FREE ESSAY ON CHARACTERS OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

CHARACTERS OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

There is a very direct similarity between one's behavior and one's environment. Humans are
products of the environments they inhabit. Humans evolve and adopt behaviors which are
very similar to those found in their social climate. This is especially true when
examining the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald presents the characters in
his novels as products of a society void of moral integrity. Since Fitzgerald's
protagonists in The Last Tycoon, The Great Gatsby, and Tender is The Night, succumb to
the moral desert of high society, they end their lives in failure. Fitzgerald places his
protagonist in The Last Tycoon, The Great Gatsby , and Tender is The Night, in the moral
desert of high society; an environment very foreign to these characters. Jay Gatsby, the
protagonist in The Great Gatsby, is drawn into the decadent and morally defunct society
of upper-class Long Island. Daisy illustrates the moral void that exists in the Long
Island society when she discusses her daughter with Nick. Daisy says: It'll show you how
I've gotten to feel about--things. Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God
knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling, and asked the
nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl and so I turned my
head away and wept. 'All right,' I said, 'I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a
fool-- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.' ... I
(Nick) felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy... as if she
had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom
belonged (21).Daisy depicts the moral void that exists in Gatsby's society with her
insensitive and selfish response to her daughter's birth. In addition to this Daisy also
depicts the snobbery that exists in this society through the way she treats Nick, the
narrator of the novel. Nick makes an observation that shows the lack of moral value held
by the Long Island society when he describes Tom and Daisy. Nick says, They were careless
people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back
into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together,
and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . .(180) These quotes clearly
illustrate the insensitivity, snobbery and utter selfishness held by those who inhabit
the morally void society. This society influences Gatsby's moral decline. The amoral Long
Island society in The Great Gatsby is very similar to the corrupt Hollywood society found
in The Last Tycoon. Again in The Last Tycoon the protagonist is catapulted into a corrupt
society that is unfamiliar to him. The protagonist Stahr, has entered into a deviant
society saturated with characters full of lust, greed, and capitalism. The narrator
depicts the valueless society and what it can do to decent people when describing the
character Reinmund. The narrator says: Reinmund was a handsome young opportunist, with a
fairly good education. Originally a man of some character, he was being forced daily by
his anomalous position into devious ways of acting and thinking. He was a bad man now, as
men go. At thirty he had none of the virtues which either gentile Americans or Jews are
taught to think admirable. (46)Reindmund is representative of many of the people living
in Hollywood. Therefore the above quote proves Stahr did in fact enter into a society
lacking virtue. The moral decay of this society can also be seen through the characters
Cecilia Brady, and her father, Pat Brady. Cecilia Brady is a character of very little
moral value. She lusts after Stahr and throws herself at him while he is involved with
the woman of his dreams, Thalia. Her father Pat Brady is an equally immoral character. An
example of this behavior can be seen when he attempts to steal the production business
from his partner. He tries to achieve this when Stahr (his business partner) is extremely
ill in New York. Not only is Brady a shady businessman he also a capitalist participating
in the immoral act of degrading the art of film-making to increase profits. Writer R. A.
Gallo, makes a similar observation about Hollywood's cultural wasteland as she writes: In
The Last Tycoon Fitzgerald examines his conception of the contemporary wasteland. The
deprivation of the Hollywood wasteland is cultural. Films have become a bastardized art
form, exploited by the Bradys whose interest in the "booming circus" stops at the box
office. (120) The behaviors of Pat, Cecilia and Reinmund clearly illustrates the state of
moral decay that Stahr's Hollywood find acceptable. The moral decay of Hollywood spilled
over to the society of Tender is the Night. In Tender is the Night , the protagonist,
Dick Diver marries into the morally challenged upper class society throughout Europe
during the 1930's. This upper class European society is highly influenced by Hollywood,
and is full of mental illness, adultery and snobbery. Fitzgerald sketches the snobbery of
the society through the way Rosemary's observations on the differences between the upper
and the lower classes. The narrator says: Rosemary looked for a place to sit. Obviously
each family possessed the strip of sand immediately in front of its umbrella; besides
there was much visiting and talking back and forth--the atmosphere of a community upon it
would be presumptuous to intrude. Farther up, where the beach was strewn with pebbles and
dead sea-weed, sat a group with white flesh as white as our own. They were obviously less
indigenous to the place.... Rosemary found room and spread out her peignoir on the sand.
(6) Rosemary admits that the people on either side of the beach are racially equal, but
because they are of lesser means they are "indigenous to the place." This quote clearly
shows the snobbery that exists in Dick Diver's amoral society. Diver's society is also
made morally complex by the mental illness of his wife, Nicole, and the adulterous
behavior of those in his society. Thus, Dick Diver's society is morally challenged.
Moreover, Fitzgerald uses these morally deviant societies as a strong negative influence
on his protagonists. Fitzgerald's protagonists in The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night ,
and The Last Tycoon, succumb to the moral desert of their respective societies. That is
to say that the Fitzgerald's protagonists evolve throughout their experiences in the
moral desert of high society and adopt the behaviors of that society. Jay Gatsby succumbs
to his morally void Long Island society by participating in the immoral actions of his
society. Firstly, Gatsby explores an adulterous relationship with Daisy, and descends
into the world of the virtueless: " So he waited, listening for a moment to the tuning
fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her." (100) Consequently, by
physically acting out his desires for Daisy, Gatsby descends into the depths of moral
defeat. Secondly, Gatsby succumbs to the immorality of the Long Island by buying into the
vain dream of that society. The dream was the good life. Gatsby abandoned all his dreams
so that he could achieve this status. Writer William H. Fahey, observes Gatsby succumbing
to the vain dream of the good life when he writes, " He has lived not for himself, but
for his dream, for his vision of the good life inspired by the beauty of a lovely rich
girl."(71) Gatsby abandons his own dreams in pursuit of a vain dream inspired by Daisy.
