Social Inequity in 'The Motorcycle Diaries' and 'The Great Gatsby'

854 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social status in the great gatsby

Analyzing the different themes addressed in the books “The Motorcycle Diaries” written by Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, and “The Great Gatsby” written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald it is possible to find some topics in common, such as, the social inequity portrayed in both books. Although this social inequity is stronger and clearer in “The motorcycle Diaries”, it is also represented in some way in “The Great Gatsby” due to a marked stratification of people portrayed in the plot of this story. In the following lines, it will be analyzed how this social inequity is portrayed in such different books.

On the one hand, in Ernesto Guevara’s diary social injustice is easily detected, and portrayed in a quite moving way, both through some key incidents that were responsible for Ernesto’s new understanding of the world, and Ernesto’s words when narrating his own reflections about these episodes. Firstly, when Ernesto went to visit the sick old woman in Valparaiso, who suffered asthma and a heart condition, is a situation that gives a clear view of the poor reality that some people had to face everyday because they did not have even the minimum conditions to survive with dignity, and on top of that, the sadness of people turned themselves into a nuisance for their family just for the fact of being sick. Secondly, Ernesto’s encounter with the couple of communist workers harassed by their political ideas in Baquedano, who did not have a single blanket to protect themselves from the freezing cold of the desert night, enable us to see, as Ernesto wrote, the representation of the proletariat of the world. Moreover, this couple showed him the ruthless reality of so many people in Chile who were pursued, tortured and disappeared for their...

... middle of paper ...

...al ladder and to change her economic situation. Notwithstanding, this was not possible because as she and Jay Gatsby sadly discovered, no one will be accepted in such select group, “old money” people is not a group to which you can buy a membership, no matter how much money you have now, or which contacts do you have.

To summarize, both in “The Motorcycle Diaries”, which could be considered the starting point which inspired Ernesto’s future political fight, and in “The Great Gatsby”, probably Fitzgerald’s way to express his deception of seeing the “American Dream” completely corrupted and the loss of all moral values, it is possible to find social inequity portrayed in some way through either specific events, or by the way in which people are categorized into different groups, depending on their economic and social conditions, and presented to the reader.

Show More
Related

  • Economy and Social Class in the Articles "Class Matters" and in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Same Goal, Different Route In The Great Gatsby

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a young man, Jay Gatsby was poor with nothing but his love for Daisy.  He had attempted to woe her, but a stronger attraction to money led her to marry another man.  This did not stop Gatsby’s goal of winning this woman for himself though, and he decided to improve his life anyway he could until he could measure up to Daisy’s standards.  He eventually gained connections in what would seem to be the wrong places, but these gave him the opportunity he needed to "get rich quick."  Gatsby’s enormous desire for Daisy controlled his life to the point that he did not even question the immorality of the dealings that he involved himself in to acquire wealth.  Eventually though, he was able to afford a "castle" in a location where he could pursue Daisy effectively.  His life ambition had successfully moved him to the top of the "new money" class of society, but he lacked the education of how to promote his wealth properly.  Despite the way that Gatsby flaunted his money, he did catch Daisy’s attention.  A chaotic affair followed for a while until Daisy was overcome by pressures from Gatsby to leave her husband and by the realization that she belonged to "old money" and a more proper society.

    Read More

  • Flaws In The Great Gatsby

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, Fitzgerald does not write Gatsby as a bad person who embodies all that is wrong with western capitalism. Instead, Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as a good man who was victim of the qualities ingrained in him by an imperfect ideological system. It is this distinction which makes Fitzgerald’s argument all the more potent, and his audience’s ability to mourn Gatsby as a tragic figure all the more important. Whereas Fitzgerald’s opinion of Gatsby may otherwise have been misconstrued as a negative one, the scene of Gatsby’s funeral clearly conveys the character of Gatsby as a tragic and sorrowful one. The character of Gatsby and Fitzgerald’s commentary on the logical fallacies of the American Dream are closely intertwined, which is why Fitzgerald goes to such great lengths to separate the two.

    Read More

  • Internal And External Conflict In 'The Censors' By Luisa Valenzuela

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin with the story “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela was written to depict an event that was happening in the world at the time. In which was the time when Argentina overthrew the government in 1976. The new government was strict and killed thirteen to fifteen thousand innocent without even giving them the chance because the government feared that the poor would eventually try to overthrow the government. With that in mind, the main character in our story Juan begins with a conflicting that he is facing internally. Juan was worried about whether or not the letter he sent to Marina would make it to her house safely or would they become a victim to the government. So he decides to become one of the working men for the censors so that he would get his letter back

    Read More

  • The Role of Social Class in “The Great Gatsby”

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Themes And Motifs

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author illustrates through the characters that the search for wealth, love, or fame or going after the past ideals may not lead to true happiness. Jay Gatsby, the central figure of the story, is one character who longs for the past. Surprisingly, he devotes most of his adult life trying to recapture it and, finally, dies in its pursuit. In the past, Jay had a love affair with the affluent Daisy. Knowing he could not marry her because of the difference in their social status, he leaves her to amass wealth to reach her economic standards.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Lonely Crossing Of Juan Cabrera

