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Catherine Melnick

Mr. Smith

Honors English

15 December 2022

Gatsby Literary Analysis

Crime: an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the

state and is punishable by law. That is the definition of crime. Crime can be seen as wrong, but

also coincidentally seen as right. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, crime is discovered

in multiple ways, showing how crime could be morally right, but eventually causes everlasting

impacts. Crime can be morally right or wrong based on the situation, or by the intention.

Fitzgerald demonstrates the paradoxical nature of crime by showing examples, exploiting their

outcomes, and showing the judgemental views from others.

The presence of alcohol is one of the paradoxical elements of Gatsby due to the fact that

he goes against prohibition, followed by others in the book, who then judge him for it. This

book takes place in the 1920s, when prohibition took place. There was contradictory with alcohol

being served by bootleggers, yet the people who were consuming the alcohol had no such guilt in

partaking. Cram discusses the controversy of alcohol in the 1920s, and how certain people, such

as Gatsby, were able to get it. Cram notices, “People wanted alcohol at a time where alcohol

wasn’t to be legally served. ‘public benefactors’ such as Jay Gatsby were willing and able to

capitalize from this market” (Cram). Gatsby shows himself as advantageous, as he knows people

want alcohol, and that would be his path to getting attention, therefore, eventually getting his
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ultimate desire, Daisy. Gatsby is judged for his illegal actions, despite others doing the same

thing. However, Gatsby wasn’t the only one illegally serving alcohol. At Tom Buchanen’s party,

he was also serving alcohol to his guests and Nick describes the environment where it felt wrong,

but also right on that occasion; “Meanwhile Tom brought out a bottle of whiskey from a locked

bureau door. I have been drunk just twice in my life and the second time was that afternoon”

(Fitzgerald 33). Tom, Daisy, and Jordan were contradicting themselves by judging Gatsby after

his wrongdoings, but that doesn't give them the ability to repeat them. Both sources confirm that

Gatsby was wrong by going against prohibition, but others are also guilty because they judged

Gatsby’s actions, while also copying them themselves. The paradoxical aspect comes into play

when trying to determine what’s morally right or wrong in regards to if they should have the

ability to contradict someone who is committing the same crime as them.

Gatsby is a man who is known to be great, despite all of his prior activity. The Great

Gatsby, isn’t so great after all, and tends to get away with things very easily due to his wealth. In

an article titled, Analysis - The Great Gatsby by Michael A. Hollister, the writer explains, “The

butler tells Gatsby he is wanted again, this time to answer a call from Philadelphia, where the

nation was founded, now another metropolis of crime. On his way out Nick comes upon a car

wrecked in the ditch with a missing wheel, one of the episodes most discussed by critics”

(Hollister). During the 1920s, the founding places of America were not immune to the crimes

that were happening. It placed a negative outlook on America. Gatsby is found guilty of many

crimes, therefore placing a negative impression upon him. Many didn’t have any sort of

sympathy for him, for when he was gone, nobody cared. Even Daisy, who was his first love,

cared less for him when he died. Nick says, “I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but
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he was already too far away, and I could only remember, without resentment, that Daisy hadn’t

sent a message or a flower” (Fitzgerald 133). Gatsby developed negative impressions of himself

over his lifetime. Even after his death, he left a bad legacy according to the people that knew

him. Gatsby was a criminal, no question, but others such as Daisy or Tom were also found to be

as criminal, or even more criminal than him. Gatsby left a deep impact and lots of interrogations

surrounding him.

The Great Gatsby contains many contradictions of judgmental people in a morally

decaying nation. We can watch someone do a wrongdoing and judge them, but then later, we

complete the same action. That doesn’t make it right. Machcinski makes a very important

statement, “Yet, it is also a novel without a hero, filled only with villains of varying degrees, for

each character is guilty of more than one moral or legal crime. It is, in fact, that by the end, his

careful incorporation of various crimes and varying degrees of culpability, that Fitzgerald depicts

as an American society in decay” (Machcinski). All of the characters in the book are innocent

and guilty, symbolizing the moral decay of the nation. America values money. Usually wealthy

people are able to get away with things they shouldn’t. Crimes committed by the rich lead to the

everlasting decay of America. Similarly shown in the book, it shows those who judged Gatsby

while committing the same crimes, didn’t wish to attend his funeral and continued to spread

rumors about him. Tom says, “‘That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes

just like he did in Daisy’s but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog

and never even stopped his car.’ There was nothing I could say, except the one unutterable fact

that it wasn’t true” (Fitzgerald 187). In a follow up quote, Nick suggests, “‘You were his closest

friend, so I know you’ll want to come to his funeral this afternoon.’ ‘I’d like to come.’ ‘Well,
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come then.’ The hair in his nostrils quivered slightly and as he shook his head his eyes filled with

tears. ‘I can’t do it—I can’t get mixed up in it,’ he said” (Fitzgerald 179-180). The evidence

explained how Gatsby’s bad reputation carried on after his death. It also explored how characters

in the book who committed similar crimes, still continued to judge Gatsby for his own. These

two sources express how people thought of Gatsby after his demise. Everyone was once a hero

and a villain in this story. The paradoxical nature of crime is described as very controversial, and

questions whether anyone was actually a hero, or were all of their wrongdoings a part of a

democracy in decay.

The Great Gatsby features a tremendous paradoxical nature of crime. It describes how

Gatsby was a criminal, while also providing evidence that every one of the characters was a

criminal at one time or another. This demonstrates the controversy of who has the right to judge

in certain situations. You can’t judge someone else for their actions, if you choose to repeat them.

In Fitzgerald’s view, the actions such as these caused democracy to decay in that time period, and

leading up towards today, where this behavior continues.

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Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Hollister, Michael A. “American Literature 1620-2020.” American Literature AmerLit Home

Page by Michael A. Hollister, http://www.amerlit.com/.

“OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations.” OhioLINK, 8 June 2016,

https://www.ohiolink.edu/content/ohiolink_electronic_theses_and_dissertations.

“Organized Crime in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.” Cram,

https://www.cram.com/essay/Organized-Crime-In-F-Scott-Fitzgeralds-The/F3SU7LP2M

XYQ.

Skill Not Yet Foundational Proficient Advanced

Identifies a topic Appears in first Thesis establishes a

paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a

topic and a claim

Thesis
Comments:
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Includes two or fewer Includes evidence Includes specific,

sources from at least 3 meaningful, and

critical/scholarly well-chosen evidence

Some evidence articles that clearly that relates to the

relates to the thesis relate to the thesis thesis

Evidence Includes evidence

from the text to

support

understanding of

scholarly sources

Comments:

Summarizes sources Explains how Explains

evidence supports well-selected points

topic sentence of of comparison among

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individual paragraphs sources and evidence

and their connection

Analysis Explains how to the thesis

evidence supports the

thesis of the essay

Comments:

Little connection Explains how the Clearly explains

between texts; texts/sources are relationships among

difficult for the reader related, though points texts (how they

to see how the texts could be more confirm or challenge

are related selective or better each other, build on

Synthesis developed each other, provide

differing

Includes multiple perspectives, etc.)

sources in each body

paragraph

Comments:
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Some elements Heading is correctly No errors in MLA

missing or some errors formatted format

in MLA format

Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted

MLA Format Works Cited format:

hanging indent,

double-spaced,

alphabetized, starts on

a new page

Works Cited: each

source entry is in

correct MLA format

Comments:
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Shows evidence of Most quotes are All quotes are

basic proofreading correctly integrated correctly integrated

Conventions Follows essay Shows evidence of

organization careful proofreading

Shows evidence of

proofreading

Comments:
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Catherine,

A couple of pointers to help improve your writing. Make sure that you have a solid

understanding of the overall subject (that would involve understanding paradox, crime in 1920s,

etc.). It is really difficult to write if you haven’t found a solid understanding first (feel free to use

informal sources when in the early stages of writing).

Try to make your writing specific. When you write things like “people associated with Gatsby”,

then you are dealing with generalizations, and will make generalized conclusions. These are

usually shorter, and deal less with the novel. Instead, say “The party-goers, including Nick and

Jordan, have no problem partaking in Gatsby’s alcohol. This represents a contradiction of

character, because both are quick to judge the actions of those around them.”

Grade: B