Blinded

Blinded

There are certain responsibilities one must fulfill in order to live a life of honesty and happiness. Many factors such as success, fame, and glory, can distract us from these obligations, causing our life to result in ways other than we had hoped for. When these fixations enter our lives we become blinded, losing

sight of what is truly important.

The novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, shows that building a life, if not supported by self knowledge and social responsibility, is a moral form of recklessness.

The life of Jay Gatsby is a perfect example of moral recklessness due to a lack of self knowledge. The obsession Jay possesses for Daisy controls all aspects of his life. When Jay first fell in love with Daisy, his social and economic status did not meet her demands. After being denied Daisy's love, Jay dedicates his entire life to acquire everything necessary to impress Daisy and gain her devotion. Jay spends years making money, throwing parties, and creating an impressive image, all in hopes of winning Daisy. While doing this, he fails to consider that she may have moved on. He is so afraid of this thought that he refuses to directly attempt to contact Daisy in fear that this possibility may be a reality. Throughout the entire novel, Gatsby blinds himself from reality in order to maintain his fantasy. His life evolves into a mission to love a woman he no longer knows. "'I wouldn't ask too much of her,' I ventured. 'You can't repeat the past.'

'Can't repeat the past?' he cried incredulously. 'Why of course you can!'"

He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was." (117). Creating a life based on a memory forbid Gatsby to move on. By living in the past and refusing to face the truth, Jay Gatsby denies himself the knowledge of his own being.

Because Jay constantly turns his head from reality, he falls into a debt of social responsibility. Jay's fascination with Daisy causes him to become disconnected from society. Because Jay spent his entire life isolating himself waiting for Daisy, he was unable to construct relationships with anyone else. By refusing to interact with other people, Jay becomes consumed and fulfilled by material things. His materialistic fixation begins to take control of his obsession, transforming his fantasy of Daisy from a deep love to a shallow desire. Jay's incredible success allowed him to fulfill all his wants and needs. After obtaining all the luxuries Daisy once desired, Jay felt entitled to Daisy's love. Disregarding the bond of marriage between Daisy and Tom, Gatsby intrudes on their life, expecting Daisy to overlook her obligation to Tom and return to him. Because Jay failed to imagine that Daisy would ever love another man, he never considered the social responsibility of respecting the marriage between Tom and Daisy.

Jay's obsession with Daisy causes him to lack self knowledge as well as social responsibility. The absence of these two qualities result in him leading a life of moral recklessness. Even though Jay had offered her the world in return for her love, Daisy chose to stay with Tom. Her decision forces Jay to realize that his entire life had been a waste. Without the anticipation of Daisy's love, Jay has nothing else to live for. After losing

his will to live, Jay's actions become careless. Jay taking the blame for Myrtle's death proves Jay to be careless, disrespectful, and fearless. Jay disrespects the life of Myrtle by failing to stop after Daisy kills her. He leaves her stripped, dismembered, and bleeding on the side of the road, exposed to the world. He is also disrespectful towards George. After imposing this terrible tragedy upon George, he never even thinks to apologize or comfort him. He shows no regret for his affiliation with the crime. Jay's disrespectful actions give George reason to kill him. When Nick becomes aware of this, he warns Gatsby to hide the evidence, in hopes of protecting him from George. Jay consciously fails to hide the car, setting himself up for murder. Jay's careless actions, disrespectful gestures, and lack of meaning for his life explode into a tornado of moral recklessness.

Like Jay, Tom allows money, success, and status to steer him away from a life of honesty. Living off of old money, Tom is accustomed to being entitled to whatever he desired at no personal cost. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays Tom as a strong, powerful man. "Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterwards savours of anti-climax."(10). When Fitzgerald provides insight to Tom's past, he paints an image of Tom's soul. His physical strength, self appointed entitlement, and controlling personality aid him in the manipulation of others. Controlling Daisy is an easy task for Tom. Even though Tom is openly unfaithful to Daisy, she keeps on loving him. Her desperate need for love and security keep her coming back to him. Daisy's undying love for Tom causes her to surrender to his power. Unlike Daisy, Myrtle possesses strong, self-righteous qualities. These mysterious traits initially attract Tom to Myrtle but eventually force him to use his physical strength to control her. When Tom felt threatened by Myrtle's power, he broke her nose to regain his supremacy. As well as his appeal and physical strength, Tom also uses his status on the social hierarchy to abuse his peers. George Wilson is another person who was powerless to Tom. Tom's control over George's wealth gave him the ability to have an affair with his wife and manipulate him into killing Jay Gatsby. Tom uses his power, strength, and status to excuse himself from the social responsibilities of the society he lived in. Although Tom was aware of the inner weaknesses of others, he was not in touch with himself.

Throughout the novel, Tom is constantly trying to fulfill an image he had created in his mind. Denying his true personality caused him to also reject his true feelings. In many instances throughout the book, Tom portrays a certain emotion but later realizes his true feeling. For years Tom denies Daisy the love and attention she deserves as his wife. He abuses Daisy by treating