Mollie Smith

Critical Lenses Final Draft

Mr. Smith

May 6, 2024

“The Great Gatsby” and His Fatal Flaw

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of immense wealth and social

commentary from the perspective of Nick Carraway. Through Nick’s experiences with Jay

Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, the realities of corruption become apparent in the Novel. When read

through a marxist lens, the novel presents the idea that wealth so often corrupts people to the

point where wealth cannot exist without corruption, as illustrated by Gatsby who ultimately

becomes so corrupted by his wealth and power that he fails to achieve his dream of marrying

Daisy; the film similarly depicts this message by hyperbolizing the green light representing

Gatsby’s ambitious hope not only for love with Daisy, but also happiness in the American dream.

Gatsby chose to become wealthy and throw parties originally for Daisy only, but

eventually he unintentionally became corrupted by all of the wealth and fame he gained in doing

so. In the beginning of the book, Fitzgerald makes it clear that the many people who attend

Gatsby’s parties are mostly concerned with social status and money. Everyone there is evidently

wealthy and adores the extravagance of the parties. Everyone socializes, shows off their wealth,

talks about recent gossip. Gatsby, however, believes himself to be above all of the extravagance

as he chooses to observe his own parties, removed from the events of the night. From Nick’s

perspective, Gatsby is so different from everyone else because he is not so obviously basking in

his wealth and power. Because of Gatsby’s different behavior from everyone else and Nick’s

impression of him to be different from everyone else, Gatsby was always at the center of every
party and although he wasn’t seen indulging in the parties, he was the one throwing them in

order to show off his wealth to a specific audience, Daisy. Despite his trying to be

well-intentioned, Gatsby was figuratively and literally the center of the corruption that were his

parties. Later in the book when Gatsby meets with Nick to propose his idea of meeting with

Daisy, Gatsby assumes Nick would want something in return for doing him a favor and offers

him an opportunity to do business with him. Gatsby struggles to get the words out, murmuring

“Why, I thought–why, look here, old sport, you don’t make much money, do you?” (Fitzgerald

87). Although the conversation is between friends and is about Gatsby finally being able to talk

to Daisy, the tone in which Gatsby and Nick exchange dialogue is reminiscent of a business deal

or social networking more than a friendly favor that Gatsby is asking Nick to do for him. Gatsby

is so enthralled in his life of business that he is almost unable to have a true friendship with Nick

or Jordan, rather he views it as a mutually beneficial partnership in which Gatsby can get closer

to his goal, Daisy, while Nick can be offered opportunities from one of the most influential and

powerful businessmen of New York. When Gatsby and Daisy finally meet up, observing Gatsby

and Daisy together, Nick notes “Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of

that light had now vanished forever. Compared to the great distance that had separated him from

Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her. It had seemed as close as a star to the

moon. Now it was again a green light on a dock. His count of enchanted objects had diminished

by one” (Fitzgerald 98). Throughout the book, it is easy to assume that Gatsby’s one wish is to be

with Daisy, but this scene proves that his goals ended up changing since he became rich and he

wasn’t as in love with Daisy as much as he was with power. All of the things that he had bought

for Daisy had suddenly lost their meaning as the green light had lost its meaning to Gatsby.
Although Gatsby was once driven only by his love for Daisy, he found himself craving more as

he realized that he could have more power and wealth.

Throughout the novel, Tom Buchanan exemplifies his desire for power as a wealthy man.

Nick’s first mention of Tom in chapter one makes a point that “He had changed since his New

Haven years…Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him

the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward” (Fitzgerald 11). Nick’s choice of words

when describing Tom reveal how gaining even more money in adulthood has diminished his

character further than before. Tom’s “arrogant eyes” had always been existent to Nick as Tom

grew up wealthy, but it wasn’t until Tom became even wealthier and powerful that they

dominated his face. His arrogance, in this case, comes from the fact that he has never had to

worry about money and that fact only became truer as he got older, richer, and more powerful.

To Nick, Tom had always felt himself to be superior to others, just as he had always been

wealthy. Tom often treats Daisy as one of his many objects for him to display and control. In an

argument between Tom and Gatsby over who Daisy would be with, Tom claims jurisdiction over

her life while expanding upon his feeling of superiority for his wealth that Nick had mentioned

earlier in the novel. Expressing “She’s not leaving me! Certainly not for a common swindler

who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger” (Fitzgerald 140). In the argument, Tom feels as

though his power is being threatened by Gatsby and Daisy. Because of this, he turns to

emphasizing his newfound value for Daisy. Instead of genuinely wanting Daisy to stay, he

demands that she doesn’t leave him because, to Tom, she is a means to gain power in society, and

losing a wife would mean he wouldn’t be as powerful. Simultaneously, the fact that Gatsby does

not come from wealth is appalling to Tom and threatens his feeling of security in wealth even

more because Tom sees that almost anyone can gain wealth and power, and therefore be as
powerful or more powerful than himself. At the very end of the argument, Tom is no longer

threatened by Gatsby because he sees that Daisy will never go with him. This completely

changes his attitude towards the situation, as he becomes indifferent to Gatsby and Daisy’s

feelings for each other, telling Daisy “You two start on home” (Fitzgerald 142). When Tom sees

that he has secured Daisy as a wife but not necessarily as a lover, he is completely content

because he feels as though his power is no longer threatened by a new moneyed man like Gatsby

and he can continue to administer control over Daisy’s life. Tom Buchanan’s character serves as

a clear example of the ways wealth can corrupt a person.

The symbol of the green light is amplified in the film, reinforcing the idea that Gatsby’s

hope for a life with Daisy had already passed him due to how much Gatsby’s present self differs

from his past self in terms of his wealth and therefore his level of corruption. The first time Nick

meets Gatsby, the green light shines from behind him, representing the fact that his dream has

already passed him. The shot depicts a grand scheme of fireworks lighting up the sky with

Gatsby centered in front of them. It is as if the extravagant light scene is coming directly from

Gatsby. Among the many lights, however, there is the green light piercing through. The green

light in this case represents the hope that Gatsby could go back to his life before leaving for war

and leaving Daisy. No matter how hard Gatsby might try, he can never go back to the past. By

the beginning of the movie, the light is already behind him just as the past is behind him. The

film’s interpretation also expands on the symbolism of the green light by incorporating it into the

clothes worn by Gatsby. In the flashback to the night Gatsby and Daisy meet each other at

Daisy’s house while Gatsby was in the military, his uniform is green. The rest of the film Gatsby

isn’t seen wearing green at all. Gatsby’s younger, righteous self wore green because his reality

was being with Daisy, but he is not seen wearing green again because he is no longer the
right-minded person he once was when he was only a soldier and didn’t have all of the money

and power he would eventually accumulate.

With the film adaptation of the symbol of the green light from “The Great Gatsby” novel,

the themes of corruption of the wealthy and powerful, when read through a marxist lens, point to

the idea that ultimately corruption is inevitable as long as wealth remains. The characters Jay

Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, although different, share a common desire for wealth and power that

drives their actions throughout the novel. In addition, the green light represents Gatsby’s hope

that one day he might be able to go back to his past when he was once incorruptible. However,

the tragic reality is that Gatsby would never go back to how it was with Daisy as his pure love

had become overshadowed by his desire for power.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Margaret Tarner. The Great Gatsby. Cambridge University Press.