Corruption In The Great Gatsby

Set in the heart of the 1920s, The Great Gatsby, which is probably one of the most popular classic literature works in modern American fiction,may appear to be a novel about a tragic love story. The major theme, nevertheless, is about the life of that era as a whole. In The Great Gatsby, the contemporary society is portrayed by people pursuing success but it seems more difficult to reach that goal because of the huge amount of people trying to achieve the same thing (Institution, n.d.). This paper will discuss elements reflected in The Great Gatsby which contribute to the corruption of the 1920s American Dream.

Until now, there is still no exact definition of what American Dream means. However, it is believed to come from the Declaration of

It shows the attitude of hope longing for opportunities. In addition, the term “American Dream”, which was defined by James Truslow Adams in “The Epic of America” in 1931, is “…that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” by working hard regardless of social order and circumstance of birth (Patrick, 2011). It can be said that hope and hard-working are the central parts and the purest trait of the American Dream.

The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, which was also known as the “Roaring Twenties” or the “Jazz Age”. This era is a period of time in America with dramatic social change. For the first time, “the nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929” and the preponderance of people living in cites as well. Furthermore, with the invention of new technologies such as radio, aviation, etc. the country became rich and prosperity. People across the nation could achieve

Traditionally, the United States is seen as a class society, where every citizen receives equal chances to achieve the “American Dream” of happiness and prosperity. F. Scott Fitzgerald can be said to argue against this perception indicating that there is a class-based society in the United States. These differences in social classes in the 1920’s are illustrated by Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby by bringing to us different types of characters from different social classes and distinctly describing them in the way they act in each class. Additionally, a layout of different locations is also created to contribute to expose the class differences. There are two main places which the story takes place in and displays most of the class differences. They are East egg and West egg separated by Valley of Ashes. These two places are used as a geographical motif implying the harsh situation of 1920s American economy when moral decay and the contradictions between traditional Western and modern Eastern values were originated (Goodman,