The Great Gatsby and The Picture of Dorian Gray

An excerpt from an essay considering the presentation of capitalist societies in both novels

By Louis V. - Year 13

Capitalist morals and values are explored and criticised in The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde, 1891) and The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald, 1925). Both novels analyse the upper class’s exploitation of women, obsession with status and the arrogance of young men who have benefited from capitalist systems. The protagonists represent the flawed values of the social elite in both Victorian England and 1920s America. A criticism of wealth can be seen in the depiction of materialism and the use of wealth to exert control and assert social superiority. While Gatsby is ruined through greed and an obsession with appearing to be something he is not, Gray is ruined by the cruel nature he develops throughout the novel. Additionally, both Wilde and Fitzgerald criticise the selfish and cruel personalities the upper class seem to possess. Wilde depicts the Victorian values that influence the behaviour, morals and mannerisms of those in his text, and suggests that society should be far less concerned with temporary possessions and more focused on moral goodness. Similarly, Fitzgerald uses a post-World War One America to create the basis for his novel, focusing on the capitalist and selfish attitudes of the morally corrupt elite through Tom Buchanan and Gatsby.

Firstly, Wilde and Fitzgerald negatively present their capitalist societies through powerful male characters, allowing them to highlight the toxic nature of masculinity within capitalism and its inherent promotion of the patriarchy. Initially, Wilde explores the metamorphosis of Dorian into an increasingly narcissistic version of himself. The novel begins with Dorian as a "young man of extraordinary personal beauty". Wilde implies that, since he is not just an attractive man but one who is "radiantly handsome", he has a right to possess others and to give free rein to his ego. Through a semantic field of vanity and narcissism, Wilde explores the flawed values of a capitalist Victorian society. As Ellen Scheible states: "Dorian seals his fate by choosing his youthful exterior over an ethical life. Throughout the novel, Dorian's beauty turns into a dangerous vanity" (Scheible, 2014).

The character of Dorian Gray as a representation of all that is wrong with society can be seen in his vanity and ego. In Chapter Two, when Lord Henry Wotton meets Dorian, he remarks on his attractive features, saying "All the candour of youth was there, as well as youth's passionate purity". The adjective "extraordinary" is used by Wilde to show the level of emphasis Victorian society places on one's looks, focusing on an individual’s outer appearance rather than the content of their character. This is further emphasised when Lord Henry states "Beauty is a form of Genius". It is implied that good looks are worth more than merit or intellect in the capitalist society Wilde finds himself living in, perfectly illustrated by Lord Henry’s statement "There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth." The character of Dorian Gray is being used as a representation of all that is wrong with society. We look at an individual’s outer appearance rather than the content of their character or their intellect. As Patrick Duggan suggests: "Dorian Grayis a cautionary tale in which Wilde illustrates the dangers of the aesthetic philosophy when not practiced with prudence’" (Duggan, 1992). Duggan is clearly illustrating Wilde’s intention behind his novel; to warn the proud Victorian elite he finds himself surrounded by about the dangers of an aesthetic worldview. As time goes on, the social elite invent new ways to differentiate themselves from the working class, usually through their presentation of themselves and the way others perceive them.

Similarly, Fitzgerald warns against obsession with appearance in The Great Gatsby through his criticism of his protagonist’s capitalist greed and competitive nature. Although Jay Gatsby starts his life in a family of "unsuccessful farmers", he quickly develops an obsession to change the way the world and the social elite perceive him. Nick (Gatsby’s supposed closest friend) states: "He took what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously… eventually he took Daisy one still October night, took her because he had no real right to touch her hand". Gatsby is aware he will never be a part of the elite to which he’s desperate to belong, so he must resort to taking what "he could get", including Daisy’s hand, since "he had no real right to touch" it. Fitzgerald is criticising the outdated and elitist views that are still embedded in American society, particularly since he is writing shortly after a world war in which those who were of the social elite weren’t nearly as likely to die as a working man.

Fitzgerald was a well-known critic of the American class system, which is in part why he was attracted to modernism. He openly mocked the way the capitalist class system functioned, stating “So we'll just let things take their course, and never be sorry” (Fitzgerald, 1920), criticising how the Western world refused to develop its outdated views, even after a world war. The adverbs "Ravenously and unscrupulously" are also used by Fitzgerald to display the brutal, cruel and selfish nature of those at the top of society. Gatsby has all he can ever want, except recognition, and thus resorts to putting on a façade by mimicking the elite (through his "adoption" of his former mentor, Dan Cody’s, mannerisms). Everything about Gatsby is a façade, deployed entirely to adapt how others see him, as is illustrated by the peculiar character of "Owl-Eyes" who states (when exploring Gatsby’s library) "This fella's a regular Belasco. It's a triumph. What thoroughness! What realism!..." "Belasco" refers to the theatre producer David Belasco, who was renowned for creating hyper-realistic sets. Essentially, the Owl-Eyed man is exposing Gatsby as a sham, a man who is made up entirely of smoke and mirrors: exactly the kind of man that capitalism creates, and one that is constantly trying to prove his place as a part of the social elite. Paul Giles analyses how Gatsby is defined entirely by his "financial criminality or by his neurotic insecurities and jealousy" of the upper class (Giles, 1989). Similarly to Wilde, Fitzgerald is attempting to warn his reader about the dangers behind the value Western capitalist societies place on appearances (both physical and financial), as interpreted by Goldie, and suggests that no good will come of these shallow and vain values, and they must thus be changed for the modern world.

To conclude, both authors criticise the values capitalism upholds and its resistance to changing the status quo. Fitzgerald and Wilde were both highly educated and well-versed in political thinking, publishing various pieces of liberal and socialist works between them, emphasising the need for society to free itself from the chains of capitalism. Both authors demand societal change by criticising the inherent bad nature (in relation to people’s morals) that coincides with the brutal form of capitalism that these authors witnessed in their times of writing. Wilde spent his life being alienated by the upper class while Fitzgerald spent his life presenting its flaws to the American public. Both wanted reform and they demand it in their texts, not for their sake – their lives are comfortable and unthreatened by capitalism – but for the sake of the common man and the "moral man" (Joyce, 2002). Joyce explores how their demands are not ones of self-interest or gain, but give a voice to those who do not have one. These authors are striving for and promoting an idea of socialism, or at least a reduction of the exploitation they see all around them, and they express this by criticising the capitalist system.