Theme Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

For many, The Great Gatsby is a story of two thwarted lovers. However, upon deeper analysis, the Great Gatsby is a work written by F. Scott Fitzgerald that criticizes the American dream at a time where it was unbelievably corrupt. The Great Gatsby occurs in the jazz age, in the middle of the 1920s. Fitzgerald bases it in New York, where the jazz age was strongest. This gives us a perfect setting to see exactly what becomes wrong with the American dream when people take it too far. The novel follows the path of two people who have lived up to the American dream (Daisy and Gatsby) under the observation of someone who has not reached the upper class (Nick). This setting and characters create a book in which the theme is the effects of corruption of the American dream. I believe this theme of the effects of corruption of …show more content…
He was the embodiment of the American dream. He had had everything people have the ability to do with the American dream. He rose in ranks from a poor farm boy in North Dakota to a man swimming in his pool behind his mansion when he dies. But through his constant search for Daisy he lets himself go and loses his moral compass, his life revolves around her. His death shows that there is a limit to the American dream. There is a time when corruption takes its toll and results in an emotional detachment from others.
The theme of The Great Gatsby now no longer seems to be a story of love. Now we see that the theme of the Great Gatsby movie is developed with three things the characters actions, the setting, and Gatsby’s death. The theme is shown with the actions of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby. It is shown in the setting of New York in the time period where the focus of the American people shifted. Gatsby’s death shows that even the American dream has a limit. Now I have shown you that the Great Gatsby is not a story a love but a cautionary tale of what happens to people when they take the American dream too