The Great Gatsby Paper

[This paper explores the common relationship between status and behavior, which Fitzgerald demonstrates throughout his acclaimed novel "The Great Gatsby". In order to represent this relationship, I wrote about the behavioral differences between Tom and Nick since they represent different social classes. In other words, these two men serve as foils throughout my paper as well as Fitzgerald's novel. Also, I included some anecdotes and examples relating to this theme].

The Poor Behavior of the Rich $         

 I am standing fourth in the checkout line at Super Fresh, impatiently waiting to purchase a carton of milk. Out of boredom my eyes travel to forbidden territory, the enticing display abundantly stocked with my two guilty pleasures—chocolate and tabloids. As I contemplate Milkyway versus Snickers, I abruptly lose my appetite when my focus narrows in on the newest issue of US Weekly (also known as the most widely read garbage in the universe). “Hilton Driving with No License” is printed in bold letters adjacent to a picture of the blond hair heiress sulking next to her silver Range Rover. I do not know if it was Paris’s puppy face or the other juicy subtitles surrounding her, but my inner-tabloid fanaticism has been unleashed. Now immersed in a world filled with scandal and status, I quickly turn the pages to soak up all of the hot gossip and pictures colorfully imprinted on the glossy pages. As I am reading about “Michael Richard’s Tirade,” the cashier attempts to grab my attention for the third time, “Miss?” and then a fourth, “Miss, are you ready to purchase that item?” My cheeks turn the color of the deep red apples waiting to be purchased by the now very frustrated person behind me, and before the cashier even has a chance to return my change, I flee through the automatic doors. Silently driving home, I hope that the Super Fresh will not submit my name to Tabloid Anonymous. 

The following day, I began reading People Magazine (it just happened to be lying around in my house) and “Boom!”—I had an epiphany. From TV to tabloids, I noticed that the media’s portrayal of the “rich and famous” coincided with the novel that my class was currently reading, Scott F. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. In the novel, many characters in the upper class of society reside in the West Egg of Long Island, which is quite similar to the home of many celebrities in Hollywood. Throughout my teen years tabloids primarily served as a source of entertainment for me, a mere piece of fluff depicting chaos and glamour. Yet as I continued to read the Great Gatsby, the media’s coverage of these “big stars” began to take on a whole new meaning to me. I now began to notice the brutish actions of these celebrities. Immediately after Kate Moss was photographed sniffing lines of cocaine at a UK club, the media’s coverage only heightened the top model’s status in the fashion industry. Due to this episode, Moss’s already highly successful career was sky rocketing; receiving more endorsements then ever. The behavior of these uninhibited individuals both in fiction and reality was disconcerting to me. In many ways, my harsh judgments of West Egg and Hollywood led me to also see Fitzgerald’s perspective on the behavioral differences between America’s social classes in The Great Gatsby. I began to take a closer look at the demeanor of the wealthy antagonists all readers love to hate, Tom Buchanan versus the actions of neutral narrator, Nick Caraway.

 As King of the West Egg and an exclusive member of the upper echelon of society, Tom did very little to earn his status. Tom had the means to attain whatever he wanted, be it a seductress or Midwest Queen. Essentially, his lack of morality is due to his status and easy accessibility to the pieces of his opulent lifestyle. On the contrary, Nick represents the middle class citizen in the 1920’s. He experiences some luxuries by associating with members of the upper-class, but Nick is grounded and genuine. Nick successfully preserves his integrity in that he does not become corrupted by the superficial sources of fulfillment which Tom continuously seeks. Like Paris Hilton, Tom is an uninhibited individual whose thoughtless actions represent his skewed principles in which he believes that his status absolves him of all responsibilities. The vast difference between Nick and Tom’s values exemplifies the direct correlation of one’s social class and the dramatic influence it has on their morals such as integrity, respect, and responsibility.

Integrity is a value taught to children early on in their youth. For example, a first grade teacher asks Bobby, “Who kicked the soccer ball into the woods?” Bobby, a child that does not know what integrity entails, immediately tells the truth: “I did Mrs. Brown.”  Bobby is not intentionally admitting the truth because he believes it is ethical. A sense of gratification does not overwhelm him for possessing integrity since it is his first instinct to tell the truth. In first grade, it is likely that there are no penalties and little is at stake in telling Mrs. Brown, “I did it.” Bobby does not feel compelled to lie to the teacher—no goals are scored for telling the truth in first grade.  

