Department of English

Spring 2008 High School Edition

Unscrupulous Deeds

Ashton Jessop
Formal Essay (11th-12th)
First Place
Beaver High School
Teacher: Marilee Eyre

Immanuel Kant was a notorious German philosopher in the 1700s. Kant was said to have looked at church steeples when thinking; similarly, Gatsby, no doubt, spent hours of meditation peering at the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. The reference to Kant plays a critical role in The Great Gatsby as a whole. Immanuel Kant developed a theory called the Categorical Imperative—a code of morality. According to the Categorical Imperative, any action that passes three tiers would be considered a moral action. Gatsby tries to moralize his actions but instead reveals the corruptness of his actions through his failure to pass the first, second, and third tiers of the Categorical Imperative.

The first tier is the law of Universality, which states that the action should be able to be extended to anyone, anytime, and in any situation. Gatsby fails to pass the first tier in many instances. Gatsby openly lies to everyone he knows including daisy and her parents while courting her. He spreads lies to protect himself from the truth, and very few people know the true Gatsby. He even lies to Nick, one of his most trusted and intimate friends, telling him that he was born in the Midwest, went to college at Oxford, and that his parents were wealthy. Most people don’t enjoy being lied to all the time; therefore, his actions wouldn’t even pass the first tier. Gatsby is involved in cheating, betting, bootlegging, and various other illegal activities. Breaking the law should not be considered moral at any time. Lastly, Gatsby covets and commits adultery with another man’s wife, an action clearly not accepted by everyone. While there is a possibility that Gatsby’s actions may bring some people happiness, many people would no doubt frown on his actions. Gatsby will stop at nothing to get what he wants, justifying any action to obtain the desired result.

Kant’s second tier states that humanity cannot be used as an end. Gatsby uses people as he wishes; Gatsby asks Nick to invite Daisy over so that she can see his house. Through his friendship with Nick, Gatsby gains proximity to Daisy. Gatsby uses Daisy to provide himself with happiness, but in turn hurts another human being, Tom. Gatsby’s illegal activities don’t profit anybody but himself; he uses and expends people as he wills to accomplish his own purposes. A unique correlation is seen between Kant and Gatsby. Gatsby has the biggest, nicest, most expensive home in West Egg; similarly Kant “agreed to pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw” (93) to improve the appearance of his own church. Gatsby uses people as a means to make himself look better.

Gatsby considers himself to be above the law, thus disqualifying him from the Kingdom of Ends. For a person to enter the Kingdom of Ends, he or she may give laws, but must live by the laws established. Gatsby is pulled over for speeding; Gatsby shows a white card; Gatsby drives off. Gatsby deliberately breaks the law and does not live subject to the law or the consequences. Gatsby is never suspected of killing Myrtle, though his car is smashed up and sitting in his garage. He builds his house and fame through illegal actions such as bootlegging and gambling, but is never punished for breaking the law. Gatsby deems himself superior to the laws of the land and the laws of nature. All of Gatsby’s actions are an attempt to change the past. When told by Nick that you can’t change the past, Gatsby replies “Can’t repeat the past… of course you can” (116). Gatsby believes himself to be a son of god “about his father’s business, the vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty” (104). He justifies his actions as if they were the will of God and cares about the final outcome. Gatsby lives above the law and would never obtain the Kingdom of Ends.

Gatsby lies to people as he deems necessary, uses others for personal gain, and lives subject to no law. The immoral nature of Gatsby’s actions is demonstrated through Kant’s Categorical Imperative.