Gatsby Is a Fairy- Tale Hero for the Middle Class

                        Precis of “Gatsby Is a Fairy- Tale Hero for the Middle Class” 

 

Robert Emmet Long offers another perspective of why certain characters act the way they do and the significance of it. He starts off  by pointing out that although Nick goes back to the West thinking of it “as sanctuary”, it is there where all of the problems started. It was there “that the Buchanan money was made, that Gatsby was closed out of Daisy’s life originally, that Daisy chose Tom”. Thus, Nick is only going back because he “has no place to go” and “can envision no alternatives to the nightmare he has lived through”. Long also explains why Gatsby is so obsessed with having Daisy again. He proclaims that “Gatsby becomes a kind of fairy-tale prince in disguise” and “regards Daisy Fay as a princess”. Moreover, what fuels his infatuation with Daisy even more is the fact that while now he has everything she has ever wanted, he has been “deprived of his princehood while retaining his princehood in an essence”. Gatsby never has been able to enjoy life as a “prince”, because he becomes one for someone else, and works hard to stay one.

While Long provides very interesting perspectives about the book and valid explanations, he misses a few things. He states that Nick is going back to the place that everything happens, and argues that he is only going back because he has nowhere else to go, he misses a vital point: Nick could easily stay in New York. No one is forcing him to leave,; he does have a place to go. Nick merely wants to erase the past, i.e. his life before Gatsby. It does not matter what happened before in the West, because he goes back in hopes of being able to pretend he knows nothing and nothing happened. Also, Long’s opinion of Gatsby’s effort to live the life of a fairy-tale may be a good one , but it is really not an idea that is far- fetched. Daisy, Tom, and Nick are all trying to have happy lives, along with most people in America striving for the American Dream. What is more vital to understanding Gatsby’s obsession is not that he is trying to live like a “prince” and have a story book ending, but he is trying to live in the past.

 

A few words about Robert Emett Long

Robert Emmet Long is a writer and published a book entitled The Achieving of The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1920- 1925.

 

                                                            Works Cited

Long, Robert Emmet. “Gatsby Is a Fairy- Tale Hero for the Middle Class.” The Achieving of The Great Gatsby: F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1920- 1925. N.p.: Associated University Presses, 1979. 68- 71.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribner, 1992.

 

                                                            Rachel Lewis 

The True Heir of the American Dream by Marius Bewley

“The True Heir of the American Dream”

Marius Bewley suggests that contrary to popular belief, The Great Gatsby “offers some of the severest and closest criticism of the American dream that our literature affords” and that the theme of Gatsby is the withering of this dream. He also calls to mind the fine line between “the American vision of life at which the reality ends and the illusion begins.” This idea of reality versus illusion is very interesting in reference to Gatsby’s character. In Bewley’s opinion, Gatsby is the embodiment of reality and his only obstacle is his inability to “[see] through the sham of his world or his acquaintances very clearly.” It is not the fault of the average American to succeed, but the possibilities of life in the Jazz age that caused the “material and spiritual [to] become inextricably confused.” He also proposes that Gatsby is a “mythic character” and that “no other word describes him.” This idea of a “mythic character” comes form Jacques Barzun’s essay “Myths for Materialists” where he describes the mythic character as a “[figure], whether fact or fiction” who embodies the ideas of “destinies, aspirations” and “attitudes typical of man.” Gatsby fits this description in his “heroic personification of the American romantic hero, the true heir of the American dream.”
Bewley makes some very interesting observations about what Fitzgerald intended to imply with The Great Gatsby. Clearly, Gatsby fits the description of a “mythic character” because of his representation of man’s effort to achieve the American dream. Bewley also suggests that Gatsby’s hope to be with Daisy survives even as he faces societal obstacles and is eventually killed because of this hope. However, while he is physically killed, his spirit continues to survive within everyone’s personal dreams. He, like all people, “beat on...against the current, [and] borne back ceaselessly into the past” (180). While Bewley does make many claims that we agree with, we find many to be flawed. While The Great Gatsby offers criticisms of the American life, Gatsby does not symbolize the reality of the American dream in a corrupt period, but instead symbolizes the pressure of society to prevent people from being too wishful. Gatsby is not reality, but is the illusion; he changed his name from James Gatz and dedicates his fake life to win over the illusion of his dream. It took society to keep his anchored in reality, but eventually his dream overwhelms him. Bewley says that Gatsby has “no secrets and no hidden corners,” yet his entire life is just one big secretive game. If Gatsby is critical of the corruption of society, it is just a critical of the impossibility of people’s dreams.

Marius Bewley is a literary critic and the author of The eccentric Design: Form in the Classic American Novel.

Works Cited
Bewley, Marius. “The True Heir of the American Dream.” Readings on The Great Gatsby. Rpt. of “Fitzgerald’s Criticism of America.” Sewanee Review Spring 1954.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribner, 2004.

Ary Farrell
Eric Levin

"The Grotesque End Product of the American Dream” by Richard Lehan

The American writer has tried to compromise between a “materialism which he could not accept with an idealism that he could not realize.” This can clearly be seen in Henry James’s The American, in which Christopher Newman decides to abandon materialistic America in search of this “cultural ideal,” but instead finds that these ideals do not exist. The horror of America’s materialism is backed by Henry Adams, who describes the new materialism as a “principle of uncontained, even destructive energy, an apocalyptic threat.” Lehan describes that Tom Buchanan represents the kind of energy which is necessary in “materialistic America.” He also believes that Gatsby is a “phony broker” and has become a grotesque distortion of the successful man. Fitzgerald describes that America was a dream with many possibilities, a world “waiting to be formed.” He describes that the “world that no longer exists, a world that has been lost in the back rush of time.” This world is a world full of betrayed promises. Nick’s return to the West was “a meaningless gesture” and an “antiheroic” act. Spengler, the author of The Decline of the West discussed two cultural periods: the Faustian and the Apollonian. The Apollonian was “one of order and harmony with man” and the Faustian is “disruption with man generally dissatisfied and longing for the unattainable.” The similarity between his ideas and The Great Gatsby is that Gatsby was “longing for the unattainable.” “For if Gatsby cannot seal the hole in time, cannot buy back the past, he also cannot commit himself to the future.” Fitzgerald adopted the rags-to-riches story and makes the character struggle from his bleak beginning to make a great deal of money and to buy a mansion, but the money comes from bootlegging and gambling. Gatsby represents the end of the American Dream, and Daisy leaves him because he lacks the proper background. When dreams fail them, Fitzgerald’s characters look nostalgically into the past watching over nothing. Gatsby’s dream lies behind him and the last sentence in the book captures the idea: “so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Lehan argues that many American writers focus on the theme of pragmatism vs. tradition as well as materialism vs. idealism. Fitzgerald clearly incorporates his themes through Gatsby's dreams, the ideal, consisting of his wish to be with Daisy, after whom he perseveres. Gatsby's dream is filled with the spirit of the past, much like in the times of the pioneers in the hope of discovery, and the rags-to-riches ideal. Gatsby keeps dwelling on the past with what happened between him and Daisy, unable to return to the past or move forward with his future. He is much like a typical Horatio Alger character, starting poor and ending up rich, except inverted. The house he buys is on West Egg, new money, instead of East Egg, old money, and his money is through mainly illegal means with Wolfshiem, a notorious criminal. The frontier parallel is shown by Nick's reference to the arrival of the Dutch sailors, as well as Dan Cody, Gatsby's model whose name itself is made up of the first name of the first pioneer and the last name of the last pioneer, suggesting that Gatsby's dream is already dead. Nick realizes this and tries to escape the materialistic East by returning to the West. Lehan also mentions Oswald Spengler's thought that "man [is] generally dissatisfied and longing for the unattainable," which is one of John Steinbeck's revelations as well. Despite being wealthy, Tom and Daisy Buchanon are restless, constantly moving and searching for things, and never completely satisfied. Tom continuously cheats on Daisy, and Daisy and Gatsby love each other.

Richard Lehan is a professor of English at the University of California. He wrote Realism and Naturalism: The Novel in an Age of Transition, F.Scott Fitzgerald and the Craft of Fiction, The City in Literature: An Intellectual and Cultural History, and other books.

Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F.Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster New York, 1925.
Lehan, Richard. "The Grotesque End Product of the American Dream." Focus on F.Scott Fizgerald's The Great Gatsby: The Nowhere Hero (1970): 104-110.

Group Members: Dora Lin, Jonathan Lee, Valerie Chou Criticism #6

Gatsby Is a Sinister Gangster by Thomas H. Pauly

Thomas H. Pauly views Jay Gatsby as a new type of stylish gangster. There is a criminal undertone consistent throughout the novel. At one time, gangsters were portrayed as evil, devilish, and “low-browed” (Pauly 41). However, Herbert Asbury asserts that there are no gangsters in this sense anymore, and that real, modern gangsters are tasteful and deceptive. Gatsby is considered a gangster simply due to the fact that he is cloaked in mystery and little is known about his past in the beginning. Gatsby’s wealth flourishes under his illicit activities shown through his expensive shirts. Similar to Gatsby, George Remus, an owner of a chain of pharmacies, gained an annual forty million dollar income due to his illegitimate actions of alcohol marketing violating prohibition laws. George Remus’s actions clearly reflect in the novel through Gatsby where he attains his fortune in a similar manner. Pauly persists and builds off of Asbury’s idea of real-life criminal representation in the novel through Gatsby. He mentions yet another person who influenced Fitzgerald’s in his characterization of Gatsby, Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein was a typical “example of gangster wealth” (Pauly 43). He emerged to fame mostly due to his “involvement with stolen bonds” (Pauly 45). Liberty bonds much like those that Gatsby promoted until the time of his death. Pauly also recalls another allusion to Gatsby’s deceptive-illegal nature when Nick and Wolfsheim first meet and claim the conversation to reflect Rothstein’s career’s turning point. Pauly also claims that Gatsby is the perfect vision of respectability and the perfect “mask [for Wolfsheim’s] blatant criminality” (Pauly 46). Wolfsheim’s praise towards Gatsby reveals his desperation for the “propriety” he needs as his front. Nick believes that Wolfsheim “owes his success more to a brazen disregard for the law than …subtle scheming” (Pauly 46). Rothstein was the “paradoxical blend of gentleman ‘dandy’ and criminal success at the heart of Gatsby’s characterization. Pauly claims that Gatsby “practices the same deception which made Rothstein so successful” (Pauly 47). He claims that Gatsby is not given credit for his cunning abilities. Gatsby presumably “handles all public relations for the alcohol and stolen bonds… [supplied]” (Pauly 48). To gain the amount of wealth that he has, Gatsby would have to be a more “cunning criminal than Nick allows” (Pauly 48). Wolfsheim seems to represents the older, stereotypical gangster, while Gatsby hints towards the more recent connotation of one. Pauly persists further in his argument by declaring that Gatsby may have been planning on using Nick, who is a bonds salesman, for his illegitimate transactions. Gatsby may be trying to “[cultivate] Nick as a possible outlet for his bonds” which is proven on the night of Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy (Pauly 50). Gatsby tries to persuade Nick to work for him to sell bonds and even claims that it is “a rather confidential sort of thing” (Pauly 50). Finally, Pauly restates that Gatsby appears to be “more manipulative than Nick [can comprehend]” (Pauly 51).

Even though he is not necessarily evil and “low-browed”, he is still a secretive and mysterious criminal. In addition to Thomas Pauly’s points, there are even more examples from the book supporting his claim. After Gatsby dies, a shady man named Slagle calls and starts to talk about Young Parke, presumably an associate of Gatsby. Slagle says that “they picked him up when he handed the bonds over the counter” (Fitzgerald, 174). This further proves Gatsby’s involvement in criminal activities. Even when Gatsby says that he is telling the truth, he does not tell the whole truth. This shows that he is insincere and sinister. He tells Nick that he went to Oxford, but that true in its second meaning. From what he says, it sounds like he attended Oxford as a student, but Gatsby reveals that he actually only visited Oxford after the war. Gatsby is pompous and spends his money carelessly and lavishly, making himself seem stylish and respectable. However, he is just the “respectable front” of Wolfsheim’s illegal business. Gatsby can be easily interpreted as a sinister and deceptive gangster who conceals his criminal activities with his usually gentlemanly attitude and image.

