Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald depicts the corrupting influence of wealth on individuals and society. The old money elite do not fully accept this, Fitzgerald uses Nick's comments on the characters and events of The Great Gatsby to express his own personal feelings and opinions. Throughout his life, Analysis of the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald. “The test of a first-rate intelligence,” Fitzgerald remarked over the years, “is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time, while retaining them. The Great Gatsby, by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is an incredibly renowned novel Since this novel is so well known, many thoughts and opinions have been formed about it When Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, he seems to have already foreseen the consequences. enduring America's intoxicating love affair with capitalism and materialism. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald depicts the corrupting influence of wealth on people. Individuals and society do not fully accept characters with new wealth, such as Gatsby. Gatsby's wealth is seen as tainted, acquired through illegal means, and lacking social benefits.