Forces of Corruption in "The Great Gatsby" by Fitzgerald

The theme of human corruption, its sources and consenquences, is a coomon concern among writers from Shakespeare through J.D Salinger. Some suggest that it attacks from outside, while others depict corruption occuring from within the individual. In the case if The Great Gatsby and it's protagonist's fate, Fizgerald shows both factors at work. The moral climate of the Roaring Twenties, Daisy Fay Buchanan's pernicious hold on him, and Jay Gatsby's own nature all contribute …

…prefers the pretty illusions he concocts to the harsh reality of the obsession he allows to corrupt his life. Gatsby's character is probably the single most important factor in the story of his life and death. But Daisy and a society which rewards corruption play a part as well. F. Scott Fizgerald's depiction of the soured American Dream dramatizes the internal and external forces at work in a modern tragedy about human potential for corruption.