Mark Zuckerberg and Jay Gatsby both acquired their wealth through ruthless chicanery. Jay Gatsby, a character in the novel, The Great Gatsby, cheated his way through life as a bootlegger. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, stole the idea from his Harvard classmates, the Winklevoss twins. Society accepted this deception because the masses benefited in both cases. No one censures Zuckerberg's ways because Facebook is so appreciated and commonly used by the whole world. Similarly, no one criticized Gatsby's shady past because his outrageous parties were so enjoyable to the public. In conclusion, society accepts fraudulence when there is a positive outcome.
Excellent comparison! I had no idea that Mark Zuckerberg stole his idea from college classmates.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering…does the hard work that both Gatsby and Zuckerberg put towards their successes mitigate their wrongs, and does it affect society's reaction? Zuckergberg, although he may have stolen the idea which of course is wrong, put in huge amounts of effort to create an empire from the idea. Further, do Gatsby and Zuckerberg's motives mitigate their wrongdoings? Although Gatsby was a bootlegger, he was only involved in the crime to win over Daisy's love. Does this change anything?
I really enjoyed this analysis, awesome job!