Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

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Karl Marx was a firm believer that “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness”. The wealth and status of a person will ultimately determine their life and the limitations of what they will be able to achieve. In The Great Gatsby, the characters of Tom and Daisy adhere to Marx's belief as they conform to the attitudes of the upper class in a capitalist 1920s America - often they were selfish and had no concern for the difference in their income to that of the lower class. Even Fitzgerald, to an extent, conformed to these attitudes after acquiring “celebrity status”. The 1920s was a time of “consumer society” due to the economic growth after World War I, this resulted in the ‘reckless’ expenditure of the young upper class. The characters in the novel are all of different social status and …show more content…

As “James Gatz of North Dakota”, he is depicted as working class with “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people” for parents; Fitzgerald uses this to contrast the upper class persona of “Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island", showing how Fitzgerald believes it is possible to change social class and dismisses the idea that “social circumstances determine much, if not all, your life.” Wolfsheim assumes that Gatsby is "a man of fine breeding" and is unaware of his provincial background, this proves how Gatsby is successful in changing his outcome in life and is an example of the capitalist claim that "all you have to do is make the right choices and start moving up that social ladder". Fitzgerald disregards the Marxist idea that "social circumstances determine much, if not all, your life" by using Gatsby to suggest that people are not fixed into the social hierarchy and have the ability to alter the opportunities they are entitled

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