The Theme Of Corruption In The Great Gatsby

In Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, corruption and illusion dominates the characters throughout their lives. The characters in the novel are trying to follow the American Dream. Fitzgerald describes the American Dream as being successful in life and having a true, fighting spirit. However, the characters do unethical and extraordinary things in order to pursue their dream. The character’s corruptness and illusory are shown clearly through their actions and perspectives. To achieve the American Dream, the characters become corrupt and fall into illusions or even become an illusion to conceal the truth and mislead other characters. Jay Gatsby represents a person who is blinded by his imagination and wealth. Gatsby’s entire life has been an illusion. At an early age, Gatsby’s parents were unsuccessful and Gatsby was not very proud of that. Gatsby changes his name from James Gatz in order to create a new identity. With his new identity, he “witness[es] the beginning of his career” (Fitzgerald 104), where he begins his new journey to a wealthy life, thus, creating an illusion. This illusion tricks characters like Nick into believing that Gatsby “inherited money” (Fitzgerald 107), but in reality, he never got the money. Gatsby gets involved with people who would …show more content…
The main character, Jay Gatsby, is an illusion to all the characters in the novel. Meyer Wolfshiem, the business partner who helped Gatsby gain his wealth, represents corruption because of his illegal activities. The theme of illusion is also reinforced when Gatsby is under the illusion that he can win back Daisy. The Valley of Ashes is a desolate place where people’s dreams are abandoned because of their corrupted minds. The themes of corruption and illusion dominate the whole novel because of how the characters react to each other and their