Does F. Scott Fitzgerald Present Social Corruption In The Great Gatsby

A Facade Society
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.
The Valley of Ashes demonstrate the social corruption and the unachievable American Dream. Residents of the Valley of Ashes are portrayed as poor and hopeless by the use of imagery and diction.
The Valley of Ashes is located in between the West Egg and New York City. Which is an unclean area between the old money mansions and the booming City. When Nick accompanied Tom to head to the city, he saw “...ashes [grown] like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens...take forms of houses…”(23). The word “ashes” is associated with factories and death. The use of “ashes” gives off a negative imagery about the area. The way that the ashes “grow like wheat” helps the reader imagine how poorly kept the location is. Ashes are everywhere; the reader could infer that the valley is full of factories. The Valley is covered with dirt and ashes, this shows how the location has developed into a dumping ground. The social corruption is displayed by the gap between the rich and the poor. The rich have beautiful green grass while the poor are stuck in a deformed environment.
The Valley of Ashes, helps the reader understand how corrupt the 1920’s is as a whole. Through imagery and diction, the Valley is depicted as ugly and deformed. Fitzgerald uses “grotesque gardens”, which has a sharp contrast meaning between them. The word “grotesque” means ugly and distorted. On the other hand, “garden” can linked to green, and colorful vegetation. The two words put together conveys that the valley is forgotten of and useless. With the confronting diction, it portrays the tension between the two words. The tension is the dejection of people trying to achieve their American Dream. This links to the idea of the American Dream as corrupted. The environment is so run down that, the thought of the escaping is gone because people are financially unstable and stuck. Not only is the Valley of Ashes filled with dirt, the individuals reflect the mistreatment of society as well. The residents of the Valley of ashes are displays as dull and depressed by the use of diction and imagery. By the reflection of the people, it shows how morally corrupted the 1920’s society is trying to achieve the American Dream. Once Nick saw how filthy the region is, he saw how the people . Once the grey old trains pulled up, “...immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud…”(23). The word choice “ash grey men” means that the people are also covered with filth. Unlike the Eggs, locals work in low paying jobs just to make it by economically. The words “ash” and “grey” were also adjectives to describe the area. The people blend in well with their mucky surroundings displaying how poor and unsanitary they truly are. The American Dream corruption is displayed here by the dull people.The place is empty and lifeless as the people blend in with their surroundings;such as a ghost town. The American dream will never truly live up to the expectations people desire such as those in the Valley. Fitzgerald implies that everyone is selfish and only crave for more physical objects. The Valley of Ashes is unlike the booming New City but, many people in the Valley rush just to survive.
With the applications of diction and imagery, The people living in the Valley of Ashes are portrayed as occupied.
People in the train station are so busy and ready to rush out that they caused a “impenetrable cloud.” Fitzgerald shows that these are the individuals can not enjoy the luxury that money could buy. The “cloud’ is full and crowded, representing how the time moves fast. Everyone is focussed on going to work and making enough money to just to survive in a grotesque place. Fitzgerald uses the Valley of Ashes to help understand the big contrast between what the wealthy has versus the poor. Fitzgerald uses the Valley to exhibit social corruption as people have to be the richest to be at the top. Individuals are fixated on making as much money as possible, so they could achieve their ceaseless American Dream. The rich, such as Tom helps himself to whatever he wants without regard of the lower
class. Tom Buckham is a characterized as superficial by the implication of the diction and imagery. In chapter seven, Myrtle has been killed by Daisy riding Tom’s expensive car. Gatsby has taken the blame for the killing of Myrtle and Daisy and Tom are nowhere to be seen. After the death of Tom’s mistress Myrtle, Tom and Daisy ignore the whole situation by “... sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table, with a plate of cold fried chicken between them” (152). The adjective “cold” can be referred to as apathetic and distant. The “cold fried chicken” is a symbol of Tom and Daisy together. With all the money they acquired they chose to eat a chicken thats cold. Daisy knew about Tom’s affair, yet with Myrtle now gone they rush back into their “perfect” marriage. “Sitting opposite each other” is a negative action, usually displayed when one does not want to associated with another. Considering that Daisy and Tom are married, the reader would predict that they would be close.They were not acting like a couple but displays dislike towards each other. Fitzgerald uses imagery to reveal how superficial Tom and Daisy are.They are careless, by showing no emotion towards the death of Myrtle, even though Daisy is the one to blame Tom shows social corruption by the fake relationship he has with Daisy. With Myrtle literally gone, they both pretend that the past never happened.
Furthermore, Tom Buchman shows how careless he is, through the use of imagery, Fitzgerald shows how socially and morally corrupt 1920’s society is.
F. Scott Fitzgerald described the tension between Tom and Daisy to show has awkward it is between them. Whilst they ate dinner there was an “.... unmistakeable air of natural intimacy about the picture.”(152). “Intimacy is usually used to show the love and affection between two people. In Tom and Daisy’s case, it reveals how fake their relationship is. The intimacy is only temporary until Tom finds another woman. The only reason why Daisy and Tom are still together is by money, they are both powerful rich adults.. Although Daisy already knows that Tom is cheating she is trapped in the marriage. This displays moral corruption; Tom is bound to have another woman again and will never be loyal to Daisy. Tom displays selfishness and the corruption of the American dream by his greediness and unwilling to let anyone be equal to him. He cheated on Daisy solely to enjoy himself more, proving how reckless he truly
is. By the use of imagery and diction, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Tom to illustrate how the 1920’s society and the American Dream is corrupted. Fitzgerald describes how dirty and boring the Valley is. The valley also shows the sad truth but the unachievable American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald additionally represents Tom as fake and carless. He shows social corruption by his carelessness with the lower class. He also shows the moral corruptions in society by cheating with Daisy, yet puts on a facade when together. Thus, Fitzgerald demonstrates the moral, societal corruption of the 1920s society and of the American Dream.