There are several themes in the movie The Great Gatsby. One is the decline of American principles, a time of decaying values. And another is the hollowness of the upper class. When first watching the movie, the main theme appears to be about a man loving a woman, and then not being able to be with her, but after a closer look, you find that F. Scott Fitzgerald has a larger, less romantic point he is trying to drive into the reader. In the next two paragraphs, I will explain each of the themes, and show how they were exemplified in the movie.
One theme from the movie is the decline of American principles. First, you find out that Tom has a mistress, and that it is pretty much looked upon as being acceptable. Next, during a party Tom and Myrtle begin to fight, and Tom ends up hitting her in the face, and breaking her nose. But nobody at the party really looks surprised, almost as if it was normal for women to be treated in this fashion. Finally, when Daisy runs over Myrtle, kills her, and doesn't even stop, Jay is more concerned bout how Daisy is feeling then about the person they ran over. Also he doesn't even notify the authorities about what happened. In conclusion, the decline of the American principles is one theme from the movie.
Another theme from the movie is, the hollowness of the upper class. First, you see how Daisy cares not about her marriage, or her family, but only about what other people do with themselves, and how much money they have. Next, we see how, at Jay Gatsby's party, Tom is walking around commenting about the other people at the party, and how they are not as good as him, because they are "New Money," and not "Old Money" like himself. And finally, after Daisy has run over Myrtle and George Wilson has killed Jay Gatsby, Tom and Daisy don't even go to Jay's funeral, and then they escape their problems by vacationing in Europe, while their new house is built. In conclusion, the hollowness of the upper class is another theme from the movie.