran Myrtle over, but before that, Daisy and Tom were having an inaudible conversation at their house, showing possibility that Daisy wanted Tom to lie about her complicity in Myrtle’s death. Daisy wasn’t sure about her true love and made morally ambiguous decisions that could have been the true cause of Gatsby’s death.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is Daisy Buchanan, because although she is the primary cause of all the mishap that occurs during the climax of the story, she is clearly conflicted throughout the entire book. She gives up on her lover, marries someone more suitable, and puts up with a cheating husband, only to meet her former lover once again. Based on all of this, society practically gives her the option of doing something immoral, like having her own affair, because she is in an unhappy marriage. Doing that is hardly uncommon, as Myrtle demonstrates with Tom, and she is even supported by Catherine. Everything else Daisy does is not truly categorized into good or evil. Letting Tom direct Wilson to Gatsby, for example, is immoral on such a huge scale, but Tom and his assertive personality was there to “guide” her as well (and his dislike for Gatsby is not unknown). Daisy yearns to be a “little fool”, but under the many circumstances in the book, it is impossible to tell whether being one is immoral or not, because every character judged everyone else and Daisy got tossed into the middle of it, smothered in a cloud of moral ambiguity herself.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is Daisy because of her need to put on a front by appearing charming and alluring while deep down she is troubled. Her trying to put up a front is mostly seen during the dinner with Jordan, Nick, and Tom, when Tom's supposed mistress happens to phone him in the middle of it. Daisy, knowing what is going on, acts oblivious to the mistress phone call, speaking in hushed tones, entertaining her guests, only faltering as the tension began to escalate between both her and Tom. It was not until the end of the night when Nick speaks to her that the facade fades and exposes a very broken woman. As "The Great Gatsby" continues, Daisy even has an affair with Gatsby. Now, adultery is a serious matter and Daisy practically flaunts it when she kisses Gatsby the moment Tom walks out of the room, but the fact of the matter is that Tom has an affair as well. Also, Gatsby and Daisy had past relations which seems to lessen the impact of the affair since Gatsby is not some complete stranger, but the point is that the whole affair situation with Tom and Daisy seems to be less than what it is, as if it is some normal occurrence. Both Tom and Daisy are canoodling with people who are not their spouse, going against the moral values that should possess that of a husband and wife, but the way that the situation is handled, neither Tom nor Daisy get in trouble with one another. When Daisy is busted for being with Gatsby, Tom does not storm out and abandon Daisy, but targets Gatsby instead and when Tom is in an affair with Myrtle, Daisy does not demand he never see her again, but acts as if the whole ordeal does not happen.
ReplyDeleteIn The Great Gatsby, the most morally ambiguous character is Jay Gatsby because of what he does to try and get Daisy. Because Daisy is rich and Gatsby is poor, he needs to find a way to compare to Daisy’s “rich house… her rich, full life” (Fitzgerald 149). However, his desire for Daisy shows that Gatsby accepts adultery and has an immoral side to him. Gatsby’s corrupt qualities are further revealed from his bootlegging of alcohol, which he probably did to try and impress Daisy with the profit from the illegal business. However, Gatsby does all this just for Daisy’s love and does not want to purposefully do anything wrong and just wants to help Daisy. One example of this is when Gatsby claims that he will take the blame for Myrtle’s death. While Gatsby has some negative qualities, he can also show a more positive and compassionate side.
ReplyDeleteThe most ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Jordan Baker, because her actions throughout the novel were both good and bad. In the beginning, she is a perky woman in a white dress, but knows people’s secrets, such as Tom Buchanan’s secret affair. She is a close friend to both Gatsby and Daisy, so she decides to set up the meet between them at Nick’s house. Although she shows the caring side of herself, we find out that she cheats and lies during a golf tournament, so her loyalty and honesty can be questioned. With this in mind, she probably knows the intense history that Gatsby and Daisy share and could have used that to tear them apart, but she didn’t, which shows her loyalty towards them. However, when Gatsby dies, Jordan is not one of the few people who attend his funeral, making her morals ambiguous, because she has good intentions, but does not always show them through her actions.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone-
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying your responses so far. As you proceed, try to include reasons why the character is both immoral AND moral--that is what makes someone morally ambiguous, rather than simply immoral.