Thomas H. Pauly is the author of An American Odyssey: Elia Kazan and American Culture.

Work Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Pauly, Thomas H. "Gatsby as Gangster." Studies in American Fiction. Vol. 21.
N.p.: Northeastern University, 1993. 41-51.

Group Members: Jeffrey Chien, Ed Gao, and Leo Leung. Criticism #Unknown

Gatsby is a Pathological Narcissist

Giles Mitchell suggests that Jay Gatsby displays symptoms of “pathological narcissism,” a personality disorder characterized by excessive self-love, actions of grandiosity, and a lack of empathy for others. Rather than arguing whether Gatsby should or should not be admired, Mitchell examines the “personage” of Gatsby solely from a medical standpoint, comparing his actions to those of an afflicted individual. Gatsby’s “grandiose lies, poor sense of reality, sense of entitlement, and exploitative treatment of others” support Mitchell’s diagnosis. According to Mitchell, Gatsby is a perfectionist. The “green, grail” light that Gatsby worships so obsessively symbolizes Daisy in her “idealized” form. However, Mitchell claims that Gatsby is “really worshipping himself in the mirror of Daisy’s symbolism.” Gatsby’s “self-worship” marks his egotism. Furthermore, Mitchell states that Gatsby is exploitative and is not empathetic to the feelings of others. Gatsby does not feel “any moral conflict about urging Daisy to marry him-to marry into a life supported by criminal activities.” He does not even consider the trepidation and uncertainty Daisy may feel about leaving behind her safe, comfortable life for a man who has made his living through violent, unlawful means. Instead, Gatsby feels “entitled to have [whatever he] want[s] just because [he] want[s] it.” Another symptom of pathological narcissism that Gatsby displays is his omnipotence, the belief that he has the powers of god. Mitchell explains that “narcissists typically believe that they can control time.” Gatsby’s yearn for his past relationship with Daisy and his neurotic, almost frightening obsession for recreating the past supports Mitchell’s statement that “narcissists illogically attempt to ‘repeat the same experience.’” Finally, Gatsby’s reincarnation, changing of name and, his elaborate parties all reflect his grandiosity.


Mitchell offers valuable insight into the mind of Jay Gatsby, insight that otherwise might have been overlooked by Fitzgerald’s general positive view of Gatsby. Gatsby’s traits are strikingly similar to the characteristics of a medical patient who exhibits the behavior of a pathological narcissist. These traits cause the reader to question whether Fitzgerald purposely gave the “knight” of his story this flaw to reflect the mental corruption and decay prevalent in even the most admirable of men. According to the Narcissistic Personality Disorder at a Glance website, people who are narcissistic usually display some parallel traits as those of Gatsby. Narcissists usually feel self-important by exaggerating “contacts and personality traits…[and] demand to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements” When Gatsby and Nick are speeding down the road and get pulled over by the officer, Gatsby seems to be above the law. The officer does not rage but instead breaks down in face of opposition, although he should have the authority over Gatsby. Gatsby later confides in Nick, and makes a big deal how, the officer owes him a favor and how he has friends in high places. Again, at Gatsby’s parties he invites over the top guests, such as the opera singer’s understudy and enlists a full orchestra to play. Narcissists are also "interpersonally exploitative" by using others to achieve their goals. When Gatsby comes back from the war he expects Daisy to still have they feelings they once shared for each other only to find that she has moved and is married happily. He then uses and manipulates Nick into helping him rekindle his lost love. His whole reasons for befriending Nick is for his own selfish gains, not because he has any investing interest in Nick. Narcissists are very competitive because they “are obsessed by delusions of fantastic grandeur and superiority…they are driven, relentless, tireless, and ruthless.” This character trait gives reason why Gatsby, after finding Daisy left Louisville, searches relentlessly for her and moves to West Egg, just to be able to see her light from across the water. Gatsby continues to watch from a distance, slowly contemplating the method of least resistance to win her back, not taking into account his own dignity or sanity. All Gatsby can see is his goal, and he is determined until the end to get it, by whatever means. Daisy is Gatsby religion, she is his driving force for life, his holy grail and, when Gatsby no longer believes in the grail, he has no reason to live, or even fear death. Although most of Gatsby’s characteristics parallel those of a narcissist, he is not completely narcissistic. Whereas narcissists do not feel empathy towards others, Gatsby shows he is empathetic at different points. Even though he is using Nick, he tells Nick the reasons for being his friend. He also is very nervous before seeing Daisy and wants everything to be in perfect order for her, even going as far as to make sure Nick’s house is properly groomed. While Gatsby is not the perfect man some make him out to be, Mitchell successfully showed some Gatsby’s flaws. Gatsby’s traits are strikingly similar to the traits of a pathological narcissist. They cause the reader to question whether or not Fitzgerald purposely gave the “knight” of his story this flaw to reflect the mental corruption and decay prevalent in even the most admirable of men.

