Preview

Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
924 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby captures the story of a man motivated by his passion to find love. The novel encapsulates the agony Jay Gatsby experiences throughout his journey to acquire the affection and devotion he so greatly desires from the woman of his dreams. The book portrays the corruption of the 1920s and the collateral damage it has upon society. As unfortunate as the occurrences within the plot seem, there is a shocking reality that lies beneath them. The story of The Great Gatsby strongly parallels to the life of the author, Francis Scott Fitzgerald, reflecting upon the tragedies that he encountered along his pursuit for love due to the lack of morality that existed in the 1920s. Fitzgerald utilizes the lives of many different characters within his book to portray his personal life story, injecting portions of his background, experiences, and personality into several of the individuals illustrated in the novel. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1896. His father was originally from Maryland and possessed a strong conviction toward Southern values, instilling them into his son from a young age. He taught his son the significance of good manners and right instincts, which resulted in Fitzgerald’s friends distinctly recalling his sympathetic nature toward others. Positioned as the narrator in The Great Gatsby, Nick …show more content…
The anguish Jay Gatsby endures within Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, closes aligns with elements and occurrences from his own life. The devastating rejection due to money, the destructive influence of alcohol, and the catastrophic effects of adultery within a relationship are all mutual experiences that connect the main character to the author. The moral corruption of the 1920s resulted in devastating tragedies within the lives of both men, producing psychological wounds too deep to be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby, the only thing that matters in the 1920’s is how lavish the parties are, and how having so much money is not enough. Gatsby has all the money in the world, has lavish parties all in hope that, Daisy will come back. Money is used as a lure in the novel, to try and bring Daisy back. Money destroys the characters, money destroys their lives, and the novel shows how wealth corrupts them in the end. Fitzgerald shows through the characters relationships, how greed was demonstrated in the 1920’s.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald makes trouble now seem a little less worrisome. Gatsby, the main character, must deal with war, betrayal of love, and illegal acts. Nick Carraway, the narrator, takes the reader on a journey not only through the novel but also his own life. He starts by saying that his father taught him to never hold people to the personal standards of one's self in fear of misinterpreting the person as a whole. This advice is carried throughout the novel and is by far one of the most notable aspects within the story. The Great Gatsby is a delicately written story of a young man trying to fight his way through the 1920’s with the issues of prohibition, which lead into organized crime, and the forthcoming of the second industrial…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, which was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a story that reflects the life of the 1920's in New York. The 1920's was a decade of prosperity and opportunity, but also of prohibition and organized crime. The life in the 1920's was filled with moral decay (immoral decisions) and corruptness. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows how the American Dream is dead through immoral decisions and corruptness in Gatsby's and Myrtle's life.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Study Guide Great Gatsby

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On the surface, The Great Gatsby is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman. The main theme of the novel, however, encompasses a much larger, less romantic scope. Though all of its action takes place over a mere few months during the summer of 1922 and is set in a circumscribed geographical area in the vicinity of Long Island, New York, The Great Gatsby is a highly symbolic meditation on 1920s America as a whole, in particular the disintegration of the American dream in an era…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Prohibition commenced on 16th Janurary 1920, which was followed by the Volstead Act (formally known as National Prohibition act) a year later. The government's intent was to raise the nation’s moral standards, however, it had the opposite effect. In practice it was difficult to enforce and it was not difficult for drinkers to find alcohol, as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel makes very clear. Bootlegging, the unlawful production and provision of alcohol, became big business, making fortunes for criminals such as the gangster Al Capone. This appears to be the principal source of Gatsby’s wealth, the core of corruption within his…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Society tends to have a myriad of unspoken problems that plague its entirety as a whole. With numerous underlying issues that slowly fester from the center of the core to the outside, society constantly attempts to suppress and ignore the genuine problem. One of the ever present obstacles that seemingly will go unattended to is moral decay. Though many people may recognize the issue at hand, it’s become a pattern to let it be as it is, as opposed to fixing it from within. Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the decaying of social and moral values through his use of symbolism and characterization.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a novel that depicts Jay Gatsby chasing his American Dream. Although Gatsby did it by illegal means, Fitzgerald honors Gatsby for the effort he put forth in trying to achieve his American Dream of winning Daisy back. With the use of symbolism, syntax to create a respectful tone towards Gatsby, and a mood of honor, Fitzgerald admires Gatsby for chasing an unattainable American Dream and almost succeeding.…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates how the desire for money and materialism compels the American dream to decay. Fitzgerald uses Tom and Daisy’s daughter, Gatsby’s bootlegging, and the sin of adultery to show the downfall of ideals during this time period. The Great Gatsby examines the collapse of society’s morals and values in their attempt to try and pursue the American dream.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In today’s society, if asked what values individuals admire, the majority would say kindness and humbleness. On the other hand, in the 1920’s the word “kind” would associate with something different from today . The depiction of respect has dramatically changed over time. For example the 1920’s is an exemplar of moral and social corruption. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom is portrayed as fake and selfish. Through imagery and diction, it shows the moral, social corruption of 1920’s society and the American Dream.…

