In The Great Gatsby, many of the characters have questionable ethics. The story, written by Scott Fitzgerald, reflects a society where moral decadence thrives. Although the characters do not directly express their ethical positions on issues, their lack of ethical principles can be inferred from their actions. Additionally, they act in unethical ways when faced with ethical dilemmas. Most of the characters in The Great Gatsby are unethical when their actions are analyzed from various ethical perspectives, and they use the egoism theory to solve ethical dilemmas.
The characters are unethical, as evidenced by their infidelity and disrespectful treatment of the marriage institution. Although married to each other, both Tom and Daisy Buchanan had affairs with other people. Tom had an affair with Myrtle Wilson, while Daisy had an affair with Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). Aside from his relationship with Myrtle, Tom had multiple affairs when married to Daisy, some happening as soon after their honeymoon. According to the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, one of the ethical lenses is the virtue lens (“A framework for ethical decision making”, n.d.). This lens posits that ethical actions are those in line with virtues such as honesty, tolerance, fairness, compassion, self-control, and fidelity (“A framework for ethical decision-making”, n.d.). By engaging in extra-marital affairs, Tom and Daisy did not practice fidelity to each other. Altogether, the four characters lacked values such as self-control and honesty. Thus, from the virtue lens, characters from The Great Gatsby were unethical.
In addition to their dishonesty and unfaithfulness in marriage, the characters’ unethical news can be inferred from their treatment of others and the law. Although the law is not an indicator of ethicality, the characters’ actions were often both illegal and unethical. For instance, Gatsby acquired his wealth by bootlegging, the practice of distributing alcohol during the Prohibition Era (Fitzgerald, 1925). This activity was unlawful and also did not contribute to the good of the community. Gatsby also hosted extravagant parties where alcohol was consumed. In addition to being wasteful and frivolous, the parties were also dangerous. At the end of the third chapter, a drunken man coming from one of the parties caused a road accident when he hit a jut in the wall (Fitzgerald, 1925). The accident would not have happened if Gatsby did not illegally distribute liquor to the people and hosted parties where copious amounts of alcohol were consumed. From the lens of the common good, Gatsby’s actions were unethical since he often engaged in activities that harmed society.
Aside from Gatsby, other characters engaged in unlawful activities, which were often violent. For instance, Tom punched Myrtle on the nose when she kept mentioning his wife, Daisy, during a party in New York (Fitzgerald, 1925). Another instance of lawbreaking was when Daisy hit Myrtle with Gatsby’s car. While this was an accident, it was unlawful to drive away from the scene. Daisy showed no concern for Myrtle and also broke the law by killing someone and failing to report it. The event led George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, to kill Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). The actions of Tom, Daisy, and George were unlawful as well as unethical. The rights lens suggests that ethical actions are those that involve treating human beings with respect and dignity, including the right not to be injured (“A framework for ethical decision making”, n.d.). Therefore, by hitting or killing other characters, the three characters mentioned were unethical from a rights ethical lens.
The author of the book, Scott Fitzgerald, seems to believe that wealth and affluence cannot coexist with morality. A common theme in The Great Gatsby was how the rich lacked ethical principles. Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are all rich people lacking in morals. At the end of the book, the only character who remained virtually blameless eventually left East Egg. Arguably, Nick did not share the ethics of the rich people on the East Coast. When faced with dilemmas, Nick made ethical decisions from various perspectives. For instance, despite Gatsby’s popularity stemming from his parties, Nick was the only person who made an effort to organize a funeral for Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). However, after the funeral, Nick decided to leave East egg. He remarked that the place was filled with moral decadence that had corrupted Gatsby. He then distanced himself from the rich people of the East Coast and moved to back to the Midwest. Fitzgerald portrays the only ethical character in the book as disapproving of the rich and their ethics. Through Nick’s character, it is inferable that Fitzgerald views wealth as a hindrance to morality.
The characters in The Great Gatsby are faced with ethical dilemmas that they have to solve in ways best known to them. Daisy solved ethical dilemmas through egoism, which means that she always did what benefitted her the most (Sanders, 2015). Egoism advocates for self-interest and selfishness when solving ethical dilemmas (Sanders, 2015). For instance, when faced with the dilemma of whether to marry Tom when still in love with Gatsby, Daisy chooses to marry Tom because he is rich. She would benefit financially from this decision rather than waiting for Gatsby to get rich (Fitzgerald, 1925). Similarly, Daisy chooses Tom over Gatsby at the Plaza Hotel because Tom provides greater financial security since he comes from old money. When faced with the ethical dilemma of whether to stop or not after hitting Myrtle, Daisy chooses not to stop, which is an act of self-preservation. Daisy always solved ethical dilemmas by resorting to egoism theory.
Aside from Daisy, Gatsby also solved ethical dilemmas through egoism. For instance, when faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to pursue Daisy, who is a married woman, Gatsby decides to pursue her because he wants Daisy for himself. Another ethical dilemma that Gatsby faced was whether to take the blame for Myrtle’s death. Again, Gatsby did the unethical thing and admitted to guilt even though he was innocent of protecting Daisy, hoping to win her from Tom. At the surface, Gatsby’s actions appear to be driven by his love of Daisy, yet underneath it all; he acts out of self-interest.
The Great Gatsby is a reflection of the modern state of ethics. Despite being set almost a century ago, the ethical failures of the characters depicted by Fitzgerald still happen today. In modern society, people continue to act unethically from the virtue ethics lens. They lack values such as honesty, compassion, self-control, and fairness. People also disrespect the humanity of others by participating in acts of violence, which are against the rights ethical lens (“A framework for ethical decision making”, n.d.). Additionally, individuals disregard the welfare of others and adopt an “each man for himself and God for us all” mentality. In general, not a lot has fundamentally changed from the time Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby.
In conclusion, most of the characters in The Great Gatsby act unethically. When analyzed from various ethical lenses, the actions of Gatsby, Tom, Daisy, and George are unethical. The characters also solve ethical dilemmas from the egoism theory, which promotes selfishness. Although it is easy to pass judgments on these characters, the modern state of ethics shows that human beings act just like these characters. The book appears to be Fitzgerald’s indictment of the relationship between wealth and lack of ethics.
References
A framework for ethical decision making. (n.d.). Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
Fitzgerald, F.S. (1925). The great Gatsby. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Sanders, Jack. (2015). Professional ethics lecture #2: Ethical theory, part I [Video]. YouTube.