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Kristin Colella at MainStreet.com has tackled the enduring issues that the modern take on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, Gatsby, can teach us.

But first, here’s how she summarizes the movie:

Set during the summer of 1922, “The Great Gatsby” is told through the eyes of narrator Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner who recently moved to Long Island to pursue a career as a bond salesman in Manhattan. Carraway becomes increasingly intrigued by his über-wealthy neighbor, Gatsby (DiCaprio), who throws wild, extravagant parties in his opulent mansion. The mysterious Gatsby isn’t who he says he is, and as the story unfolds Nick discovers that along with Gatsby’s great success are many great flaws. Other main characters, including Nick’s cousin, Daisy Buchanan (played by Carey Mulligan) and her blue-blooded husband, Tom, also serve to show us that having a lot of money doesn’t mean having it all.

And here are the 5 lessons:

1. Money can’t buy you love
2. Wealth doesn’t prevent loneliness
3. Cheating your way to the top rarely goes unnoticed
4. Money corrupts
5. ‘Greatness’ is often an illusion

Along the way Ms. Colella provides examples from the movie that help to teach us these great truths. For more of her take on Gatsby, see: MSN Money.

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