F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby,” criticizes the wealthy and their impact on society in the 1920s. He does this through his use of the characters throughout the book; his critique of the wealthy in the 1920s is still relevant today, even though the novel is set in 1920. Through the eyes of his narrator, Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald reveals the corruption and moral decay that exists between the flash and glamor of the American Dream. Fitzgerald criticizes the wealthy during the 1920s by saying that the people of wealth are often rude, ungrateful, and lack the knowledge of knowing how to treat people respectfully. A theme of “The Great Gatsby'' that is shown in the book and that remains relevant today is the lack of empathy. In source A “How Wealth Reduces Compassion: As riches …show more content…
In source B “Affluenza: the challenges of growing up wealthy” written by Kelly Wallace says how you are displaying a behavior and then younger people who are more prone to being influenced by things see it and there's a sense of entitlement by people with money, and there's also a sense that you are not being corrected if you're getting away with things, said Harris Stratyner, a Manhattan psychologist who works primarily with wealthy families. In the novel, the wealthy character's are being portrayed as selfish, careless, corrupt, entitled, and with little regard for the consequences of their actions. An example of this is how Tom Buchanan cheats on his wife, physically abuses his mistress and uses his power and wealth to intimidate those around him. “Tom’s got some woman in New York… she might have the decency not to telephone at dinner time don't you think.” (Fitzgerald 21) Daisy knows that Tom is cheating on her since he has done it in the past and it's obvious because she calls during dinner and then Tom leaves to go and talk to