Often integrity within some individuals begins to diminish with age and success. Essentially, society’s pressure and emphasis on the importance of achieving excellence begins to weigh on one’s shoulders and therefore causes him or her to embellish the truth. One reason that the Community Council exists at Penn Charter is because students are willing to sacrifice their academic integrity in order to receive a perfect grade on an assignment. Domestic diva, Martha Stewart, was sent to jail for lying to investigators in hoping to hide the truth about inside information. Both of these examples show how success and status are a corrupt duo that can demolish integrity.  Ambition and greed can be attributed to the creation of the quintessential “sell out.” Adulation, money, and rewards, commonly seen attained by members of the highest social class, entice one to comprise their integrity.  Affluence resulting from deceptive behavior begins to fill the internal hole that was once filled with integrity, the mere satisfaction of knowing that you told the truth.
  

I would not be surprised if Tom Buchanan could not define integrity since he has never possessed this value in the first place. Despite his position as both a husband and a father, Tom’s multiple affairs demonstrated that he had truly broken every honest bone in his body. What is even more preposterous is that Tom does not feel any regret or remorse for his deceitful conduct. Tom has only experienced a sheltered lifestyle, one that does not introduce him to the realities of the world. These realities, from feeling hungry on a daily basis to working at the mere age of ten, most often invoke empathy and sympathy from those who experience or are cognizant of them. It can be assumed that throughout his life, Tom has rarely ever been taught right from wrong. Considering that Tom is oblivious to the consequences of his actions, his guilty conscious is non-existent. Throughout The Great Gatsby, we meet Tom’s seductive mistress, Myrtle, a woman that satisfies his needs, which cannot be fulfilled by Daisy, the epitome of a cookie-cutter wife.
  
From mysterious phone calls to disappearing acts, Daisy is well aware of Tom’s cheating, but this does not make Tom stop seeing Myrtle.  Tom and Daisy’s tacit acknowledgement of his affair exemplifies the enormity of Tom’s dishonesty. Daisy and the rest of the West Egg accepted that Tom was not the monogamist type the day before Daisy has a baby girl. A father to be, this new role not does prevent Tom from is a rendezvous with a woman who is “one of the chambermaids in the Santa Barbara Hotel” (77).
One might wonder how Myrtle and Daisy both can fulfill the wishes of a man who lies in every direction he goes in, a man who feels no remorse for his careless actions. Neither daisy nor Myrtle hold standards for Tom to be forthright since he is the one in control. As a leading man in West Egg, Tom’s bank account and reputation outweigh his sinful actions, especially in Daisy’s eyes. Tom compromises his integrity and instead seeks other sources of fulfillment, namely sex from women other than his wife. And Daisy does not hold him accountable for his lying because Tom’s position in society enables her to experience other rewards and pleasures as well. Typically, new sources of happiness increase with success and Tom’s continuous access to these sources (women) without receiving any grief ultimately clouds his integrity.
 
Through his connection to his cousin Daisy and his fellow Yale Alumni Tom, Nick explores the lifestyle of high society. However, Nick never compromises his own integrity to remain in this inner circle. A true Midwest boy at heart, Nick’s adventure in both West Egg and East Egg is filled with spending time with numerous wealthy individuals, all of which of who lack integrity to some extent. Surprisingly, Nick is attracted to Jordan even though she is “incurably dishonest” and views this characteristic as mysteriously appealing (58). Nick really likes (or, better yet, loves) Jordan, and after reflection on this opposite attraction the narrator opines, “Every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known” (59). Although Nick prides himself for his honest ways, Jordan’s dishonest tendencies do not prevent Nick from taking a liking to her. Yet, as the novel progresses her lack of ‘cardinal virtues’ become more prominent and less appealing as he begins to an acquire somewhat of a hatred towards the attitudes of members in the West Egg. Jordan and Nick ultimately do not continue to date due to the same differences that once brought them together. The theory ‘Opposites attract’ plays a role in the infancy of a relationship, but two people that live according to different values can often contribute to the demise of a relationship as well. When reading Nick’s self-evaluation, I felt that it really captures Fitzgerald’s view on how wealth overshadows integrity.  Nick, a generally honest person who is accepted by East and West egg locals, does not adopt their dishonest ways throughout the duration of the summer. Many times Nick turns down job offerings to work in the same area as Gatsby. Knowing that Gatsby is rumored to have acquired his wealth as bootlegger, an unethical occupation, Nick decides not to capitalize on this opportunity. Personally, I admired Nick for remaining true to his origins and in many ways being a non-conformist amidst all of the greed and ambition. It could be implied that Fitzgerald is using Nick’s character to represent that as a level-headed middle class man, Nick’s integrity remains intact.
  