    • 1322 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    How human beings behave in society is dictated by moral standards of conduct that are generally accepted as right or proper. This sense of morality can become perverse such that the lines between right and wrong are blurred. The person becomes depraved and their behavior eschews what is generally considered to be right. In the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald the characters are portrayed in an immoral manner. F. Scott Fitzgerald displays the destruction of morals in society during the era of the “Jazz Age.” The main characters: Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby are categorized as morally corrupt; they lose their values in attempt to find their place in the social world. These…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story set in the 1920’s in New York City. It tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a young man who bootlegs and gambles to achieve wealth, only to impress his first love, a materialistic spoiled girl named Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy went their separate ways when Gatsby joined the war. Now Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan and Gatsby is trying to win her back through wealth. Gatsby’s one goal is to have Daisy; despite her marriage he believes that he can recreate his past with her. Fitzgerald, paints the picture of the of Gatsby’s dream with symbolism, by using the colors gold/yellow, white sliver, and green, the reader comprehends the true contrast in characters and the American dream.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Great Gatsby, there are examples of corruption in most of the characters introduced. Some examples are more overt, such as Gatsby’s business acquaintance and alleged 1919 World Series ‘fixer’, Meyer Wolfsheim. But there are multiple cases where corruption can be found beyond the surface. Old money Tom and Daisy Buchanan, described by the narrator, Nick, as “careless” and “destructive”, despite having no engagement in illegal activities—with the exception of the novel’s climatic car fatality. Both parties are involved with Gatsby and both relate directly to his dream of gaining both monetary wealth and Daisy’s love.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby is a tragic American literature novel that represents the hopeful American dream. Fitzgerald throughout the entire book uses certain literary devices that add onto the sophistication of the novel. In the last passage of The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald conveys Nick Caraway’s perspective and attitude towards Gatsby through imagery, symbolism and irony.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    F. Scott Fitzgerald displays several prominent themes throughout The Great Gatsby. For example, Fitzgerald uses moral corruption, albeit there are other themes, but this one is the most prevalent. Without this theme, the novel would not have progressed anywhere near as fluid as it did the way Fitzgerald wrote the novel. Throughout the novel, the theme of moral corruption, aside from being subtly shown through the entire novel, becomes more prevalent throughout. This is demonstrated by Gatsby’s behavior and dreams corrupting Daisy’s morals even further than they already are. There is also the fact that there are acts of adultery committed by Tom and Myrtle. Aside from that, there is also Daisy’s second corruption as shown in the reason…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is the American Dream still alive in The Great Gatsby? from my personal view on reading the great Gatsby the American Dream was dead. Although there was corruption which still today there is corruption in the government. Many things have changed but others have stayed the same since 1920. People do not take marriage seriously anymore and people have different beliefs since the 1920’s.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics