Corruption In The Great Gatsby

Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby is a mysterious character that meticulously sculpts the way others think about him. Gatsby wants everyone to think he is living the American Dream, by having all the wealth one could possibly imagine. Gatsby earns enough money to build a house across the water from Daisy, where rumors of his fake personality are seeded. Brett Cohen’s charade in his famous video, “Fake Celebrity Pranks New York City,” sparks rumors as to who he is. Similarly, Gatsby throws massive parties full of strangers, where he utilizes rumors of his wealth and past as a way to gain attention hoping they will draw Daisy to him. While Gatsby’s persona succeeds in stirring up rumors as Brett’s does,

In order to achieve this he carefully crafts his public image as a wealthy, sophisticated, and successful man. He surrounds himself with famous and influential people, Gatsby throws lavish parties for the famous and influential people he surrounds himself with. These parties are also used as ‘feeding grounds’ for the strenuous rumors about him He surrounds himself with famous and influential people, all in an effort to be seen as someone important and desirable. Gatsby's desire to be seen as a member of old money establishes his new persona, which succeeds as he becomes wealthy and rumors about him are well-known. While attending one of Gatsby’s grand parties, Nick gets involved in gossip about Gatsby's past. Rumors go flying as everyone appears to know different facts about Jay Gatsby, including that he “was in the American army during the war,” that “he killed a man once,” or that Gatsby “was a German spy during the war” (Fitzgerald 44). Showing no one truly knows anything about Gatsby, not what he did during the war, what his job is, or even what he looks like, which is Gatbsy’s intention. The wide variety of these rumors is proof of that, people simply do not know if Gatsby is a hero or a traitor to their country. This is why Gatsby is successful as he tricks everyone into believing whatever he wished them to. Rumors at the party intrigue Nick as his

Gatbsy dreams of Daisy and believes once he becomes wealthy, she would leave Tom for him, however, he cannot accept the reality of their relationship and the social barriers that separate them. Gatsby’s true problem throughout the novel is becoming too attached to the materialistic idea of having Daisy, while in reality, he wanted a lover. His focus on achieving Daisy forced him to become wealthy and change his whole life to meet his goal. Gatbsy could have instead seen where he fits in on a grander societal scale, instead of chasing crazy dreams he should be finding his greater purpose in life, not achieving or gaining something, but something that made him happy and that provided him with meaning and