As someone of the Jewish faith, I have attended many bat mitzvhas and bar mitzvahs throughout my life. There are many traditions that occur throughout this special event, ranging from dancing the Hoorah to reading the Torah. However, a very non-traditional ritual during the ceremony (also known as the after-party) is for the band or DJ to play Aretha Franklin’s hit “Respect.” Abruptly, the once empty dance floor is now crowded, filled with adults and pre teen’s boogying to this fun and famous song. Other then the catchy beat and Aretha’s pipes, the power in this song lies in the line, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.” In the context of the Song Aretha defines respect as getting some money from her honey. However, I feel respect is for people to treat others with a high reverence regardless of color, gender, and faith. 
  
Unfortunately, ‘Tom Buchanans’ will always exist. From the 1920’s to the 21st century, these men receive respect because of the vast wealth; rarely do they earn respect because of their actions. Due to his authority which essentially derives from his privileged background, Tom is rarely disrespected. Tom looks at the world through his “. . . shining arrogant eyes [which] had establishes dominance over his face” (7). It is practical to assume that Tom Buchanan has never socially interacted with someone outside of his race or well below his social class. A true advocate of the provincial belief that the white race is superior, Tom Buchanan reveals his racist views to Nick over dinner in suggesting that he read ‘The Rise of the Colored Empires’:
 

Civilization’s going to pieces,” broke out Tom violently. “I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read ‘The Rise of the Colored Empires’ by this man God-dard? … “Well, it’s a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea if we don’t look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged.  . . . This fellow has worked out the whole things. It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things. …This idea that were Nordics. I am, and you are, and you are and—we’ve produced all the things that go to make civilization—oh, science and art, and all that. (13)

Having been born into a wealthy lifestyle, Tom continues to live in a predominantly white world as an adult. When listening to Tom’s highly idiotic opinion about civilization, it as though you are listening to a king make remarks about the outside world when in fact the only places he has ventured are the rooms within his uniform palace. In reality, Tom is still acting like the stereotypical football quarterback who picks on everyone else in school. His racist contempt and narrow judgments towards people that are not “Nordic” demonstrates his lack of respect.
 

Contrary to Tom, Nick learns earlier on his youth to be accepting of others by his father. A piece of advice that continually resonates, Nick recalls his father’s words: “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one … just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you you’ve had” (1). Never at the top of the hierarchy, but at the same time never the under dog, Nick has a clear perception of the world.  He shows respect and reserves judgment to people since he does not put himself above them. Nick Caraway is not flawless nor is he an angel, but the way he carries himself shows that his father’s advice influences his behavior while in Long Island.

Essentially, it can be inferred that Fitzgerald creates two characters, Nick and Tom, whose behavior clashes in order to demonstrate the relation between social class and morals. Tom is completely dishonest and disrespectful in that he believes his social class enables to not live a principled life. Nick’s values, from his honesty to respect, exemplifies that his sensible view of how the world work’s is due in part to his social class. Nick’s decorum never changes as seen in his last encounter with Tom when he shakes his hand, even when he secretly loathes him for all the damage he has caused. Nick internally reveals:

I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. 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 made… (179).

I concur in that Tom and Daisy are very irresponsible. It as though that they believe their wealth places them above everyone else, and as a result this notion enables them to rationalize their unethical actions. In this passage I believe Fitzgerald is trying to send a message: status does not entitle one to not play by rules in society. From what I have witnessed, Fitzgerald has successfully installed this message in that I continually disapproved of Tom. Tom’s status is the driving force behind his poor decisions to cheat and be disrespectful. Above all, Fitzgerald uses Tom’s character to embody the stereotypical behavior of a member in the upper echelon of society, a person who does not take responsibility for his or her actions.
  

Though stereotypes essentially derive from the truth, I do believe there are many exceptions to Fitzgerald’s belief that morals and social class are directly related. I know that I have met many admirable people, whether they have five cents in their pocket or five hundred dollars. At Penn Charter, students come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, which do not define their morals or character. The richest man in the world, Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, is an active philanthropist whose foundation (The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) is dedicated to bring “innovations in health and learning to the global community.” Evidently, Bill Gate’s income has not destroyed his principles. I am sure if Fitzgerald could meet him today then he be more then impressed.