Ms. Scher
Instead of giving examples of why the characters are BOTH mortal and immoral, can we say why they are NEITHER moral or immoral? What I'm trying to say is, can we use the LACK of moral evidence instead of trying to prove both the mortal and immoral parts of it? Thanks.
DeleteShahrier Hussain
In “The Great Gatsby”, Daisy is the most morally ambiguous character because of her unclear love towards Gatsby and Tom. She gives up on her relationship with Gatsby because he didn’t contact her during his time in the military, yet it can also be related to her selfish and high standards for men which is why she eventually married Tom. Daisy is showing parts of her morality through her love for Gatsby and yet she rejected him at the end like how most women would have done in her situation. Later in the story, Daisy’s affair with Gatsby proves that she has some degree of immorality, but it was driven through realization of Tom’s affair; therefore it wasn’t completely her fault. More signs of Daisy’s moral ambiguous nature are shown when she did not tell Tom that she drove Gatsby’s car that killed Myrtle which shows how she might still have feelings for Tom after hearing his declaration of love for her even though she knows about his affair. Daisy’s wavering feelings for Tom displays her moral ambiguity which might have led to her ignorant acts, including the death of Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteA morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick Carroway. Nick doesn't show much emotions or thoughts about himself throughout the novel. The only statement he had said about himself is that, he cannot judge others. As we read "The Great Gatsby", we can see that he's a biased narrator. Although he says he cannot judge others, he has been doing so with every person he has met, not realizing that he is. Nick also is a bystander or an observer perhaps through every situation he is in. He doesn't get involved unless he feels like he needs to. We the reader do not know whether his intentions throughtout the novel have been good or bad. His morality has been left unsaid by Fitszgerald, leaving a neutral feeling about Nick's morality. Thus making Nick Carroway a morally ambiguous character.
ReplyDeleteIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the most morally ambiguous character is Nick Carraway. Nick is a very passive character; he acts as an observer throughout the whole book, never really taking part of any of the events. He spends a lot of time with Gatsby who has many immoral characteristics, such as his illegal selling of alcohol. The more time Nick spends with him the deeper he gets dragged into situations where reasoning has no place, like his place as the ‘common friend’ in Gatsby’s affair with Daisy. Nick tries to distance himself from Gatsby realizing that getting involved with him would only lead to more trouble but in the end, he always ends up back by his side. Later on, after Gatsby and Wilson have died Nick meets Tom and is disgusted by his selfish act of telling Wilson the lie which killed both him and Gatsby, he chooses to never forgive and therefore associate with the Buchanan’s ever again. Nick’s judgment of other people, although he states that he is an honest and non-judgmental man which is an obvious lie, is obscured as he allows the immoral to go on with their choices yet he is repulsed by them also, making his morality undefined.
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Delete*Sorry for the deleted comments guys and my indecisiveness D:
ReplyDeleteThroughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is portrayed as the most morally ambiguous character for his desperation to achieve status and wealth by means of committing immoral acts. There is much known and unknown about the truth concerning Gatsby’s immorality as he participates in illegal activities with Wolfsheim, engages in affairs with Daisy (in spite of her married status), and continues to fabricate and hide his actual identity. His ambivalence in morality is shown as he takes part in these immoral acts chiefly to secure the love of Daisy (who previously agreed to wait for Gatsby) by building his status to level with Daisy’s wealth and provide her a sense of “security” (149). Gatsby’s ambivalence in morality is also illustrated through his connection with his father, despite his act of running away from home during the family’s financial crises and completely hiding his past and identity. Furthermore, Gatsby’s past self-improvement plans, which hints at his morality, contradict his present actions as he engages in immoral acts in the pursuit of his dreams. Hence, because Gatsby’s immorality is paralleled with his morality, there is uncertainty to the actual morality of his character.
