(Sutton 3) Most critics and reviews of the novel agree that the work shows corruption of some sort, whether it be social, moral or ethical. ... The title comes from his neighbor, Jay Gatsby who owns the mansion across the street in which wild parties are thrown every weekend. ... Nick is used as a dynamic character in the story as he goes from being a "thoughtful and moral human being" to being a witness to what money, greed and power can do to a person. ... Early in the novel the reader is made aware that Nick is the moral center of the story as compared to the out-of-control corruptness...

• Word Count: 2165
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Gatsby hosts many large, wild, and costly parties in hopes of having Daisy present at one sooner or later. ... American values are noticed in the novel as a mirror image of how moral standards actually were in the twenties. ... Seshachari states that in reaching Gatsby's personal dream he embodies what society calls the American dream because he is "compelled to resort to the material acquisition- (94) to gain fulfillment. ... Myrtle calls Tom to pick her up from the garage. ...

• Word Count: 1720
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Gatsby even goes so far as to place his enormous mansion just across the lake from Daisy's home and throws wild, decadent parties in effort to win her back and obtain the final piece of an elaborate destiny of greatness. ... What was once for Thomas Jefferson - a belief in self-reliance and hard work has become what Nick Carraway calls "...the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty." Jay Gatsby, one of the few dreamers left in a period of moral decline, becomes hopelessly caught up in the decadence, and materialism of the 1920s where he loses sight of his more noble goals. ...

• Word Count: 1786
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate