The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1472 Words

Society tends to harbor an inherent and often unavoidable nature that unfairly favors those who are wealthy yet corrupt, and forces those who are moral and noble to suffer. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on this concept with the characters Tom and Gatsby. By comparing and contrasting Tom and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald develops his critique of the class structure of 1920s America that allows corrupt characters to thrive while punishing sympathetic characters for striving for their dreams. Fitzgerald contrasts Tom’s and Gatsby’s old and new money statuses to display the corruption of the American Dream that sustains society’s cruelty. Both characters commit indiscretions, Tom with women and Gatsby with business†¦show more content†¦To compound his immorality, Tom finds no fault in his character. Fitzgerald’s criticism of the corrupt American Dream is evident in the characterization of Tom, because Tom carelessly pursues his desire to maintain his status and wealth to assert his superiority. His obsession with money and power blinds him to the damaging effects of this limited view of the American Dream. Similar to Tom, the indiscretion that Gatsby commits derives from his love for money. However, his motive to gain wealth is spurred not by ego, but rather by his desire for Daisy’s love. This prompts him to engage in questionable business arrangements with Wolfsheim, whom Gatsby introduces as a â€Å"‘denizen of Broadway ’† (73) before eventually revealing that Wolfsheim manipulated the World Series. This reluctance to associate Wolfsheim with crime indicates that Gatsby overlooks this attribute. This signifies the extent to which the American Dream consumes Gatsby, as he is willing to involve himself in illicit business deals to achieve his aspirations of winning Daisy back. Although Gatsby comes from new money unlike Tom, he shares Tom’s lust for money and strong will to accomplish his dreams. However, Fitzgerald presents Tom as a cruel, shallow character and Gatsby as a sympathetic character, because Gatsby merely longs for love, whereas Tom wishes to dominate everyone. In this sense, Tom represents humanity that is corrupted by money and power, while Gatsby demonstrates