In Scott F. Fitzgerald’s novel "The Great Gatsby", Nick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character because his passiveness cannot clearly be defined as either moral or immoral. Throughout the book, he falls into the background and acts as a bystander. Although he is not the source of any problems nor tries to worsen the wrongdoings of the other characters, he does not help the situation either. Being a mutual connection amongst most of the characters, Nick sees or is told of all of the crimes and immorality. Despite his defense of not wanting to be involved, he still has the opportunity to better or bring justice to the story. However, Nick does act as an upstander by defending Gatsby when everyone forgets about him once he had passed. Nick Carraway’s good intentions, such as the belief of inclining to “reserve all judgments,” yet lack of action as given the opportunity to improve a situation, sets him in the middle ground as a morally ambiguous character.
ReplyDeleteIn The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character would be Mr. James “Jay Gatsby” Gatz. By the way Gatsby tries to achieve his goal of being a “well rounded man,” he was being immoral. During the 1920s, the selling and consumption of alcohol was illegal, and the way that Gatsby reached his goal of having money was by “bootlegging” alcohol, which is selling it. But with the money Gatsby makes from his bootlegging, he uses it to, not only try and get Daisy and show that he can take care of her, but also to try and improve the life of his family. Despite Gatsby running away from his family, he still tries to help them out because he’s able to. So, Gatsby’s immorality of bootlegging alcohol to gain money is somewhat evened out by the way he intends to use the money to take care of Daisy, if they got together, and to support his family that he ran away from.
ReplyDeleteIn The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is considered to be one of the most morally ambiguous characters because of his reserved characteristics. Although he is fully aware of the immoralities taking place around him such as the affairs between characters, Nick still remains oblivious to the situation. Nick is also an observer to all the gossip that takes place throughout the novel. If he had a sense of morality, Nick would have distanced himself from the fraudulent society. Despite his association in these immoral events, Nick does display actions of kindness such as his willingness to arrange Gatsby’s funeral services. Nick’s also begins to gain a sense of morality as he recognizes that life is not a party and that he was simply “unadaptable to Eastern life.” Nick’s morality is indefinite because he played the role of a bystander, but eventually realized that society was impeding on his ability to move forward in life.
ReplyDelete-Anjanette J.
The most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is Nick Carraway, the narrator. Morals are the principles of right and wrong people live by, and Nick quickly establishes that he does have guidelines, stating that, "I'm inclined to reserve all judgements" (Fitzgerald 1). However, he is susceptible to gossiping in social settings, breaking his own moral code. Thus comes the ambiguity: does Nick breaking his own code technically make him immoral? It all comes down to where one chooses to define morality. On one side, he gossips and drinks, he smokes and cheats. On the other, he at least attempts to live by his own moral code, in a time when blatant immorality-when a couple could discuss their affairs in front of guests-was prevalent.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby is the scarcely seen Owl Eyes. He is immoral for two reasons, as proven by his remark, "I've been drunk for about a week now," (FitzGerald 46) the first is that he is an alcoholic. Owl Eyes is also arguably an accomplice to theft because in the third chapter he along with another drunk were caught not only driving off in but also crashing Gatsby's new coupe. Owl Eyes is moral because even though he was drunk for about a week he tried to "sober himself up," by sitting in the library, which is the responsible thing to do. He is also moral because unlike the rest of Gatsby's former guests, when Gatsby passed Owl Eyes felt obligated to go to his funeral, which shows that he thought more of Gatsby than just a instrument to fulfill his partying needs. -Hannah Szentkuti
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Nick Carraway because of his reluctant way upon acting during immoral situations. When Nick goes with Tom to meet Myrtle, Tom's mistress, Nick displays absolutely no opposition in meeting Myrtle even though Tom is married to Nick's cousin. Upon actually seeing Myrtle for the first time, Nick describes her face as "no facet or gleam of beauty" (Fitzgerald 25) in his thoughts, but does not say this aloud showing that Nick is reluctant to say immoral statements, even if he believes his thoughts are correct. Also, Gatsby talked Nick into helping Gatsby set up a date with Daisy, once again demonstrating his lack of opposition during a dishonorable situation. Though, when Nick turns 30, he realizes he is "too old to lie to myself and call is honor" (Fitzgerald 177) showing that Nick is capable of becoming a socially moral human being. Nick also tries finding people to attend Gatsby's funeral, proving that Nick is an ethical person as well. Therefore, though Nick seems disinclined to act upon immoral situations and yet proves to be somewhat ethical, Nick proves himself to be the most morally ambiguous character in the novel.
