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Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, corruption runs rampant amongst the characters. The corruption in the book includes, but is not limited to: Meyer Wolfshiem, Jay Gatsby, and Tom Buchanan. Corruption in the book and in real life comes in all shapes and sizes. In the novel, said corruption entails cheating, rigging, lying, bootlegging, arrogance, and unfaithfulness. The story begins with a show of Tom Buchanan’s corruption in a healthy dosage. Nick, the narrator, begins by driving over to the Buchanan’s house for dinner. A dispute erupts the partakers of the debate begin sharing opinions. Tom demonstrates a magnificent show of his arrogance by stating, “Now, don't think my opinion on these matters is final. Just because i’m stronger and more of a man than you are” (Fitzgerald 11). While starting benign, Tom’s remark at the end demonstrates his …show more content…

The first mention of Wolfsheim substantiates this as “Gatsby… added coolly: ‘He’s the man who fixed the World Series”’(Fitzgerald 78). Baseball being america's favorite pastime of the period, fixing the World Series is a huge deal. The world series being the end-all be-all trophy of baseball. Wolfsheim’s corruption is put on display as rigging a sports event is perpetually corrupt. In a sad turn of events, Gatsby’s death comes as a shock to Wolfsheim. He states that he would like to go to his funeral but “‘[He] can’t do it, [he] can’t get mixed up in it”’,(Fitzgerald 80) and will not attend the procession. A man who avoids the funeral for fear of being mixed up in it avoiding it for one reason. Wolfsheim is guilty of something and can not have attention called to him a friend of Gatsby. To not be there in death for a friend is an act egregious and can be considered extensively egregious on being the result of his corruption and business. Match fixing and abandoning friends are just a few tells given to the people of his

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Maybe you don’t believe that, but science-’” (Fitzgerald 121). Tom being mad and how he conveys it affects all of the characters with how they will respond to him. This makes the story more life-like and hooks the audience

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794 Words | 4 Pages

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, exposes the American Society during the 1920’s. The author displays many heroes and villain throughout the book. The characters in the novel are mostly mixtures of good and evil. Although the book does not clearly delineate the villains or heroes, there is one character who tends to stand out as a villain known as Tom Buchanan. Tom Buchanan is a major character in the book.

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Tom is also deeply racist, making derogatory comments about people of color and expressing his belief in the superiority of the white race. He tells Nick, "if we don't look out the white race will be—will be utterly submerged" (Fitzgerald 17). Tom's arrogance and racism are central to his character, as he represents the worst aspects of the privileged elite.

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In chapter 2, Tom Buchanan punches Myrtle Wilson in the face, leaving her nose broken. Nick Carraway is completely shocked and leaves the party shortly after. Carraway’s outward conformity and inward questioning contrast. The tension between his thoughts and actions in chapter 2 exhibits the idea “corruption comes when wealth is valued over relationships.” Nick Carraway knows and thinks that Buchanan’s actions were very wrong, but he decided to do nothing about it.

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When Gatsby’s full character is brought into the novel he is said to have “‘killed a man’” and been “‘a German spy during the war’” to show other supporting characters ambiguity toward the rumors surrounding his luxurious parties (Fitzgerald 44). Thus, already

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As a result, S. Fitzgerald portrays the corruption during this era by creating a novel infused with lies and deception. The author, S. Fitzgerald drives a basic storyline in which characters, in the novel, compose their identity through lies and deception. Jay

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Tom's “supercilious” manner stems from the perceived power he uses to manipulate others. However, Tom's behavior traces back to his obsession with material possessions. For instance, when Nick visits the Buchanan residence for the first time, he describes Tom's home as a "factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy" (9). This description highlights how Tom's opulent lifestyle is meant to impress others as if he tries to create an image based on power and wealth rather than character. Nick’s description of his house as an imitation implies that it lacks any genuine substance, and is merely a superficial display of wealth.

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When Nick describes Tom, it is showing a sign of cruelty. Nick describes Tom by saying, “Two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (9). Here Nick is describing how Tom Buchanan changed from when they both attended college together. In college, Tom was very friendly and was wonderful to be around. Nick realized, when they met again, that Tom had changed from friendly to cruel in the years after Tom and Nick graduated from Yale.

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1261 Words | 6 Pages

The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.

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Imagine a life where everything you ever wanted was yours. F. Scott Fitzgerald a man who was born in St. Paul, Minnesota (F. Scott Fitzgerald) didn’t really have everything especially since he lived Minnesota a place that is very similar too North Dakota. The Great Gatsby was one of Fitzgerald’s biggest books that made him famous. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway who served in World War I and is now trying to learn about the bond business. He moves to west egg a very rich area in Long Island and is now stuck with a big mess.

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Pico della Mirandola’s An Oration on the Dignity of Man emphasizes humanism in which all human beings and the creations of God possess knowledge, reason, and a sense of morality. Mirandola also puts both references of the Bible and the classical philosophy of Plato that share a unity of thought of the appreciation of mankind and their intelligence. Man was created and is appreciated for their possession of great, unlimited potential and knowledge within his work and they are within the Great Chain of Being. This is a religious hierarchal structure of life by the divinity of God and it progresses and incorporates numerous different creatures, beings, and elements within it.

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American novel deals in depth with the theme of Greed as an aspect of human conscience crisis which leads to dilemma, problems, and predicament for human being. Novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth, Henry James’s Washington Square , Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Michael Crichton’s The Great Train Robbery, and others expose clear image for the theme of Greed and its implications. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the human predicament of Americans in 1920s, through his best novel The Great Gatsby . In this novel Fitzgerald deals with the theme of a lust for money and greed .

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1909 Words | 8 Pages

An important theme in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the corruption of morals because of wealth. It doesn’t matter if one comes from old or new money, wealth will corrupt the morality of even the humblest. The first example of wealth corrupting morals is in the indifference to infidelity between the married Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson. The next example of wealth corrupting morals is seen in Jordan Baker’s actions to keep her luxurious lifestyle. Third, Jim Gatsby’s pursuit of wealth lead to the corruption of his morals.

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1659 Words | 7 Pages

Characters throughout The Great Gatsby present themselves with mysterious and questionable morals. Affairs, dishonest morals, criminal professions, weak boundaries and hypocritical views are all examples of immorality portrayed in The Great Gatsby. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, lies and mischief fill the lives of many and significantly damage numerous relationships. First, Jay Gatsby's whole life is consumed into a massive lie. His personality traits set him apart from others and the attention he accumulates motivates him to falsely portray his life.

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Set in the lavish era of the 1920’s, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays the wealthy, yet sinful life of Jay Gatsby. When describing his character, Fitzgerald touches upon the three deadly sins: greed, envy and gluttony. James Gatz, having grown up in a small town to farmers, wished to make more of himself. Disowning his parents at a young age, he went off in search for money, and a new identity. “And when the TUOLOMEE left for the West Indies and the Barbary Coast Gatsby left too” (Fitzgerald 107).

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