Corruption in The Great Gatsby

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in 1896 and died in 1940. After dismissed from the army in 1917, he returned to Princeton and finished his first novel This Side of Paradise, which made him wealthy overnight. He then married Zelda, a beautiful but expensive girl. During his time (which he named Jazz Age), the whole American society was immersed in the post-war deteriorations and economic booming. The so-called lost generation forfeited their believes on American dream and solely aimed to pursue material and sensual pleasures. Fitzgerald himself also fully engaged in such main stream of "the roaring twenties". He and his wife indulged in alcohol, dancing, and jazz music in the upper class parties. While gradually he realized that all these joyous and orgiastic images were merely a disguise for their hollowness in spirit after the disillusionment, which inspired him the original idea of the Great Gatsby. Therefore, the book can be regarded as Fitzgerald’s autobiography to some degree. The book was published in 1925 and received a lot of compliments. T.S Eloit remarked it as "the first step that American fiction has taken since Henry James."

The background of the novel is set the modern American society, 1922. Nick Carraway, who was born in the Midwest of America, came to New York to study bond business in order to make money. He then moved to the Long Island and became a neighbor of the hero---Jay Gatsby. As the story went on, we came to know that the original name of the hero was Gatze. His family was quite poor when he was a child. But he was very ambitious and self-disciplined and later gained wealth over night through bootlegging and other illegal actions. He often offered extravagant parties in his luxury house to show...

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...r each other, which can be everlasting. Nick was moved by Gatsby's ideal and naive dream which he nearly realised and willing to help him. In turn, Gatsby also thought Nick as a honest and reliable person. And then their friendship established. This can be caputured in the simple answer "We were close friends" when Gatsby's father asked Nick's identity.

The last thing worth mentioning was Nick's wisdom and righteousness . That he reserved to make quick judgements helped him to be patient enough to fully observe the situation and finally made the right decision. And all the attitudes and opinions he held were proved to be the truth at last. He reminded Gatsby that he couldn't repeat the past which annoyed Gatsby and also made him much conscious. Awaring the conspiracy of Tom and Daisy, he warned Gatsby to move away on the very night after the car accident happended.