Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Great Gatsby Literary Analysis

“The first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive, is that the end justifies the means” - Georges Bernanos. Corruption is quite an evil thing. It is a compromise of integrity and breaks the morals of a human being. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a prime example of a novel with constant corruption. The author does a great job of telling the story of a young man named Jay Gatsby and how his life takes a turn for the worse when corruption begins to occur. Fitzgerald shows corruption in the novel through many counts of betrayal, as well as wealth, and constant manipulation.

Betrayal - To deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty. The Great Gatsby contains many examples of betrayal throughout the novel. One of the many betrayals that takes place is Tom Buchanan’s betrayal of his wife, Daisy Buchanan, with a lower class woman who was also married, Myrtle Wilson. “He nodded

Gatsby is so madly in love with Daisy that he tells Tom that Daisy is going to leave him, even though Daisy never once said this. Gatsby is trying to manipulate Tom into giving up on Daisy so that he will have her all to himself. Nick narrates "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: "I never loved you."" (Fitzgerald 116). This is why Gatsby said that Daisy was leaving Tom. Gatsby was taking advantage of Daisy and trying to make her tell Tom that she never loved him, but the truth is, she did love him. She told Gatsby that she loved him, and that she still does love Tom. Gatsby wasn’t the only one trying to manipulate someone else, Myrtle was just as guilty. Myrtle was trying to manipulate Tom since the day they began having an affair. Myrtle kept the affair with Tom going in attempt to get him not to leave her and go back to Daisy. Manipulation will never lead to a positive