ReplyDeleteJay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald due to the actions he commits in his quest for the American Dream. The American dream, for Jay Gatsby, is becoming rich, powerful, and attaining his one true love, Daisy. For one, Gatsby's pursuit of his love is morally just because of the five years he has longed for her, and all through that time there is no documentation of Gatsby having another significant other, exemplifying his love's purity. However, in order to attain Daisy's love, Gatsby needed the money and status to win her over. Gatsby gains this needed money and status through the illegal and immoral action of bootlegging prohibited alcohol. In addition to this, Gatsby commits the immoral action of lying in order to bolster how others perceive his social status. Gatsby's moral ambiguity is shown throughout the novel because of the varying degree of the morality in his actions.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald is Tom Buchanan because of the way he behaves in both moral and immoral situations. Immorally, Tom is racist because he disapproves of intermarriages between Blacks and Whites, and he deems that his "kind" is better and should lead the world. Also, Tom thinks of himself as superior to others and speaks in a demanding way, being predominant by using his physical appearance as an advantage to control others. Though when Myrtle is killed, Tom shows his moral side by revealing his inner emotions by crying. His actions shows that he was sad because she is gone forever and all he had were their memories with one another, proving that he is moral due to his humane grief. Yet, when he came to a conclusion that Gatsby is the person who killed Myrtle, he becomes immoral again for when he hears that Wilson shot Gatsby and took his own life, he fled without a trace along with Daisy and did not attend his funeral. Thus, Tom is morally ambiguous because both his moral and immoral side equate each other, resolving him in being an ambivalent character.
ReplyDeleteThe most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the narrator, Mr. Nick Carroway. Nick is found stating that he is “inclined to reserve all judgments,” meaning that when he feels the urge to say something, to judge someone, he should not. Without always realizing it, Nick continues to judge nearly everyone he meets. Nick is the narrator, yet he is biased, seeing as he is the witness, yet sometimes alludes immoral situations. He occasionally shares his judgments with us, concerning immoral situations, but does not always share his thoughts with others. Whether or not Nick is a moral character, is undefined, thus entitling Nick as the most morally ambiguous character.
ReplyDeleteDaisy is one of the most morally ambiguous individuals in Mr.Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" due to the fact that she partakes in indecent actions yet in the end she was repentant and returned back to her husband, Tom. One of Daisy's immoral actions consisted of driving off after she'd hit Tom's mistress with the car and then letting Gatsby take the dire consequences. These actions do seem to take a toll on Daisy as she later goes on another trip,which was Mr.Fitzgerald's way of hinting that perhaps Daisy was affected with grief of killing her long lost lover. On the other hand there is the fact that she is meek as she rejects the temptation of going away with Gatsby. This is her way of trying to regain her morality and prove to Tom that she is loyal to him. The sudden and abrupt metamorphosis of Daisy's character demonstrates her moral ambiguity.
ReplyDeleteIn F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is the most morally ambiguous character of the book. When Nick is among friends and people who commit dishonest actions daily, he barely partakes in any of it. Though Nick chooses not to participate in any of these morally wrong actions, he judges them during his inner monologues, and chooses not to stop any of the mischievous events where he is a bystander. Take Daisy and Gatsby's affair as an example. Nick knows exactly what they are doing is debauched, but he does not advise either of them to stop their immorality, nor does he notify Tom about the whole ordeal. In fact, Nick fuels their affair by helping Gatsby out when he hosts their little tea party at his house. Nick is rarely seen to be performing in any unlawful deeds, but he passes judgment on each one and does not go out of his way to end them, therefore leading him to be the most morally ambiguous character.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "The Great Gatsby", by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is Jay Gatsby. Due to his actions in the story, his morals are without a doubt ambiguous. He is a liar and a generous man. Gatsby obtained his wealth illegally through bootlegging, but told Nick a different story. However, he shares his wealth by throwing lavish parties every night where everyone is welcomed. With the money Gatsby made from his business, he was able to support his father and purchased a house for him and for that Mr. Gatz is very proud. With different styles of manners, Gatsby's morals can be defined as ambigous.
