The Influence of Social Class in The Geat Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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American Classic, The Great Gatsby captures the life of the rich and poor during the 1920’s, just before The Great Depression. In the novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents his interpretation of the american dream through the character Jay Gatsby.
The great Jay Gatsby is rich, successful and well known, but it wasn't enough for him unlike other characters in the novel. Gatsby’s American Dream was represented by a green light across the bay that overlooked West Egg, Long Island, where old money lived. Throughout the book, "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter — tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther . . .” (chapter 9). He would stop at nothing to make his green light become a reality. This quote implies that Gatsby’s dream continuously slipped from his grasp and that he would have to live life in hopes that time would make his American Dream a reality. Seeing the green light gave him a reason to live everyday. It was his excuse of being successful in his illegal business, which proved that people would result to extensive measures to ensure that their American Dream was achieved. The Green light being at Daisy’s house was a visual, to remind Gatsby that his dream is still alive and burning bright because he had grown to live up to Daisy’s expectations. He wanted to live for what he didn’t do in the past, and that was not being able to win Daisy Buchanan’s heart.
The characters in The Great Gatsby enhance Fitzgeralds views of the American Dream and life of Old and New money. Daisy Buchanan is an Old Money debutante who was Gatsby’s love before the war. Not long after Gatsby returned, she married off to another Old Mone...

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...ry well that they could get away from anything including murder, simply because they had the money and power to do so. Gatsby forgot who he truly was and tried to forget where he came from and what he used to be.
Having an American Dream must include self identity because it can only be obtained by certain people who meet certain qualifications. Even with that, the rich automatically have power over the poor and in the end, have the security and stability to make their American Dreams become a success. For an American Dream to become true, one must make large sacrifices and participate in extra measure to maneuver obstacles. The consequences of accomplishing the dream results into an unhappy ending, despite accomplishing what one had thought they have always wanted. And in these ways, the American Dream was shown through F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby.

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