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The World of Gatsby Is Ultimately Corrupt

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Submitted By Hanabanan
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What is the meaning of glamour?
Two of the omnipresent themes within ‘The Great Gatsby’ are glamour and corruption .

A key debate about two of these themes is whether they are co-existing or mutually exclusive ideas.

What is the meaning of corruption?
An air of compelling charm
,
romance
, and excitement , especially when delusively alluring
.

The quality of fascinating , alluring , or attracting , esp. by a combination of charm and good looks.
Gatsby's
"Career"
Lack of integrity or honesty (especially susceptibility to bribery); use of a position of trust for dishonest gain; moral perversion
.

Inducement
(as of a public official) by improper means (as bribery) to violate duty
(as by committing a felony).
Gatsby's Parties
Gatsby throws massive, extravagant parties regularly, as evidenced by the ‘ juice of two hundred oranges
’ being extracted every week for his party guests.

‘ leaving the door in pulpless halves
’ – a reminder of the wasteful results of glamour and Capitalism
Gatsby's house is a ‘ colossal affair by any standard
’ with a marble swimming pool, private beach, a Rolls-Royce in the drive and forty acres of land.

Gatsby's parties have ‘ buffet tables garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvres
’, an orchestra, a cocktail bar, and not to mention hundreds and hundreds of celebrity guests.
Fitzgerald subtly combines this sense of glamour through Gatsby’s parties with the idea and theme of corruption. This is seen through there being ‘ cars from New York
’ which had been ‘ parked five deep in the drive
’.

Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald associates and ties the scene of New York with corruption and moral decay.
Gatsby’s line of work is bootlegging; the illegal trade of alcohol in a society in which it is prohibited.

The idea that Gatsby’s means of attaining money in

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