A multitude of characters in the book are corrupted by a number of things, including money and other materialistic objects. Starting with Gatsby, who became what he is thanks to his criminal activities and his lies. Discovered in the book, “it’s one of his little waterfalls. [Tom] picked him for a smuggler the first time [he] saw him, and [he] wasn't very wrong. " (Fitzgerald 143) He lied to Nick about his identity and family to enlist his help with Daisy. Daisy herself is corrupted by wealth and the need for high social class, given that she cried upon entering Gatsby's house for the first time because she had never seen such beautiful shirts which surrounded it with more corruption and highlight another central theme of the corrupted American dream Tom and Myrtle. are also corrupt to the extent that they participate in adultery, with Daisy and Gatsby's corruption being clear and evident throughout the book, encompassing the worlds of West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes.