The Great Gatsby: America Degenerates Into A Place Of Moral Destitution

Part I of Essay
The Great Gatsby is a bold and damning social commentary of America which critiques its degeneration from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution. The novel is set during the Roaring Twenties, an era of outrageous excesses, wild lavish par ....

Part II of Essay
.... American Dream, a savage ideal that was fundamentally flawed from the outset. The fallacy of the American Dream cursed all who aspired to its promises while the upper class enjoyed the luxuries that accompanied their status, exploiting those below them as a means to reaffirm their superiority. Consequently, James Gatz, under the influence of characters like Dan Cody and Meyer Wolfshiem, underwent a self-transformation to become Gatsby, a new man who was founded on his "Plutonic conception of himself." As the embodiment of idealism and innocen ....