Corruption In The Great Gatsby

New York City, overwhelmed with success, money and image in the 1920s was drowning in corruption. F Scott Fitzgerald composed a riveting novel, The Great Gatsby, which follows the journey of several characters dealing with love, greed, confusion and lust during the 1920s. Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the American dream by allowing us to follow the downfall of Jay Gatsby, revealing the reality of the American dream.

As a society, America has created certain ideas and stereotypes of each class including the citizens within them. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses around the superficial communities of West and East Egg, and their misconceptions of one another. The citizens of East Egg, such as Daisy and Tom Buchanan, frown upon the up-and-coming men of West Egg. This includes Gatsby, who dreams of the riches they take for granted. Gatsby, who obtains his money through dishonest means appears villainous, unsuccessfully attempting to join the wealthy and elite society of East egg. However, there may be more to Gatsby's story. As Nick, the narrator, says he is “worth the whole damn bunch put together”(154). Through his descriptions and comparison of Tom’s house and Gatsby’s house, Fitzgerald reveals the true nature of the two men. While Gatsby appears to be morally corrupt, in the end he actually has pure intentions, instead it is Tom who emits negativity and is ungrateful for his life.

Success, formerly signifying the accomplishment of an aim or purpose, however, it has become poisoned by the narcissism of humankind which redefines it as the state of being financially superior to others. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the outlook on the American Dream during the 1920s was crafted through a myriad of events and characters depicting this civil dilemma. By definition, the American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (wealthy), if they exert the required effort on their arduous journey. Having said that, the American Dream thus presents an illusion of an American society that neglects issues such as: systemic racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and income inequality. Furthermore, it also postulates a myth of class equality, yet the reality could not be further from this. In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates how fantasies driven by materialistic ideologies can lead to inevitable corruption and demoralization in society. Notably, this is exhibited through the daily struggles of George and Myrtle Wilson, the conspicuous bigotry of Tom and Daisy Buchanan as well as the ambition and passion of Jay Gatsby.

The wealthy in the late 20’s was corrupt and selfish. In the Great Gatsby the upper class is shown as corruptive. The people in the upper class such as Tom and Daisy don’t really care about their actions because they feel invincible due to their amount of money and the power they have. Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption in the way upper class is care-less about their behavior.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is about a writer named Nick Carraway. He leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922 . Nick chases his American Dream and ends up living next door to a mysterious, party-loving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who is  across the water from his cousin, Daisy and her husband, Tom Buchanan. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals that the upper class society is corrupt from money. This is best proven through Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom.

This divide would not only be apparently in appearance of the two communities and their geographical locations but the divide was also present in the actions and attitudes the character possessed. The East eggers such as Tom and Daisy looked at the West eggers like Gatsby as if there were some kind of flaw in the system that just by luck they were considered wealthy. The west eggers on the other hand would do anything to be looked at as equal as their foes. The whole idea that inherited money meant more then earned money was more important then if you even had money at all. Tom, when realizing the lust that Gatsby and daisy were hiding for each other, was angrier at the fact that she would associate let along long to be with someone from the "west egg". This whole notion of the expectations that the East eggers had for the wealthy and rich society of New York were constantly strived toward by the west eggers driving some, such as Gatsby mad with greed and corrupting both societies from the inside out. Gatsby constantly strived to lead a rich and glamorous life to impress people like the long time wealthy such as daisy, corrupting him form a young age which he carried throughout his whole life.

The Great Gatsby is a story about how corruption causes absence of true love, and how the desire for true love can cause disastrous consequences. Jay Gatsby had a number of downfalls and he is a great example of the desire for true love. Gatsby’s downfalls were his dreams and aspirations about Daisy, social class and how others viewed him.

The two classic parties in The Great Gatsby may differ physically, but are driven by the same motive. The Great Gatsby took place in the 1920’s, when the American Dream was at its peak. The main characters are Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy, who live in a city where the American dream was big – essentially another city the American Dream corrupted. The American Dream transitioned from being all about hope, to a dream filled with money, or that money was everything, which ended up corrupting many people’s lives. The Great Gatsby clearly shows the corruption the American Dream caused, especially with the two parties. While both parties differ in size and guest list, they together reinforce Fitzgerald’s theme that the American dream is a dream driven

The 1920s otherwise known as the Gangster Era had a rising number in crimes; the law enforcements did not work to their full potentials which led to four out of every five criminals going unpunished by the law (Alder 36). Big cities such as New York and Chicago had gang uprises due to ethnic tension and prohibition rebellion. Groups such as the Klu Klux Klan became popular throughout the country, spreading their extremely racist views to many. The prohibition gave many gangs an opportunity to start illegal businesses such as selling alcohol. Many of these gangs and dangerous people were not punished due to their extreme wealth.

In The Great Gatsby, various factors affect the class to which a character belongs to; such as wealth, social status, and political power. Furthermore, Fitzgerald portrays the era of the 1920’s as a corrupt society which thrives to impress other individuals with their materialistic possessions. The setting of the novel expands through four different suburbs, each with distinct classes. East Egg and West Egg are both communities of wealth, which contrast each other by how an individual builds their capital. Potentially, a person of any background could make a fortune, but families belonging to the category of American Aristocracy earn their fortune from inheritance .

The Great Gatsby is a novel focusing on life in The Roaring 20s. It is set is the “Get-rich-quick” decade that brought the creation of organized crime in response to Prohibition. Gatsby made his wealth primarily from being a bootlegger, although that part of his life was kept mysterious. Gatsby has a few colors associated with his character, such as yellow, green, pink, and blue. Gatsby is has yellow as a part of his character primarily because of his wealth.

The Great Gatsby is a novel that illustrates the society in the 1920's and the associated beliefs, values and dreams of the American population at that time. These beliefs, values and dreams can be summed up be what is termed the "American Dream", a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. This underworld infiltrated the upper echelons and created such a moral decay within general society that paved the way for the ruining of dreams and dashing of hopes as they were placed confidently in the chance for opportunities that could be seized by one and all. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the

The Great Gatsby is set in post WWI America and at the time, the American dream was for any hardworking person to be able to achieve success and happiness regardless of their background or social class. This was a time of great change and revolution with the roaring twenties and rising middle class.

It is quite obvious and still is a true statement; it is incredibly difficult to fit perfectly in society. No matter when or where, even if some people may not admit to it, just about everyone, at some point in their lives, desire to have more wealth, more romance, and more fun. Life in the 1920s embodies that statement very well. Everyone was very carefree and lived life to the fullest. But, with this desire for a better life comes a cost. It may sometimes even cause people to lose themselves or lie to fit in better in society. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” love, economical corruption, and social corruption have negative effects on Daisy and Gatsby.

The Roaring 20's was an era of decadence and endless possibility. The American Dream was something that everyone coveted. Essentially, The American Dream meant that anyone who had the talent and worked hard enough, could achieve it. Money, a loving spouse, and status all showed that a person had been successful in their life and were vital points to the American Dreams of the Characters in the Great Gatsby. Many of them strived in their own way to achieve “the dream”, however, twisted ideals of love, wealth, and class led to the eventual fall of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby.