In Class Essay
To what extent is The Great Gatsby a moral novel. Discuss.

The society our nation lives in today has developed morals and principles through the lessons experienced from the past. The Roaring Twenties was a time of change and a chance to pave a path for the person you wanted to become. Morals and principles served as guidelines rather than rules and were merely preached that practiced. Thus, the severity of the immoral actions taking place created opportunities for lessons to be learned. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrated various moral lessons through the downfall and corruption of various characters based on their immoral actions. The narrator, Nick Carraway is a young man who throughout the …show more content…

Finally, Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel proves to be the only character to follow his own path and refrain from being influenced by others. Throughout the novel, Nick is exposed to the immoral actions of those around him and instead of conforming to their behaviour, he learns from their mistakes. "After Gatsby's death the east was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes' power of correction."(167) Nick realized that the East and its people were deceiving and that by experiencing it for himself he realized its true nature. He benefited from his knowledge because it helped him refrain from following in the foot steps of those such as Tom and Daisy. Therefore The Great Gatsby is a moral novel because it portrays the message that one should be themselves and not strive to be like someone else.
As well as illustrating that one should not follow others, The Great Gatsby also show that the indulgence of money is corrupting and cannot buy happiness. For example, the extravagant lifestyle of Gatsby was not created for him but rather to impress someone else. Gatsby felt that by setting up the ideal lifestyle for Daisy, it would help her to realize her love for him was still existent. However, thinking that money could bring back his old love was