Hence, Gatsby's involvement with a morally void society causes him to succumb to immoral
actions. Stahr too succumbs to his morally corrupt society. Hollywood's influence on
Stahr, causes him to submit himself into devious behavior. Stahr submits himself when
puts a hit on his partner, Pat Brady after Brady tries to take over their business.
Stahr, is the perfect example of a good man driven by a bad society to do something
heinous. By Stahr putting a hit on Brady he succumbs to Hollywood's corrupt society.
Therefore, Stahr does in fact succumb to his deviant society. Dick Diver also succumbs to
his morally challenged society. Firstly, Dick succumbs to his morally challenged society
when he pursues an adulterous affair with Rosemary Hoyt. Dick says to Rosemary, "Oh, say
that later! But kiss me now- love me now. I'll love you and never let Nicole see."(76)
Dick abandons all his virtue to pursue his adulterous affair and conceal it from his ill
wife. This quote shows how Dick has succumbed to the moral wasteland of his society.
Secondly, Dick continues to succumb to his morally challenged society when he begins to
drink heavily. Dick's drinking problem is illustrated in a conversation Dick has with the
father of a patient at Dick's clinic: 'My son is here for alcoholism, and he told us he
smelt liquor on your breath...We hand Von Cohn to you to be cured and within a month he
twice smells liquor on your breath! What kind of cure is that there?' Dick hesitated...
'After all, Mr. Morris, some people are not going to give up what they regard as food
because of your son--'(163)This quote clearly shows how Dick has succumb to alcoholism, a
disease that runs rampant among the people of his society. In addition to this Dick has
succumb to the bitterness of society, and has become emotionally hardened and
insensitive. Therefore, Dick, Stahr, and Gatsby have all succumb to the moral desert of
high society. Fitzgerald's protagonists end their lives in failure. They achieve this
failure in their lives by succumbing to their morally dry societies. There is a direct
relationship between the protagonists' inability to resist the moral desert of high
society and the cause of their failure. In other words, Fitzgerald's protagonists receive
justice for their immoral actions. Jay Gatsby ends his life in failure because he is
unable to remain a moral character in his society. Firstly, he dies an unhappy man unable
to benefit from the potential of his wealth, because he bought into the vain dream, of a
vain a society. William H. Fahey writes: None cares. To be sure, in the radiance of
Gatsby's single vision everyone is greeted as familiar; "Old sport," he calls them all.
But he has no friends. No cares who gives the parties. Nobody goes to his funeral except
Owleyes and Nick. 'No one else was interested,' as Nick says, '-interested, I mean, with
that intense personal interest to which everyone has some right at the end.' Rich as he
was, he is a poor a son-of-a-bitch like us all in the end. (85) Fahey clearly illustrates
the personal failure Gatsby achieved by buying into the vain dream of high
society.Secondly, Gatsby ends his life in failure due to an unnecessary death. How does
he die? Indirectly, he dies not by murder, but by suicide. He dies because of his
indecent relationship with Daisy. Had Gatsby not succumb to his desire for Daisy, she
would never have been in his car and their would never have been a shooting. Had he not
succumb, he may have had a chance at a fulfilling life. Therefore, Gatsby's inability to
remain virtuous in the moral desert of high society was the source of his failure.
Stahr's failure at the end of his life, like Gatsby's, is unnecessary death. Stahr ends
his life in failure because he was unable to resist succumbing to the moral desert of
high society. Stahr dies tragically in a plane crash and is unable to marry his one true
love, Thalia. Yet this tragedy could have been avoided. If Stahr had not put a hit out on
Brady, he would never have been on the plane to New York and he would still be alive.
Therefore, it can be said that Stahr's unnecessary death was an outcome of his own
ineffectiveness to remain a moral character. Dick Diver ends his life in personal and
professional failure. His failure comes from his inability to resist the immorality of
his society. Nicole comments on Dick's failure in life when she says, "...you used to
want to create things--now you seem to want to smash them up." (267) Dick ends his
personal life in failure because had succumb to the immorality of society. Nicole says,
"You don't care for me anymore...It's all just habit. Things were never the same after
Rosemary."(308) This quote clearly states that the cause of Dick's personal failure was
his adulterous relationship with Rosemary. Dick's professional failure was again caused
by his inability to resist the immorality of society. Dick's drinking was the reason he
was bought out of the clinic. It can also be assumed that his drinking ruined his
professional career after he left Europe. Therefore it can be said that Dick, along with
Gatsby, and Stahr, failed in life because they were unable to resist the moral desert of
high society. In conclusion, it can be said that one who lives among the immoral will
succumb to their environment. In the case of Fitzgerald's protagonists in The Last
Tycoon, The Great Gatsby , and Tender is The Night, failure is the justice for immoral
action. Whether or not this is a balanced justice is debatable, but it is justice
nonetheless.