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    When we think about society, there is often a stark contrast between the controversy projected in the media that our society faces, and the mellow, safe view we have of our own smaller, more tangible, ‘local’ society. This leads us to believe that our way of life is protected, and our rights secured by that concept of society that has been fabricated and built upon. However, what if society were not what we perceive it to be, and the government chose to exercise its power in an oppressive manner? As a society we would like to think that we are above such cruelty, yet as The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera by J. Joaquin Fraxedas recounts the state of Cuba in the 1990’s, we must also remember that all societies and governments view the individual differently as opposed to the whole. Each group has unique expectations that are enforced upon the individual which extend beyond those expectations that are written. What this book brings to light is the extraordinary repercussions of refusing to meet the demands and expectations of those that lead our governments. When we veer from the path well-trodden and into the ‘wild’ as Juan did, we may not face death quite as often, but the possibility of those we once called our own, persecuting us for our choices is a true and often an incredibly frightening danger.

    Read More

  • Essay

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald seemed to have written a novel about the glittering American twenties, but his novel was really about the decay of American society, the tragedy of love, and the decline of the American dream. The Great Gatsby illustrates all of Fitzgerald’s ideas about American society. Despite the perceived notion of the glitz and glamour of 1920’s society, it was all a thin veneer of extravagance covering up a dark and dismal world.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'In The Time Of The Butterflies' By Julia Alvarez

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In America, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unlike other unfortunate countries, their freedom is limited. In many Latin American countries, the government’s leader has all power of the Country. Citizens have no rights to freedom, they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. Civilians fear to speak out to the regime of leader; However, there were a few courageous citizens enough to speak out against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual 's role in overcoming oppression.

    Read More

  • Persepolis And The Great Gatsby Analysis

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis represent two vastly different cultures and time periods, both explore the social context of those respective time periods. The two authors’ contrasting approaches to uncovering the social attitudes reveal two separate themes; in Persepolis, Satrapi examines social class divisions in Iranian society, while in The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald exposes the truths of upper-class society during the Roaring Twenties. Both works highlight the deep divide in wealth between social classes, revealing the failures of social institutions.

    Read More

  • The Rich and The Poor in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Great Gatsby”, by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the vast social difference between the old aristocrats, the new self-made rich and the poor. He vividly interprets the social stratification during the roaring twenties as each group has their own problems to deal with. Old Money, who have fortunes dating from the 19th century, have built up powerful and influential social connections, and tend to hide their wealth and superiority behind a veneer of civility. The New Money made their fortunes in the 1920s boom and therefore have no social connections and tend to overcompensate for this lack with lavish displays of wealth. As usual, the No Money gets overlooked by the struggle at the top, leaving them forgotten or ignored. Such is exemplified by Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Their ambitions distinctly represent their class in which Fitzgerald implies strongly about.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Final Essay

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.

    Read More

  • Social Mobility in The Great Gatsby

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    This essay discusses the role of social mobility in Great Gatsby. It argues that not all people can reach the highest social class, this is a class you must belong to from the beginning of life or marry in to. However, the characters are living the American dream which makes social mobility to the other social classes available. The essay addresses the American Dream, the difference in social class between the main characters, and how social mobility is unreachable. There are two frames of values for social mobility in The Great Gatsby.

    Read More

  • Corruption of the American Dream in the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1440 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald employs the use of characters, themes, and symbolism to convey the idea of the American Dream and its corruption through the aspects of wealth, family, and status. In regards to wealth and success, Fitzgerald makes clear the growing corruption of the American Dream by using Gatsby himself as a symbol for the corrupted dream throughout the text. In addition, when portraying the family the characters in Great Gatsby are used to expose the corruption growing in the family system present in the novel. Finally, the American longing for status as a citizen is gravely overshot when Gatsby surrounds his life with walls of lies in order to fulfill his desires for an impure dream. F. Scot. Fitzgerald, through his use of symbols, characters, and theme, displays for the reader a tale that provides a commentary on the American dream and more importantly on its corruption.

    Read More

  • Social and Moral Values in Relation to the Downfall of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    ‘The Great Gatsby’ is social satire commentary of America which reveals its collapse from a nation of infinite hope and opportunity to a place of moral destitution and corruption during the Jazz Age. It concentrates on people of a certain class, time and place, the individual attitudes of those people and their inner desires which cause conflict to the conventional values, defined by the society they live in. Gatsby is unwilling to combine his desires with the moral values of society and instead made his money in underhanded schemes, illegal activities, and by hurting many people to achieve the illusion of his perfect dream.

    Read More

More about Social Inequity in 'The Motorcycle Diaries' and 'The Great Gatsby'

Open Document