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The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Decent Essays

When looking at modern and classic American literature, one of the most mysterious and creative qualities a character can have is moral ambiguity. Moral ambiguity is defined as the identification of a person as either purely evil or purely good. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, has an innumerable number of examples of moral ambiguity written throughout the story. One character in particular, Daisy Buchanan, has specifically showed moral ambiguity, as she is one of the main characters. Daisy Buchanan is a morally ambiguous character whose ambiguity is significant to the story, using examples from Daisy’s actions in the first three chapters, Daisy’s actions in the middle three chapters, Daisy’s actions in the last three chapters. Daisy’s ambiguity is first seen in chapters one, two, and three of the novel. The novel starts with the narrator, Nick, traveling to East Egg, where Daisy and her husband, Tom, resides. Daisy states, “I’m paralyzed with happiness” once she sees Nick. This shows that she’s cordial and warmhearted because she’s thrilled to see Nick. She also was friendly enough to invite Nick over for dinner in the first place. Most people aren’t that close to their cousins. Although there are some examples of Daisy’s virtue at the beginning of the story, there are also some examples of her practicing purely evil actions. She notices Tom talking on the phone with Myrtle. She knows Tom is having an affair, yet she does nothing about it. A

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