Corruption In The Great Gatsby

Mannat Ghuman

Mr.Wills

English 10

25 May 2023

The Great Gatsby: A Tale of Corruption

Nobel prize winner and writer, John Steinbeck, once said “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” This encapsulates an idea that is constantly portrayed in the novel. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the tale of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby as he lives in newfound luxury emerging from a low class life within the roaring 20’s. In The Great Gatsby, wealth plays a large role in the behavior of the characters. The greed of characters for wealth and power heavily influences their actions. The wealth disparities present play an important role that shines through when reading the story through a Marxist lens.

Myrtle Wilson is the mistress of Tom Buchanan, a man who comes from wealth while she is a low-class married woman. Myrtle is aware of Tom being married himself but does not care about this fact because she sees Tom as a ticket to wealth. In chapter 2 Myrtle repeatedly speaks the name of Tom’s wife, Daisy. In turn, Tom hits her resulting in a broken nose. This part of the story showcases class differences. Tom does not think twice before striking Myrtle as he knows she will not retaliate. Tom feels a sense of ownership of Myrtle and this largely has to do with their stark difference in class status. Later on in the book Nick and Jordan who run in the same circle as Gatsby attend one of his grand parties. Whilst in attendance Nick encounters many people who question Gatsby’s wealth and whether or not Gatsby is even real (Chapter 3). Despite not even being aware of Gatsby’s character or who he is at all, people are willing to look past it and go to his parties including Nick Carraway. In a sense, Gatsby’s money is enough to win over the masses. Through this, we see how those who lack wealth will overlook much to gain closer proximity to

While Gatsby and Nick drive to the city, Gatsby is stopped by an officer for recklessly driving, in response Gatsby shows the officer a card, notifying the officer of his wealth and status (74). Gatsby uses his wealth to get a privilege that would be otherwise inaccessible to anyone of lower class status. When using his wealth to get away with a crime, Gatsby showcases the puppeteering done by the rich within society to benefit themselves. Gatsby introduces Nick to a friend named Meyer Woldshiem who he claims was responsible for fixing the 1919 World Series(76). Wolfsheim, a wealthy businessman, utilizes his wealth to do an illegal deed likely to enhance his wealth. In order to increase his wealth which is already plentiful he acts on ill deeds. This displays how the wealthy use their wealth for immoral deeds just to garner more of what they already have much