Corruption In The Great Gatsby

As the phenomenal politician Bernie Sanders once said, “For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.” In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by Scott Fitzgerald, the “American Dream” plays a crucial role in the plot. Gatsby devotes his life to accomplish his American Dream which consists of wealth and Daisy’s love. But is the American Dream actually what it seems to be? Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes the symbolic value of the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and the significance of the color yellow to constantly establish that opulence and the American Dream is deceiving as it leads to moral and societal corruption.

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.

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.

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, characters are depicted as corrupt human beings influenced by their own personal agendas. With an indistinguishable line between right and wrong, they remain unaware of the consequences that follow their actions. Daisy Buchanan is portrayed as the “golden girl” of her time. She is the woman every man wants to call their own, although they only focus on her superficial features rather than personal qualities. Throughout the novel, her true self begins to unfold, displaying how she misleads others to protect her social stature and reputation. Daisy’s submissive nature continuously hurts the people she cares about by allowing her to engage in dishonest activities.

To begin with, in the beginning of the novel the reader discovers just how rich Gatsby his, and how luxurious his life is. However, the audience later finds out that this his image of wealth all aspires to win back his true love Daisy. The beginning is important for it’s the reader’s first insight into Gatsby’s dream, and for awhile many believe that it would come true as well as Gatsby did. For instance, Nick illustrates Gatsby’s emotions, when Daisy is turning his house “I think he [Gatsby] revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her [Daisy] well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald 91). Thus, this demonstrates Gatsby dream of making Daisy happy with his materialistic items, and luxurious lifestyle. It also relates to his hopes of making Daisy happier than her husband ever would, and making her see that as well. In addition, while at Gatsby’s house, Gatsby shows Daisy his shirts from england, Daisy confesses, “They’re such beautiful shirts (...) she sobbed (...) I’ve never seen such beautiful shirts before” (92). In reference, the real reason why Daisy is so sad and emotional is because she is such a materialistic person, that she becomes overwhelmed by Gatsby’s wealth, and also wishes she could live with Gatsby, and his lifestyle. Because of this, Gatsby begins to believe his hard work has payed off. To put all points forward, Gatsby uses his wealth to pull Daisy back into his life, and hopes that by showing her his

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.

The American Dream is a recurring theme in Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. The American Dream is all about starting with nothing and making your way to achieve millions of dollars and “happiness.” In The Great Gatsby, by showing Gatsby’s tragic flaw, his belief that money will buy Daisy’s love, Fitzgerald in a way criticizes the American dream. Fitzgerald exudes this image of corruption in the American Dream through aspects of wealth, relationships, and social class.

In the past the American Dream was an inspiration to many, young and old. To live out the American Dream was what once was on the minds of many Americans. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was presented as a corrupted version of what used to be a pure and honest ideal way to live. The idea that the American Dream was about the wealth and the possessions one had been ingrained, somehow, into the minds of Americans during the 1920’s. As a result of the distortion of the American Dream, the characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby along with many others, lived life fully believing in the American Dream, becoming completely immersed in it and in the end suffered great tragedies.

The American dream is the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby we are given a glimpse of 20th century New York; a story focused on the corrupted American dream. Many characters in the book are in pursuit of the American dream not aware of the impact their behavior will have in the end. The Great Gatsby is a tragic story portraying the downhill spiral of the American dream due to the carelessness of the wealthy.

While Gatsby’s dream of attaining and starting over with Daisy remains pure, his means of achieving his dream are, unfortunately, corrupt. There are plenty subtle hints about Gatsby’s immoral practices yet unadulterated heart throughout the novel. For example, in the beginning of the novel a woman at one of Gatsby’s parties chatting with her friend states, “You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody’s looking at him. I’ll bet he killed a man” (44). This statement doesn’t bluntly say he is corrupt but gives honest insight into his public image and inserts the thought that Gatsby could have possibly been involved in illegal actions during his pathway to wealth.

Myrtle is chasing her American dream by having an affair with Tom Buchanan.Tom is a very wealthy man who is married to Daisy.Myrtle is unhappy with her husband George who is not a very wealthy man.Her image of living the dream was to go with Tom.She felt that her life would be complete and live the life that she was meant to

Throughout The Great Gatsby, its author F. Scott Fitzgerald expresses the concept of corruption in social stratification through Gatsby and Daisy, and their “social group”. Gatsby lives on the Eastern side, the “new wealth” whilst Daisy lives on the opposite where the “old money” folk live. They are from two separate yet colliding worlds, knowing each other from the past and meeting once again years after. Gatsby followed Daisy to the island, to follow his heart and dreams of being with her, believing it would be everything he had ever dreamed. Albeit their reunion, and Daisy‘s love for him, they suffer numerous impediments that place more challenges in their relationship, bringing out the truth inside that they could not admit to one another

Corruption is defined as dishonesty for personal gain. Although Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson prove to be corrupt by cheating on their partners, it is James Gatz that displays the most dishonesty to suit his wishes. Gatz transforms his entire life to regain Daisy's heart and even changes his name to suit his new lifestyle. James Gatz became 'Jay Gatsby', certain that through status and wealth, he could restore the relationship he had with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby chooses a corrupt lifestyle. He is dishonest about the fact that he is obtaining his fortune immorally and is concealing his methods with lies about travel and inheritance. It is because of the fact that he accomplishes his goal of prosperity through dishonest

In the time period of the 1920s everyone was on a journey to achieve wealth and success, although partaking in this journey often left to a corruption of judgment. Love, lust, and wealth are all factors in the distortion of someone’s judgement. As seen in the book The Great Gatsby, a book set in the 1920s time period, we see many examples of corruption due to these specific causes. We, the reader, encounter many experiences of lust in the affairs between Tom and Mrytle and Daisy and Gatsby, which further lead to the corruption of their marriages. It is also seen that Gatsby’s love for Daisy leads him into corruption, forcing himself to be over the top in luxuries in order to win her back. Overall his efforts fail, but this initial desire to

The Great Gatsby is a novel by Scott Fitzgerald that took place in the 1920’s also known as the Jazz age. It is a well-rounded novel based upon the life of a wealthy man known as jay Gatsby seen through the eyes of the narrator Nick Carraway. The main theme of this novel is the pursuit if the American dream, but through this pursuit the corruption of the American Dream was formed. Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson are all trying to achieve the American Dream through corruption.