How Quantum Mechanics Influenced The Great Gatsby

As ideas of Modernism, specifically Quantum Mechanics, swept across the world and replaced classical mechanics, it affected many people, especially writers. The concepts of Quantum Physics took the world by surprise because there was finally something that science could not figure out. The futility of science shocked people and greatly influenced them to explore this new world of uncertainty. One author in particular influenced by these tantalizing yet enigmatic ideas is F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the first two chapters of his novel, The Great Gatsby, his characters are shrouded in a state of uncertainty about life, which alters their sense of morality and compels them to act in a random and unpredictable manner. Their thoughts and actions support the assertion that the ideas of Quantum Mechanics influenced Fitzgerald, as evidenced in his work.

The uncertainty principle, which states that the position and velocity of an electron cannot be determined simultaneously, is evident in Nick Carraway's confused internal thoughts and his actions. The revolutionary idea of uncertainty shattered all existing certainty concepts and confused many of the characters. Nick states, "I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life" (40). Nick is lost in a world that has lost its certainty, which causes him to be confused about his existence and purpose in life. He is unsure of what to do, where to go, and who to meet. The inexhaustible variety in life suggests that there are endless possibilities, not one determined set of events. As a result, he is simultaneously "enchanted" and "repelled" by this new world of uncertainty. "I was within and without" suggests a large degree of vagueness, which clearly expresses his uncertainty about life (40). The uncertainty distorts his sense of reality because he is unsure of his place in the world. "I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever," he said (6). Nick is a mentally and emotionally lost character who does not understand this new world of ambiguity; instead, he yearns for the previous stable world. His lack of understanding portrays the uncertainty principle in effect. There is an innate mystery in the behavior of electrons that we cannot understand. The mystery of electrons parallels the mystery that Nick faces with his life, which supports the notion that the ideas of Quantum Physics influenced Fitzgerald.

The confusion created by the uncertainty principle casts a veil over their judgment, creating moral ambiguity. Because their worlds were previously built on the belief of definite outcomes and a defined morality, the lack of certainty also shattered their morals. The distortion of morals is evident in Myrtle's hopeless marriage with Wilson and her scandalous affair with Tom. With certainty stripped from underneath her, Myrtle's life became less definite and more arbitrary. She said, "I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe," which shows that by marrying boring old Wilson, she could introduce a stabilizing and assuring force into her uncertain life (39). However, her affair with Tom shows the distortion of her morals. Their affair portrays her confusion and desire for more in life, as evident in "...but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe" (39). Her stable marriage and future with Wilson is disrupted by her capricious affair with Tom in the same manner that quantum physics disrupted the definite and determined laws of classical mechanics. This distortion of morals is also evident in other people's acceptance of the affair. For example, Miss Baker was shocked that Nick had no clue about the "secret" arrangement. "You mean to say you don't know? I thought everybody knew. Why-Tom's got some woman in New York" (19). Her acceptance and matter-of-fact tone portrays the distortion of her morals. She fails to see anything wrong in the affair, which shows that she is uncertain of what is right or wrong. Myrtle and Miss Baker's moral ambiguity is affected by their uncertainty with life, especially with the inflow of the new Quantum ideas. Fitzgerald's inclusion of this ambiguity in morals expresses the influence of Modernism on his thoughts and writings.

The state of moral ambiguity distorts the characters view of reality and compels them to act more capriciously and impulsively, as evidenced in Tom and Daisy's random moving and Myrtle's impetuous desire for a dog. After all, their world is turning upside down and twirling from side to side in a roller coaster fashion. Tom and Daisy "had spent a year in France, for no particular reason, and then drifted here and there unrestfully wherever people played polo and were rich together" (10). Their actions suggest an air of unpredictability, as if there is no direction in their lives. Their various relocations express their confusion about this new uncertain nature, which greatly parallels Nick's confusion about his purpose. Furthermore, the lack of a definite moral guidance creates a state of confusion in the characters, which in turn causes them to act randomly. Similar to Tom and Daisy's unpredictable behavior, Myrtle also displays her confusion when she, Tom, and Nick were on their way to New York City and Myrtle impulsively announces, "I want to get one of those dogs... They're nice to have-a dog" (31). Her desire to have a dog is spur of the moment and unplanned, which supports the randomness in her action. Furthermore, her actions parallel the lack of order in the behavior of atoms. The inherent randomness in atoms suggests that people's behavior will be more impulsive and less thought out, because everything is comprised of atoms. The random and unpredictable behaviors of the characters strongly support the notion that the Modern ideas of Fitzgerald's time influenced him.

As evidenced, Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, portrays numerous parallels between the lives of the characters and the Quantum ideas of uncertainty. The drastic shift from determinism to uncertainty affected the characters and many people of the time. The characters clearly portray situations that express their uncertainty about life that distorts their morality and leads them to act impulsively and randomly. These situations form the foundation for the assertion that the notions of Modernism influenced Fitzgerald and his work. Perhaps the concepts of uncertainty have a greater impact on people's lives today than is perceived.

Works Cited:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1925.