ReplyDeleteJay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, because of his affiliation in numerous forbidden activities and the fact that he allowed the Buchanan’s to pin Myrtle’s murder on him. Gatsby attained his distinguished level of success through a cause that was considered belittling at the time. He provided many with the easy attainable alcohol that so many in his time era yearned for; this act was prohibited making him seem formidable and immoral at the same time. However, he employed these actions for a noble cause; Daisy, who will eventually turn her back on Gatsby and allow him to take the blame for Myrtle’s death. Gatsby had the option of turning Daisy in, since she was the one to undertake in the crime and not Gatsby, but he did not making his actions noble and moral. Gatsby’s affiance in various moral and immoral affairs change his moral identity from time to time, thus, making him morally ambiguous.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is the most morally ambiguous because his actions are immoral but his intentions are moral. Mr. Gatsby had an ulterior motive from the start of the novel; knowing Daisy has a life with another man, Gatsby still continues to purse her. Trying to sway a married woman is immoral because it is breaking a bond between two people and ruining a family. Even after finding out that Tom and Daisy has a little daughter, Gatsby’s morality is blinded by his love for Daisy. Gatsby thoughts were moral path towards Daisy because Gatsby was convinced that Daisy was also in love with him so he gave Daisy was she wanted. To further degrade himself, Gatsby uses Nick to gain a closer relationship to Daisy and brushes him away after Daisy was at the palm of his hand. In all Gatsby’s moral intentions were blinded by his single goal to gain Daisy’s love which lead to immoral actions.
ReplyDelete-OMA
Jay Gatsby is a morally ambiguous character in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby is immoral when he does his bootlegging crimes, but is seen to be quite moral when he uses the money with good intentions. In the first place, Gatsby became rich for the sake of being with Daisy, and uses his money to impress her. Other than that, Gatsby tries to take the blame for Daisy when she hits Myrtle, also for her sake. What Fitzgerald was trying to do by making Gatsby to do crime for good purposes was to show how flawed a character Gatsby is. Gatsby is lying and committing crime all for the sake of Daisy, but he feels no remorse for his actions. Gatsby is a flawed character since he is so focused on reaching Daisy, that he is willing to do anything, even crime, to reach her.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The Great Gatsby ,by F Scott Fitzgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is Nick Carraway. Nick witnesses all of the dreadful events between his unfortunate friends, however Nick never takes action to stop the events from surfacing. Nick apathetically watches as Tom cheats on his wife, Daisy, and causes the couple's relationship to fade. Nick loses his chance to prevent a murder from happening by telling Daisy of the immoral mistress, Myrtle. Nick's decision suggests that he doesn't want trouble to come to Tom, or he just didn't sense the need to rightfully tell Daisy of the affair. He takes no action upon the situation, thus Nick can't be considered immoral or moral on such little evidence.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel "The Great Gatsby", by F. Scott Fizgerald, the most morally ambiguous character is the narrator, Nick Carraway because of his behavior and his silence. Throughout the course of the novel, Nick is a silent observer and rarely speaks up for himself. In contrast, Nick has the habit of judging the people around him even when he claims that he does not judge people at all. One of the few times Nick actively displays his morality is when Nick has his epiphany about turning thirty years old and then, again, when he goes out of his way to make sure Gatsby isn't alone on the day of his funeral. Nick shows how much he cared for Gatsby as a friend and slowly becomes an upstander by seeking out others and gets frustrated with them when no one wants to come to Gatsby's funeral. Although Nick comes out of his shell a little bit, he is still too cryptic of a character to decide if he is moral or immoral.
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