On the surface, the story is about the illicit love affair between Daisy and Gatsby. However, the story uses powerful images to portray the elaborate connections of the characters ( in the book) to the corruption of the American Dream. "... what critics of the late forties finally picked up on and declared as a perfect depiction of the corruption of the American Dream" The author offers an insightful view in that the book shows "story is really about the corrosive forces of wealth, class structures in a classless society..." among other themes universal to being human. The film versions, including this one, fail to pick up on the intricate depth of the story and fail to covey its message. 1. United States - Social life and customs - 1919-1933 - Fiction