Giles Mitchell wrote for the American Journal of Psychoanalysis in 1991. He is also a professor at the University of North Texas.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
Gales, Mitchell. "The Great Narcissist: A Study of Fitzgerald's Gatsby." American Journal of Psychoanalysis 51.4 (1991): 587-96.
Vaknin, Sam. "Narcissistic Personality Disorder at a Glance." NPD at a Glance. 11 Dec. 2008 .

By Eshe Hill, Daniel Duffin, and Meenu Singh

Gatsby is a Classic Romantic

Robert Ornstein held the belief that Gatsby takes the roll of a classic romantic. Gatsby is labeled by the "pessimistic studies of America's spiritual and ideological failures." Fitzgerald was drawn to the romantic attitude of the world around him, and he applies this to Gatsby. Ornstein believes that the tone used in Gatsby is a "skillful fusion of Fitzgerald's satiric and romantic contrarieties." Gatsby ends up destroying himself when trying to reach for Daisey, represented by the green light, much like Fitzgerald thought that the romantic attitude was destroying society. Fitzgerald also holds a negative attitude towards the rich, which he demonstrates by giving Tom Buchanan's character a "negative cruelty." Fitzgerald sees his romantic attitudes as double irony, saying that those who didn't have money couldn't reach the dream and that those who do have money don't want the dream. Another principle mentioned in Gatsby, according to Ornstein, is the reverse American dream. This is where the characters in the story go against the common view of the American dream and head east instead of west. Gatsby ended up stumbling upon gold when following his dream, even though he went off course occasionally. Even odder is how Gatsby chases the dream by associating himself with Meyer Wolfsheim. Ornstein maintains that because of this dream of Gatsby's, which is highly unattainable, he fits the role of the classic romantic.

In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald writes Gatsby’s character as being a, “classic romantic,” (Ornstein 33). Gatsby is described as pursuing his, “unending quest of the romantic dream” (Ornstein 33) through euphonious language. Fitzgerald describes Daisy as, “lovely” and her voice is one, “the ear follows up and down” to convey his romantic character. Gatsby write of his characters, such as, Nick Carraway learning that, “romance belongs not to the present but to a past transfigured by imagined memory and to the illusionary promise of an unreasonable future” (Ornstein 34-35). Fitzgerald embraces his romantic side in Gatsby through his character, Carraway.

I agree with Ornstein’s view of Gatsby as a “classic romantic” in his pursuits, as well as his assertion about Fitzgerald’s perspective of America and the American Dream. Fitzgerald, throughout the book, pokes fun at America and harshly criticizes it. As Ornstein writes, Fitzgerald transforms the “irresponsibility of the flapper” to the “criminal amorality of Daisy” and the “smug conceit of the rich boy” into “arrogant cruelty”. Fitzgerald finds fault with the shallow pursuits and the arrogance with which the upper crust lives their lives. He writes about Gatsby’s extravagant parties, and all the unnecessary and wasteful ways in which he celebrates his own wealth, such as buying a dull gold toilet or boxes of oranges for orange juice. Also, I agree with Ornstein’s assertion that a central theme to The Great Gatsby is the pursuit of money and its dangers. Ornstein writes that, for the richest characters in the book, such as the Buchanans, money is not so much a goal, as a right. They are so “accustomed to owning rather than wanting”. On the other hand, for the less wealthy characters i.e. Gatsby and Myrtle, money is the sole goal in life that drives their lives. This is all true because as Nick Carraway comes to the realization in the end, the Buchanans “smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money” (Fitzgerald 179). The Buchanans are careless but are sheltered by their money. In addition, Gatsby’s one goal in life is the pursuit of money, because it is a means for which he may gain status and the love of his idol, Daisy. In Gatsby’s pursuit of Daisy, a damsel in distress, in the arms of a cruel and beastly husband, Gatsby is a classic romantic, as Ornstein’s point concludes. Gatsby sees himself as a hero on a white steed, come to save the day. Although his pursuit may be somewhat unconventional (his means are the pursuit of money), in his ideology and chivalrous nature, Gatsby epitomizes the classic romantic.


Robert Ornstein is an award-winning psychologist. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in 1964 from the City University of New York and his PhD in psychology from Stanford University in 1968. His doctoral thesis was published as a book and since then, he has written more than 20 books on the nature of the human mind and brain. He currently serves as the President and Founder of the Institue for the Study of Human Knowledge.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Scribiner, 1953.
Ornstein, Robert. "Gatsby is a Classic Romantic." College English 18.3 (1956):
33-40.


Stephen Ahn, Hannah Suttora, Brian Kubasik

Dream, Design, and Interpretation in The Great Gatsby by David L. Minter

David L. Minter believes that Jay Gatsby stands for an “incorruptible dream” that lightens an otherwise bleak story. Even though Gatsby lives a fallacious life full of false pretenses and corruptible characters, he still represents the steady glow of hope that fuels the possibility of the American dream. Not only that, Minter also believes that Gatsby’s story comes alive solely because of Nick’s interpretation and understanding of the whole event. Nick is the only one who notices Gatsby’s unwavering dedication to his dream; ultimately, he is the only person who understands and cares about Gatsby. If not for Nick, Gatsby’s life would have been seen as marred and tainted from his “mere ‘notoriety’ and the ‘wild rumors’” and his true story would have been lost forever. Gatsby fails in the end nonetheless, yet his bravery in the pursuit of his dreams echoes and evokes the wish to understand him more. In Nick’s eyes and through his reconstruction of the mystery, Gatsby “is worth more than the whole of the ‘rotten’ world that destroys him.” Gatsby “can be made great” because of his willingness to “move beyond dreaming,” but surprisingly it is Nick who “completes him and makes him great.”

Since The Great Gatsby is told through Nick’s point of view, it is inevitably biased by his personal experiences and morals. However, Minter not only defends Nick’s interpretations, but also asserts that Nick’s interpretations of Gatsby contribute to his greatness and deem dreams possible. It is only through Nick’s narrative that Gatsby is able to become the perfect host at his parties, while remaining in “complete isolation.” He remains mostly isolated throughout his life, with only a few real relationships. Gatsby is carefully set aside from the boisterous crowds at his parties and its “violent confusion,” the pale men in the “valley of ashes,” and most importantly, the rotten East Eggers who live in arrogance. Minter believes that the only reason Gatsby stands out from everyone else is because of his “incorruptible dream.” Only after Gatsby’s death are his dreams truly appreciated for their innocence and purity. Gatsby bravely approaches the future and set out towards the “green light” of all his hopes and desires. Even though he fails in the end, his courage and faith encourages the rest of the world to pursue their dreams as well. Gatsby is made great through Nick’s narrative, but he is remembered as being great because he dared to live for his dreams.

David L. Minter is a well established author in the literary field. He graduated from Mercersburg Academy and Lafayette College. Minter is the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor Emeritus of English at Rice University. His several published works include: The Interpreted Design As a Structural Principle in American Prose, Twentieth Century Interpretations of 'Light in August': A Collection of Critical Essays, and other interpretations of literary works.

