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Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

905 Words4 Pages

The Great Gatsby takes place in the 19th century after World War I when capitalism promises economic opportunity. One of the main characters, Jay Gatsby, faces conflict as he tries to reclaim his former love, Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby illustrates a theme and symbolism of corruption as Jay Gatsby tries to rekindle the love between him and Daisy. Symbolism plays an important part in understanding The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald creates his own form of symbolism by using “the valley of ashes” when he first introduced it in chapter two (Audhey 110). The chapter describes it as a long tract between New York City and West Egg consisting of dreary land born from the remains of industrial ashes (Fitzgerald 35).
The valley of ashes is used to illustrate the corruption and the social decay that happens during the 1920’s. The corruption and social decay results from the excessive and inconsiderate lifestyles of the rich . Myrtle and George Wilson are considered a part of the lower class of society that are stuck in poverty. They are considered tools for the higher class society and are easily disposed of since they …show more content…

Scott Fitzgerald creates The Great Gatsby, a novel that revolves around one of the main characters, Jay Gatsby, and the conflicts that he goes through. Jay Gatsby is known as a slave over romanticism as he tries to revitalize the one love he had for Daisy five years ago (Fitzgerald 73). Gatsby is thought of as a “mythic” character. He emblematizes conflict between illusion and reality at the heart of American lives. It is said that he is represented as a American romantic hero (Bewley 14). Fitzgerald creates Jay Gatsby with the perfect understanding of the inadequacy of Gatsby’s romantic view of wealth. Gatsby’s desire for his dream to become a reality overpowers all others, but it continues to elude him (13). Jay Gatsby’s mindset seems to show that he is stuck in the present, but his past haunts him more than the future

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Appearing multiple times in the novel, the “valley of ashes” represents the acrimony and poverty of New York in the 1920’s. Carraway describes this barren wasteland with words such as “grotesque” and “fantastic” (PAGE). By using the word grotesque, Fitzgerald portrays an ugly and distorted image of the contrasting world of lavish West Egg, and his tone is most prominently seen through this example. Shying from the masterful subtlety with which Fitzgerald employs his negative diction throughout the novel, “the valley of ashes” is given a simple yet effective description that harshly shows what Fitzgerald intends for the reader to understand. It is in Fitzgerald’s description of the “valley of ashes” that many differing opinions arise on Fitzgerald’s intentions.

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' This is a valley of ashes, a extraordinary place where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling

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The Great Gatsby is an American novel written by Scott Fitzgerald. On the surface, the book revolves around the concept of romance, the love between two individuals. However, the novel incorporates less of a romantic scope and rather focuses on the theme of the American Dream in the 1920s. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920’s as an era of decline in moral values. The strong desire for luxurious pleasure and money ultimately corrupts the American dream which was originally about individualism.

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Similarities Between Fitzgerald And Jay Gatsby

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Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.

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In the novel, the valley of ashes is symbolic of the American Dream because it represents the failures of society and mankind. When traveling back home, Nick often passes the valley of ashes and describes that, “This is a valley of ashes – a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (23). Even though Gatsby achieved the American Dream and became successful, his values were ultimately corrupted by his greed and wealth in order to entice Daisy. In comparison to the valley of ashes, Gatsby’s physical surroundings begin to have superficial values making him hollow similarly to the crumbling valley. The valley of ashes, also demonstrates the oppression of the poor who are forced to live in a such a world where only the wealthy thrive.

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This portrayal by F. Scott Fitzgerald reflects current global challenges. The Valley of Ashes exists in The Great Gatsby because it represents the moral decay caused by extreme wealth inequality. It also shows the decay of the American Dream. When people think of the ideal American Dream, they wouldn't think of The Valley of Ashes or the refineries in Salt Lake City. They wouldn't think of

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One of the strongest recognized themes In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is God’s harsh judgment of man’s immorality and corruption, resulting in just consequences. However, If readers further examine the plot and events of the novel it becomes evident that the theme is the lack of Godly judgment and presence of human criticisms. Fitgerald utilizes symbols such as Gatsby’s pool, the billboard, and Nick’s commentary to subtly manifest the theme that humanity is beyond the reach of God’s judgment, and all actions and reparations are direct results of the people themselves, with no influence but their own corruption and lawlessly destructive nature. This is a satirical work that pokes at religion; the concept that God delivers justice in the end is slowly torn

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In the American Novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author shows the characters progression of corruption and tragedy as they pursue the “American Dream”. First, the author tells the story of Nick Carraway, a man who comes from an exceedingly wealthy family, and how Nick left his family behind to go sell bonds on his own. This illustrates Nick expressing his want for the American Dream by throwing away the wealth he had to experience a more fashionable life in West Egg. Next, the author states XXXXXXXXXXX. This quote shoes Tom Buchanan’s magnificent life with everything he could ever want, yet he still yearns for more, and this proves that the pursuit of wealth is never ending, always leaving you wanting more.

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Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzegerald takes place in the roaring twenties where Nick Carroway finds himself amongst a group of ridiculously rich people all hiding secrets in their vast wealth. Most notable of these people are Gatsby and Daisy, both of whom we see revealed to be more corrupt as the novel goes on. Daisy and Gatsbys complicated romance is one of the main drivers of the story and its complications often occur in relation to money. It is easy to understand that these rich individuals are as careless and ridiculous in their actions because they are enabled to do so by their money. The first and most obvious sign of corruption due to money amongst the group is Gatsby.

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519 Words | 3 Pages

It shows the working class of people and how they are living the life by the dollar they make a day. Surrounding the valley of ashes is the wealthy people. For example on one side of the valley is gatsby and his mansion of waste. On the other side is Tom with his big mansion and all his horses. Just the setting show how much of a waste gatsby made his life.

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