The Great Gatsby written by Scott F. Fitzgerald takes place during the 1920s, a time when the American morals were literally thrown out the window. The characters in the Great Gatsby exhibit the behavior and the persona of individuals of the 1920s. Like people of the 20s, characters from this book are divided by class. The wealthy lived extravagant lifestyles while the impoverish toiled at the bottom of the social ladder. The decade also saw the birth and dominance of organized crime. Al Capone was a major leader in organized crime, very similar to a character in the book, Meyer Wolfsheim. The surroundings and the aura of the decade may explain why the characters behave and conduct themselves the way they do. The rich such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby are all responsible of abandoning their morals for one reason or another. The people in poverty like Mrytle Wilson loses her perception on life and does many inappropriate acts. Many circumstances may have contributed to the outrageous acts that took place, or it just may have been that they never had a sense of what morals are to begin with. Though Gatsby does regain his sense on life and his morals, he falls victim to love and lust that would lead to his unfortunate downfall. As for the other characters they simple react to their environment. They live in a society and period of time that had really no strong ethics. Therefore the characters in the Great Gatsby show and prove that morals and .
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ethics are nowhere to be found. Disregard and having no remorse for others feelings demonstrate the lack of principle in the characters. The morals in America were dead and there was nothing that could be done to revive it. .
Of all the characters in the book, James Gatz, better known as Jay Gatsby, is the most guilty of illegitimate activity. His morals are set aside for a period of time in order to amass a great fortune and lavish lifestyle through his affiliation of organized crime.