Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby was a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the roaring twenties. During this time, the era modernism was emerging, which includes the sub categories of alienation and isolation. In The Great Gatsby, characters feel lonely and out of place despite their wealth, allowing them to attend raging parties with many social opportunities. This feeling of misplacement affects how they act and relate to each other, showing the reader the complexities of human emotions and society. Nick Carraway best illustrates the feeling of alienation despite being rich and extravagant like everyone else. He feels that despite being in a similar social status, he is not morally corrupt. The reader knows this because he says, “I am one of the

However, Nick was born into a wealthier family and doesn’t necessarily have to chase for more. You can also see how Nick feels alienated when he says he is “...within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life” (Fitzgerald 35). He has this high social status, and is friends with all of the rich people, yet his house isn’t as lavish and he doesn’t have the reputation yet. He is new to the area and is still trying to grasp everyone’s personalities, whereas for people such as Daisy, it comes easily. Nick also says he felt “...haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others - poor young clerks...in the dusk, wasting the most poignant moments of night and life” (Fitzgerald 56-57). Because Nick is detached from the clicks of West/East Egg, he can sit back and study the party-goers. Nick can also tell when others are feeling the same way because he is so accustomed to the feeling. Despite The Great Gatsby describing a lot of parties, Nick demonstrates how one can still feel alienated in a crowded setting. Similarly to Nick, Gatsby shows that even the richest people can feel isolated from the