How Does Fitzgerald Create Corruption In The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby has been hailed as one of the classic American novels and has been regarded as such due to F. Scott Fitzgerald's strong grasp of language and writing. Despite being veiled in the pomp and glamour of the Roaring Twenties, the novel explores darker themes such as corruption and morality. Over the course of The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald develops the intertwined themes of decay and corruption through the use of literary devices in his descriptions of the valley of ashes, the voice of Daisy Buchanan, and the argument between Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Fitzgerald first introduces the themes of decay and corruption through his first description of the valley of ashes by employing imagery and metaphors on page 23. Nick Carraway …show more content…
In a hurried conversation with Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby describes Daisy’s voice as being “full of money” and the imagery that follows truly gives off an impression of richness and enormous wealth with descriptions such as “white palace” and “golden girl”. The words “money”, “palace” and “golden” all carry strong implications and images of affluence and materialism that are symbolic of Daisy’s character, as Gatsby later reveals that the love affair between him and Daisy stemmed from a former romantic relationship. Despite her love for Gatsby, Daisy grew tired of waiting for him to become wealthy and instead married Tom Buchanan for his fortune rather than for his affection, thus her mouth, too, became “full of money”. Gatsby’s rise to success and continuing “love” for Daisy turns the situation problematic: Daisy’s desire for material wealth has clouded her moral compass and landed her in a state of infidelity, fostering a rising tension between the two central men in her life. In other words, Fitzgerald is decoupling the ideas of wealth and greatness by illustrating how a potentially prosperous relationship between Gatsby and the two Buchanans is harshly severed by Daisy’s internalized