Many people throughout history have aspired to create a perfect life for themselves. However, this dream is often not easily achievable. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about the decay of society, the blindness of love and the futile search for the now non-existent American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows the United States not in the glittering golden light that many claimed, but rather cast into a dark and gloomy haze, polluted by crime, corruption, and moral decay. Fitzgerald also rejects the idea that mad love is harmless. Furthermore, the author illustrates how the American dream is a non-existent and senseless pursuit. Many thought that the Roaring Twenties represented the pinnacle of American society, but in reality they were only the beginning of a downward spiral. America is no longer the glittering land of opportunity it once was. Its cities have been overrun by crime, smuggling, corruption and moral decay. Many characters in the novel such as Meyer Wolfsheim, “who fixed the World Series in 1919.” P. 9 chap. 4 These are great examples of the crime we see in The Great Gatsby. Wolfsheim specifically is not only an inhabitant of New York's seedy underworld, but also the embodiment of the criminal underworld itself. In this era of crime, corruption ran rampant, “taking a blank card from his wallet, he waved it before the eyes of the [police] man. You're right... see you next time, Mr. Gatsby” p.6 ch. 4. Although it is not directly stated in the text, it is implied that Gatsby gave the police commissioner a large sum of money, and in return, he was granted certain privileges under the law. With crime spreading through cities and the police becoming more and more corrupt, he is no longer found on paper in the same homes as everyone else. also George Wilson says: “I've been here too long. I want to leave. My wife and I want to go west.” (Page 8 chapter 7). George Wilson hopes that by moving west and making a new life, he can repair his relationship with his wife, but ironically this does not happen and Myrtle is killed. Fitzgerald seems to think that the pursuit of the American dream is pointless and futile. It seemed that Scott Fitzgerald had written a novel about the glittering American twenties, but in reality his novel was about the decay of American society, the tragedy of love and the decline of the American dream. The Great Gatsby illustrates all of Fitzgerald's ideas about American society. Despite the perceived glitz and glamor of 1920s society, it was all a thin veneer of extravagance that hid a dark and sad world..