Works Cited
Minter, David L. "Dream, Design, and Interpretation in The Great Gatsby ."Unpublished essay.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Group Members: Ann Lai, James Teng. Criticism #1

Ethics in Gatsby: An Examination of American Values by Tony McAdams

Précis of “Ethics in Gatsby: An Examination of American Values”

Tony McAdams proposes that Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby is representative of Fitzgerald’s opinions of American values. The characters allow Fitzgerald to comment on morals and the disappointments caused by the American dream. McAdams points out that all of the characters are liars in some underlying way and all have “cavalier attitudes toward the truth”. McAdams highlights that even though Gatsby is a “boorish fraud”, we admire him because he is true to himself (McAdams 114). McAdams finds Fitzgerald’s subtle comments on values of Americans intertwined in his writing; most Americans have low values of honesty and are more likely to respect those who are true to themselves. McAdams believes Fitzgerald is troubled by “the unfairness of a culture marked by great divisions of wealth”, and his bias comes through in Gatsby (McAdams 115). Fitzgerald creates “transparent” characters in his novel, like Daisy and Tom, to express his doubts about the wealthy world and its divisions.
McAdams provides several interpretations of The Great Gatsby. His idea that Fitzgerald uses the characters to comment on the morals and disappointments caused by the American dream is supported by Tom and Myrtle’s poor morals, and Gatsby’s devastating realization that he is unable to achieve his American dream, to woo Daisy. While Gatsby is a fraud, he maintains the support of the reader because he follows his values and does not let the word of others sway him. Even though Daisy has a husband and a daughter, he does not let that deter him from his dream of being with Daisy. McAdams’ assertion that Fitzgerald incorporates his opinions on the values of Americans in his novel is entirely accurate. He dislikes liars and individuals who barely value honesty. This is seen through his negative portrayal of Daisy and Tom; he describes them in a pitiless way in order to turn the readers against them. The unfairness of a culture divided by wealth is seen through the actions of Daisy and Tom. Daisy lets Gatsby volunteer to take the blame for killing Myrtle even though it was not his fault. Similarly, Tom tells Wilson that it was Gatsby’s car, in order to deter Wilson and protect himself and his family. It is accurate that Daisy and Tom are rather transparent characters; they allow innocent people to take the blame for their own mistakes. Fitzgerald makes the divide between the wealthy and less wealthy apparent through their differing values and lifestyles. For example, Gatsby is very wealthy and casually throws extravagant parties. Meanwhile Myrtle, a less wealthy individual is desperate to jump the divide and be in the wealthier class, seen through her tackily decorated apartment.


A few words about Tony McAdams
He has written books on business, law, and ethics and has articles published in The Journal of Business Ethics, the Harvard Business Review, and The American Business Law Journal.

Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
McAdams, Tony. “Ethics in Gatsby: An Examination of American Values.” The Great Gatsby as a Business Inquiry. 1993. 111-119


Katie Minnock, Sara Bonner, Molly Kiniry

Delusions of American Idealism by Joyce A. Rowe

Joyce A. Rowe suggests that Gatsby embodies the illusions of grandeur which mask the dubious history of America. Rowe believes the innocence of Gatsby, the "self-deluded con-man" (Rowe 91), is reflective of America's historical innocence to wealth. Just as Gatsby is indifferent to the "ugly and criminal aspects of his own nature"(Rowe 91), America has an illusion about its own wealth. Rowe also argues that the American myth deludes Americans into believing that they can achieve their dreams. When these dreams are not achieved, they can resort to unethical dealings. Although Gatsby feels hopeful for achievement, the other characters feel betrayed by the American Dream. Rowe presents the raw wealth of the west as an illusion of happiness while the east is a "wilderness of opportunity" (Rowe 93). According to the author, the west symbolizes "the decline and fall of the American hope" (Rowe 94).

Rowe accurately points out the flaws of the American ideals. America reluctantly accepts the flaws by constructing an illusion about the acquisition of wealth. However, "the fall of the American hope" (Rowe 94) is not absolute. Rowe presents the East as a wilderness of opportunity that, according to Fitzgerald, is not doomed to failure. The East is flourish and capable of taming the restlessness with great opportunities. Joyce A. Rowe is a knowledgeable critic who is the author of Equivocal Endings in Classic American Novels. Rowe agrees with many critics who find that the heroic spiritual quest of America has changed to a materialistic quest for wealth and power but asserts in the criticism that "many critics have overlooked Gatsby's delusions in thinking of himself as heroic" (Rowe 87).

Works Cited

Rowe, Joyce A. "Delusions of American Idealism." Readings on The Great Gatsby. By Katie De Koster. 1991. 87-95.

Group Members: Jonathan H, Hau Hau, Maria. Criticism #7