Money and Class in america, the great gatsby

In “Money and class in America” a book by Lewis Lapham, Lapham tells us his observations on how Americans view wealth, how Americans are “deflected by the pursuit of money”. In The Great Gatsby, it is shown just how wealth creates social ranks and affects society

One of the major themes of The Great Gatsby is the corruption of society and its people. 'Corruption' is defined as "decomposition or disorganization, in the process of putrefaction; putrefaction; deterioration". But how would people of such a wealthy and relaxed life come to be corrupt, would be a difficult question to without seeing and experiencing the characters of this masterpiece of F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby truly reinstates the fact that the rich and the beautiful do have problems. The Buchanans are millionaires that are spending their lazy days with their lazy life. How does 'decomposition' and 'disorganization' come into this on to this tale? Well of course there is infidelity, and not just by one of them but both. Tom is corrupt character, he is a racist, sexist, hypocrite, arrogant, dishonest and more. Yet he comes from a rich and socially stable family, this powerful status keeps other off his backs, and he is free to roam about with his outrageous views and ego. When Tom begins to discover Daisy's affair with Gatsby, he almost immediately faces this, with a few angry looks and words.
But he doesn't think of hiprocisy that he is showing with his second significant other Myrtle. Tom is an example of what 1920's old money comes to be, only propelled by their upper class status. They are too good for West Egg; they are the classy, the elegant, and the sophisticated. And put out their top of their lives to mask the unattractive corrupt reality.
The American dream lost among the age of the crazy and wild Jazz. Ultimately Great Gatsby demonstrates the corruption of the American dream, as the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals. For various reasons of course, the brutal trench wars of the World War, that caused new generation to see and live in a different way. And the American economic boom that brought the "New" money to young Americans from all kind of backgrounds. The book clearly demonstrated the new money in the West Egg, and their clash with the East Egg's established "Old" money aristocracy. As Nick explains it, easy money and relaxed social values have corrupted the dream. The most corrupted character in The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly the great Gatsby himself. Gatsby seems like a victim who loved and lost, and lost again. Jay Gatsby himself is living a corrupted life, his own name is not even real, and his fortune is from illegal bootlegging money. Since the war his life has been a reach for the green light that is Daisy. To Jay, Daisy represented perfection. She was a picture of wealth, sophistication, grace and aristocracy which Gatsby longed for as a child up until when he met her during the war. Gatsby has made Daisy a symbol of everything he values, and made the green light on her dock a symbol of his destiny with her. After being rejected by Daisy, he still clings on to his dream that Daisy will be back. Because the thought of his life long goal escaping him just like that does not seem reasonable to him. In a way Gatsby's entire life was corrupted by this entire image of picture perfect goal of a future with Daisy.