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Corruption In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

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In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, corruption runs rampant amongst the characters. The corruption in the book includes, but is not limited to: Meyer Wolfshiem, Jay Gatsby, and Tom Buchanan. Corruption in the book and in real life comes in all shapes and sizes. In the novel, said corruption entails cheating, rigging, lying, bootlegging, arrogance, and unfaithfulness. The story begins with a show of Tom Buchanan’s corruption in a healthy dosage. Nick, the narrator, begins by driving over to the Buchanan’s house for dinner. A dispute erupts the partakers of the debate begin sharing opinions. Tom demonstrates a magnificent show of his arrogance by stating, “Now, don't think my opinion on these matters is final. Just because i’m stronger and more of a man than you are” (Fitzgerald 11). While starting benign, Tom’s remark at the end demonstrates his …show more content…

The first mention of Wolfsheim substantiates this as “Gatsby… added coolly: ‘He’s the man who fixed the World Series”’(Fitzgerald 78). Baseball being america's favorite pastime of the period, fixing the World Series is a huge deal. The world series being the end-all be-all trophy of baseball. Wolfsheim’s corruption is put on display as rigging a sports event is perpetually corrupt. In a sad turn of events, Gatsby’s death comes as a shock to Wolfsheim. He states that he would like to go to his funeral but “‘[He] can’t do it, [he] can’t get mixed up in it”’,(Fitzgerald 80) and will not attend the procession. A man who avoids the funeral for fear of being mixed up in it avoiding it for one reason. Wolfsheim is guilty of something and can not have attention called to him a friend of Gatsby. To not be there in death for a friend is an act egregious and can be considered extensively egregious on being the result of his corruption and business. Match fixing and abandoning friends are just a few tells given to the people of his

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