“Conduct and action,” wrote Roger Tawney, “…are evidence that the gift [of salvation] has been given.” This was the classic Puritan mentality of the 16th and 17th centuries. Wealth and material abundance were a sign not of hard work, but of God's grace, and mediocrity was a sign of imminent damnation. Success and wealth were not just admired, but idolized. Puritans equated wealth with merit, regardless of true character. Few examples of humanity's total stagnation are as accurate and descriptive as F. Scott Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby.” American ethics in the 1920s had not evolved in the slightest, as is especially clear in Fitzgerald's account through Nick's interactions with Tom and Daisy, Myrtle Wilson, and even the great Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway's proven susceptibility to the hypnotizing effects of money and the possession of it makes him a prime example of the tendency to equate material success with character. He does this extensively with Tom and Daisy Buchanan, who are able to mask their flaws with tangible wealth. While sitting in their home, Nick notices that their eyes are "impersonal in the absence of desire" (12), and even tells Daisy that their conversations make him feel "uncivilized" (12), meaning that those who they don't have a glamorous home and flashy clothes are vulnerable and uncivilized. However, the course of events shows how vulnerable and uncivilized both Tom and Daisy are despite their riches. Everyone tolerates Tom, described as having a "cruel body" (7) and known for hurting and cheating on women, simply because he is rich. Daisy is similar; she too cheats on her husband and even cold-bloodedly abandons the woman she has just killed, yet throughout the beginning of the book she is a charming and m...... paper woman...... defects of the act , and Gatsby is able to abandon his past and gain the favor of most of East and West Egg. Many things should change over the course of 300+ years, but Nick's contact with Tom, Daisy, and Myrtle shows that the 300+ year period between the Puritans and the 1920s brought no progress in American ethics regarding superficial treatment and superficial of those who are lucky enough to be born rich and exaggerate their value. Gatsby however shows that it is much more serious than stagnation, the 1920s shows a regression, making money even more powerful by giving it the ability to hide everything else. Fitzgerald uses Nick to convey his utter disappointment with humanity and even shows Nick "waking up" from the illusion that wealth is tied to value, perhaps in the hope that reality will do the same. Works Cited "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald