American Aristocracy: Classism in The Great Gatsby Since declaring independence from British aristocracy in 1776, America has strived to be egalitarian and free of social divides. Although America has no official, inherited titles, like those in Great Britain, it has developed distinct social classes. Class segregation peaked during the Roaring Twenties, when many, with little success, tried to better themselves in society (Keene, Cornell, O’Donnell 628). American classism, as shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, was, and still is, unforgiving, punishing those not born into wealth because of the unforgiving American social structure. Fitzgerald uses the motifs of geography, cars, and houses to show American social classes are no …show more content…
When describing Nick Carraway’s home in Long Island, Fitzgerald mentions there are two eggs, West Egg, “the least fashionable of the two,” where the new money lives, and the “fashionable East Egg,” where old money lives (Fitzgerald 5). Geography represents the segregation within the upper class, which, in turn, embodies the classism in society; even among the rich, there are distinctions of who is better. Society prefers those with inherited wealth, much like that in an aristocratic society, but without titular indications. Nick’s friendship with Gatsby is due to their close geographic proximity, a result of their economic standing.(Donaldson 100-101). Although Nick was born into a wealthy family, he is not as rich as those who live in East Egg, and lives with those new to the upper class, like Gatsby. Nick is never able to grow close to Daisy and Tom Buchanan, or Jordan Baker because they are wealthier than he is and live in the East. The motif of geography also depicts Gatsby’s desire to be with Daisy, as the lake between their estates, a geographic barrier, separates them physically, but Gatsby could easily cross the physical barrier, unlike the impenetrable social barriers between the new and old rich that are impossible to …show more content…
Fitzgerald chooses to use cars to depict the theme of class by having only the rich own cars; Gatsby and Tom each own automobiles because of their rich status. Myrtle, Tom’s mistress, and George Wilson, who represent the poorer, working class, do not have a car; rather they run a garage and service cars for the affluent characters (Fitzgerald 25). Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald shows Gatsby and Myrtle as characters who are unhappy with their place in American society and try to break through their social classes. Wanting to overcome society eventually leads to their deaths, because of cars. Myrtle is run over by a car, symbolizing how she was unable to break out of her social class, which causes her husband, Wilson to kill Gatsby, then himself (Fitzgerald 137, 161). Gatsby’s death is “a symbolic formality,” was included to show that it is impossible to rise in American society (Bewley 97). His death, along with Myrtle’s, was inevitable; it is impossible to rise in society without being punished. Those who try to break through the absolute American social structure and better their position are going to fail because the class structure is so rooted in the culture. The rigid societal structure does not allow for improvement because society will not accept
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the novel, the Great Gatsby, during the 1920s. This decade was characterized by economic and cultural change. With the growth of a new class of new money, Americans began to grow tired of the different social standards of the each social rank and attempted to move into a higher class. Fitzgerald focused on this disparity between classes and several class issues, specifically class mobility. In the year 2005, several journalists wrote and published a group of essays known as Class Matters. These essays discuss modern social and economic class structure and associated class issues. An essential theme in each of these novels is class mobility. The Great Gatsby and Class Matters both explore the differences between classes and the lack of class mobility in order and bring attention to the class imbalance.
Chapter 1: Chapter one introduces the reader to the narrator Nick Halloway and most of the other other characters of the story. Including his cousin daisy, her husband tom and their friend jordan - the golfer. Nick comes from a wealthy family; however, doesn’t believe in inheriting their wealth. Instead he wishes to earn his own wealth by selling bonds in the stock market. Chapter one also talks about the separation of the rich. Where the east egg represents the inherently rich whereas west egg represents the newly rich. The people in the east also seem to lack social connections and aristocratic pedigree. Whereas the people in west egg possess all those qualities usually lacked by people in the east.With nick living
Social classes have been around since the beginning of time. Most people are lead to believe that rich people live in beautiful and extravagant homes, throw luxurious parties and do not give a damn about keeping it a secret. The poor people are happy to have a roof over their heads and have food on the table and will work their asses off to make a penny. The higher the class that someone is in, the better that person’s life is perceived to be and vice-versa. There is old money versus new money, which determines which side of town one lives on. Everyone knows the difference in social classes and is able to see where most people fit in. In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader is exposed to many things that show a difference in social class that sadly, still exist in today. Most people have a dream of being in a certain class; whether they ever get to experience it or not, the dream is there. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, shows how social class plays a theme in the story.
Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a constant theme present: social class. Fitzgerald makes a connection between the theme of social class, and the settings in the novel for example The Valley of Ashes which is described as a “desolate area of land” (p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground” (p.21) which is where the poor people live. The Valley of Ashes is situated between West Egg and New York, West Egg being the place where the aspiring classes are situated, which is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), this is where Gatsby lives. West Egg is the place of ‘new money’, Fitzgerald shows this by the idea of the main character Jay Gatsby, rumoured to be selling illegal alcohol (prohibition) which means he is quickly making vast amounts of money.” Who is this Gatsby anyhow? Some big bootlegger?”(p.86) Gatsby shows off the amount of wealth he has by his fabulous parties and oversized mansion. “There was music from my neighbour's house through those summer nights. In his enchanted gardens, men and girls came and went like moths, among the whispering and the champagne and the stars.”(p.33) Fitzgerald uses the word ‘enchanted’ to paint a visual picture of what the house and the scene looks like, a magical and enchanted castle, with elegant furniture. This is in comparison to East Egg where Tom and Daisy Buchanan live, in a house where “The windows were ajar and gleaming white against the fresh grass outside” (p.10). East Egg being the place of ‘old money’ which is made from the inheritance of their past generations, the people who live it East Egg are mainly well educated, historically wealthy and live quite elegantly, but they are also quite ‘snobbish’. Gatsby’s background does not fit into the social standards of East Egg...
The Roaring Plague Each human being living in this world contains a sub-conscience mind inside of them, for instance, the human nature to find self-improvement. This can be revealed in a positive or negative view, where if each individual positively strives to better themselves the effect will continue through the community therefore benefiting society. This may also lead to people’s downfall as well. It may guide people into greed and spread as corruption which consumes the mind’s and forces society to neglect its ethics.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” there are many themes and other literary devices used throughout the novel. There are dozens of themes throughout the entirety of The Great Gatsby, and some are used more than others. A widely used theme throughout The Great Gatsby is Society and Class. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”, Society and Class leads to tragedy and other disastrous results which is developed through symbolism.
The Great Gatsby social class revolution F. Scott Fitzgerald in “The Great Gatsby ” he presents ideas of America social class revolution which is a massive change in society for those who chase the American dream. The American dream is different for everyone but involves security and success. An example of social class revolution would be Mrs. Wilson Tom's mistress. Mrs.Wilson whose lifeless husband George owns a run down garage in the valley of ashes. Mrs.wilson herself possesses a fierce vitality and desperately looks for a way to improve her situation.
F. Scott Fitzgerald third book, “The Great Gatsby”, stands as the supreme achievement in his career. According to The New York Times, “The Great Gatsby” is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s. In the novel, the author described Daisy Buchanan as childish, materialistic, and charming. These characteristics describing Daisy is also description for the way women were seen during the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, frequently uses the elements of a story to help support the theme of class in society. Though it is pretty hard to distinguish the differences of social class in modern day, this story helps readers recognize the high and low classes during the 1920’s. Throughout the book, Fitzgerald constantly provides shocking imagery with the combinations of word choice, colors, setting, and symbols to keep the audience interested. He uses the characters to provide a deeper understanding of how one might have felt in the aspects of different classes, and how they dealt with their problems. In doing these things, he gives readers a sense of being a part of this story, almost if they were experiencing the
Fitzgerald shows the contrasting features between the West and East Egg in New York. Fitzgerald describes Gatsby's house and the house of Tom and Daisy to show the difference between the social classes on either side of the bay. The protagonist of the story, Nick, describes Gatsby's house as, "The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard…with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby's mansion" (Fitzgerald 9). Gatsby lives on the West Egg of New York where those who are newly rich live. The "new money" generally have a trashy sense of taste, and have the tendency to flaunt their money. Fitzgerald uses Gatsby as the icon of "new money" because every weekend Gatsby flaunts his riches by throwing extravagant parties which all of New York attend. On the other hand, the East Egg or "old money" have a more classy taste compared to those of the West Egg. Fitzgerald elaborates on the aesthetic differences of "old money" and "new money" when he writes, "Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water…their house was more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay" (Fitzgerald 10). Fitzgerald’s description of the differenc...
The "American Dream" supposedly allows everyone to climb the "social/economic ladder," if they wish to do so. Anyone that works hard is supposed to be able to move to a higher class. However, society often prevents social mobility. Social classes dictate who moves to a higher class and who does not. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this issue was especially prevalent. The rigidity of classes was often an underlying theme in many novels during this time period. For example, The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby both feature the exclusive nature of social classes as a motif. In both The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby, the rigidity of social classes and the desire for social mobility leads to the downfall of several
The East and West Egg are two opposite parts of Long Island. The East Egg is where people of old money reside, like Daisy and Tom, who have inherited the riches of the aristocracy. However, the West Egg is the home of the nouveau riche or new money. It is where Gatsby and Nick reside, who have accumulated great wealth on their own. Fitzgerald contrasts these two places and the characters from each Egg to highlight the cultural clash in the 1920’s between old and new money and the contrasting theme of corruption and morality.
The theme of society and class was evident throughout The Great Gatsby. The novel goes into great depth about the theme of society and class and the divisions of rich and poor. It is apparent that the author, Scott F. Fitzgerald, believes that the “American Dream” has been corrupted into a yearning for money and materialistic items. With that said, Fitzgerald uses the theme of society and class to show society that the idea of the “American Dream” is unattainable.
In his novella 'The Great Gatsby', F. Scott Fitzgerald presents class as a personal and definite thing, illustrating how attempts to change your class will lead to tragedy. Jane Austen, in her novel 'Pride and Prejudice', uses class as a criticism of society. Her portrayal of class differs from Fitzgerald's as she presents the idea that class restrictions, while rigid, do not determine one's character and can therefore be overcome. Both novels explore their views on the segregation of classes through the circumstances in the time periods they are writing about.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby classes are very much defined based on the view society gives one, the society views class as ones social and economic standing. Many people in the novel try to pretend they are something they are not and society will always see them as one class the one they were born into. The characters may try but because of the society views on them they will never achieve their desired class standing. On the other side of the class system there are the high class individuals which do not need to try to pretend, because they were born into their class they already have what the desire. Class is the society’s view vas one as individual based on money and family past.