In The Great Gatsby, a major issue recurring theme in that of morality. Each character in the novel exemplifies their various immoral contributions at least one point in the novel, and each character falls on a different portion of the spectrum of morality. These different actions, performed by different characters, help to place each character in their respective place among their peer characters. Of the most moral of these characters in The Great Gatsby are Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker, followed by Jay Gatsby himself and Myrtle Wilson, and the least moral characters consist of Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan. The rankings of these characters are based on many moral traits and actions, including the various accounts of cheating that take place in the novel, as well as the unfairness to get ahead in life that these characters participate in.
Morality can be defined as the distinction between right and wrong; in other words, it is the trait of a person that establishes their conduct of behavior, or how righteously they behave. While no person, especially a character in a book such as The Great Gatsby, can be considered completely and perfectly moral and righteous, the closest of the main six characters to this definition is Nick Carraway. While he does have his moral flaws, such as setting up a date between his cousin, Daisy, and his neighbor, Gatsby, when he knows that Daisy is married, Nick is sufficiently moral enough to be considered the most moral of the six characters in the novel. He did not partake in any cheating, in relationships nor a large aspect of life, as every single other one of the characters did at one time or another. On the opposite aspect of morality, Nick is not only not immoral, but he is also moral. This means that he doesn’t behave in an inappropriate, immoral way and that he also behaves in a proper, moral way. He doesn’t cheat in any way, and he also treats others with respect: or at least the respect that he believes they deserve. For example, he acts as an observant bystander in the majority of the novel, which allows him to absorb all sides of the issues and to have unbiased, reasonable thoughts and assumptions. The second most moral person in the book is Jordan Baker. When comparing Miss Baker to Mr. Carraway, two important differences are cheating and respect for others. While Nick respected everyone and regarded everyone as the same, Jordan did not show nearly as much care for others as she did for herself. She was not nearly as moral of a character as Nick, but she was still more moral than all of the others. Her major scandal in the novel included accusations that she was cheating in a professional golf tournament to win more money. This was the main reason why she is less moral than Nick, as there were no outstanding immoralities perceived about him. However, even while being accused of such a large, immoral scandal, Jordan is still a much more moral person than the remaining four characters.
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The third most moral character in The Great Gatsby is Jay Gatsby. While there was a major controversy over whether Gatsby was more or less moral than Jordan, the reason that Gatsby is slightly less moral than Jordan is how he cheated. Jordan cheated to get ahead by cheating in a golf tournament, while Gatsby cheated to get ahead by bootlegging alcohol. These two immoral actions balanced each other out, as the end goal of both scenarios was to increase the wealth of the respective characters. However, the issue that sets Gatsby apart from Jordan is his relationship with Daisy. While he did not directly cheat on anyone, as every other character after Gatsby on this list did, he encouraged Daisy to cheat on and leave her husband, Tom, to be with him instead. Gatsby was immoral with his selfishness, which caused him to ruin the lives of many people, and to cause his death. But, this immorality did have good intentions behind it, as he did not mean to harm anyone. His only objective was to reunite himself with his past lover, Daisy, which was intended to cause nothing but happiness for the two of them. Also, Gatsby’s intentions contradictingly caused him to be one of the most selfless characters in the novel, as he took the blame for Daisy’s killing of Myrtle, which cost him his life. The fourth most moral, or rather, third least moral, of the six characters in The Great Gatsby was Myrtle. The reason for Myrtle being number four on the list is that she was the most moral of those who cheated in a relationship. She is classified behind Nick, Jordan, and Gatsby for the sole reason that cheating in a relationship was weighed more heavily than cheating for the intention to get ahead in life, and none of the past three characters cheated while in a relationship. Besides having an affair with Tom, Myrtle’s only other immoral trait that came into the light was her obsessive partying, which tended to be a recurring theme with all of the characters, so it did not distinguish her as any more immoral than anyone else.
The two most immoral characters in The Great Gatsby were the Buchanans, Tom and Daisy, respectively. The Buchanans had a very ironic moral situation in the novel, which was that they were both cheating on each other. Tom Buchanan, however, can be considered more moral, or in better terms, less immoral, than his counterpart, Daisy. The reason that Tom is five on the list and Daisy is six is because, while they both cheated on each other, Tom only had a few other moral flaws. He may not have been the most respectful character in the book, and his acquisition of wealth may have been borderline illegal, but when compared to Daisy, he seemed like a near angel. He showed signs of abuse toward both of his partners, even going as far as hitting Myrtle at one point, and his method of obtaining money was questioned a few times in the novel, but in general, his main flaw was that he had an affair with Myrtle while he was married to Daisy. Daisy, on the other hand, can be classified as much less moral because, along with cheating on Tom with Gatsby, she killed Myrtle, and did not ever own up to it. She let Gatsby, whom she had once claimed to love, take the fall for her, which in turn led to his death. She was by far the most selfish person in The Great Gatsby, as she showed no regard for the well-being or feelings of any other character. She also, unlike Tom, has her relationship with Gatsby and lies countless times to cover for herself. She placed herself in front of everyone else, and she was the main reason for the emotional and physical torment and destruction of every character in the novel. She had a direct negative influence on every single character, and directly took the life of one person, Myrtle, while indirectly killing another, Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby is an excellent example of a novel with extreme moral imperfections, to say the least. There is not a single character, including Nick Carraway, who is exempt from this immoral behavior. Every character participated in their fair share of immorality, with actions ranging from those of Nick and Jordan to the Buchanans, with characters such as Gatsby and Myrtle falling in between. The actions of these characters classified them into separate sides of the moral spectrum, but the one theme that can be determined from the novel is that no character was excluded from the cause or the effect side of the moral actions and consequences in The Great Gatsby.
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