“…And the House of the Greedy”As Matthew J. Bruccoli observed: “An essential aspect of the Americanness and historicity of The Great Gatsby is that it is about money. The Land of Opportunity promised the possibility of financial success.” (p. xi) The Great Gatsby is indeed about money, but it also explores the consequences of greed. Fitzgerald detailed the corruption, deceit, and lawlessness of life that soon pursued “the dream.” However, Fitzgerald gives the reader the freedom to decide whether the dream was ever free from corruption. Fitzgerald used several models to develop the theme surrounding the lost dream. One of these patterns included the emergence of corruption in relation to honesty. We witness the symbolic aspects of it for the first time when we meet Jordan Baker. We learn from Nick that she is a golfer and he goes further by saying that “at her first major golf tournament there was a row that almost reached the newspapers, a suggestion that she had moved the ball from a bad lie in the round of semi-final. ” (p. 62) Golf is universally known as the game of truth, a game in which players record their performances and are trusted. Through this example we can interpret that all honesty has been destroyed and cheating now abounds. Additionally, we learn that America's pastime, baseball, has also been corrupted. «Meyer Wolfsheim? He's the man who fixed the World's Series in 1919.” (p. 78) This is significant because a game that was created in America, the land of the honest and free where the dream first came to life, has been tainted. This notion suggests that even the simplest realities and recreations have long lost their innocence. Fitzgerald even implies that those who serve and protect us have also been corrupted. We learn that Tom bribed the police. These same men known as the city's finest have also had their sincerity clouded by the same greed that clouded the dream. Another rather distinct pattern is Fitzgerald's suggestion that potential, life, and beginnings have also been ruined. Our narrator's last name, Cumin, is a seed, a symbol of life and beginnings. We also learn that Nick is from the West, where the dream originated. However, once Nick Caraway moves east, he quickly becomes embroiled in the corruption and destruction associated with the region. Our setting, the Egg Islands, is also symbolic.