Nia Casso
Hamilton
English 12 HN
5 March 2015
The Seven Deadly Sins as Seen in The Great Gatsby In the words of Mahatma Ghandi, “There are seven deadly social sins: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, science without humanity, knowledge without character, politics without principle, commerce without morality, worship without sacrifice,” which define the human race. Attaining to the seven deadly sins addressed by Ghandi, F. Scott Fitzgerald incorporates similar ideas about society in his novel, “The Great Gatsby”. Set in thriving 1920s Long Island, New York, critics argue that each of the characters possess characteristics relating to the seven deadly sins. At a time of economic boom, consumerism is at an all time high. Fitzgerald,…show more content… Gatsby and Daisy’s love, often viewed as the basis of the novel, portrays Gatsby as, “obsessed with the idea of recreating the past "just as it was," Gatsby is blind to Daisy's selfish, juvenile, and self-destructive personality,” lusting for a romance that will never realistically be obtainable (Notecard 3). Gatsby who Fitzgerald proclaims to be a “penniless young man without a past” (Fitzgerald 116) desires Daisy for "her rich house … her rich, full life,” (Fitzgerald 117) neither of which Gatsby feels he has on his own. Not only her looks but also her security appeal to Gatsby which makes Daisy the ultimate desire. Based on Fitzgerald’s description of Gatsby’s lack of past and therefore lack of social standing, critics conclude that Gatsby desires to relive the past he had with Daisy in order to fulfill his own social emptiness. Appealing directly to lust, Fitzgerald and Hilgart express Daisy as, “the "incarnation" of "a secret place above the trees—he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder …" (117),” (Hilgart, Fitzgerald). Through the use of diction such as “suck” and “gulp” which associate with functions of the mouth, both Fitzgerald and Hilgart attempt to communicate a sexual description of Gatsby’s thoughts about Daisy. Not only…show more content… From the beginning of the novel, Fitzgerald establishes Daisy’s arrogance, “I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything … Sophisticated—God, I'm sophisticated!" (Fitzgerald 12). Based on the fact that she has old money, Daisy no longer feels that she has any more to offer society. Fitzgerald characterizes her pride as self indulgent by her overzealous exclamation of the sophistication she has acquired through old money. In comparison critics introduce the idea that, “Gatsby and the other newly minted, self-made millionaires of the Gold Coast are crude, garish, and flamboyant,” and do not have the same sense of pride the Buchanan’s have (Notecard 12). Critics explore the possibility that being a self-made millionaire has lesser standing in 1920s New York. The wealthy class is therefore split into two different social classes, vanity of old money and gluttony of new money. Proving the fraudlence that comes with excessive pride recount that, “Daisy accidentally kills Myrtle with Gatsby's Rolls Royce…and then leaves the scene of the crime for the security and respectability of East Egg,” without recognizing the life that was just taken (Notecard 11). Daisy feels entitled to protection against the crime she commits due to her “respectability” in the community. Fitzgerald includes the car crash, which kills Myrtle, in order to