In the book the Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald gives the reader a good look into life during the roaring 20s. For some people, it was full of lavish parties and a lively social atmosphere. Nobody had a care in the world and the people spent their days partying and celebrating away. For the other people, it was dreary, sad, and full of hard working days. This time period was the best of times and the worst of times. Using a Marxist lens, the characters Myrtle, Daisy, and Gatsby represent the social class in which they belong. Throughout the novel, Myrtle represents the struggles of the lower class and her experiences as a woman. While she was in New York she says, “The only crazy thing I was doing was when I married him. I knew …show more content…
His struggles represent the necessity at the time of climbing the social classes. At his lavish parties he is constantly getting criticized, “‘He’s a bootlegger.’ said the young ladies.’One time he killed a man who had found out that he was nephew to Von Hodenberg and second cousin to the devil.’”(Fitzgerald 61). The socialites who attend Gatsby’s elaborate parties have no clue how someone could get so much money so fast. They all assume that he is a murderer or a bootlegger or has done dirty business because the assumption back then is that people from New Money were worse than people who were Old Money. They have all these prejudices against him, even though they enjoy his parties and all the things his money buys them. Even though his house is the biggest in the area and holds the grandest parties, he is still criticized for being new money. When he was questioned about his life he got all flustered and started stumping, “He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him now. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him, after all.”(Fitzgerald 26). When Nick first meets Gatsby and Gatsby is telling him about his “life”, Nick is very skeptical. Gatsby seems to be more nervous and tripping over his words. This just shows how Gatsby is really just nervous on the inside and doesn’t want it to be revealed how he actually got his money and wealth. During this time period, new money was looked down upon and considered less. And if Gatsby wanted to attract the attention of Daisy he was going to have to pretend that he was actually old money instead of new money which according to everyone in that world is less. At Gatsby’s funeral, the only person who showed up was his dad. He came with his list of daily jobs, saying, “‘Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had
The experiment I intend to conduct will analyze the effects of motivation on false word recall in the DRM paradigm. The DRM paradigm has been extensively analyzed, and it has been concluded that participants readily recall words that are associated with presented lists, however, not presented in the lists. This phenomenon is known as false recall. I am interested if the presence of a secondary reinforcer will affect the proportion of false word recall. I reviewed three studies that I believe are pertinent to my experiment.
2. Myrtle represents the contrasting women of the lower class. She is an opportunist; she is obsessed with wealth and material possessions. She will do anything to be of a higher social class. She is sexualized and objectified by the dominant wealthy man.
As depicted by Scott F. Fitzgerald, the 1920s is an era of a great downfall both socially and morally. As the rich get richer, the poor remain to fend for themselves, with no help of any kind coming their way. Throughout Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the two “breeds” of wealthier folk consistently butt heads in an ongoing battle of varying lifestyles. The West Eggers, best represented by Jay Gatsby, are the newly rich, with little to no sense of class or taste. Their polar opposites, the East Eggers, are signified by Tom and Daisy Buchanan; these people have inherited their riches from the country’s wealthiest old families and treat their money with dignity and social grace. Money, a mere object in the hands of the newly wealthy, is unconscientiously squandered by Gatsby in an effort to bring his only source of happiness, Daisy, into his life once again. Over the course of his countless wild parties, he dissipates thousands upon thousands of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to attract Daisy’s attention. For Gatsby, the only way he could capture this happiness is to achieve his personal “American Dream” and end up with Daisy in his arms. Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy is somewhat detrimental to himself and the ones around him; his actions destroy relationships and ultimately get two people killed.
Throughout “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald characterizes the citizens of East Egg as careless in some form. This relates to the prominent class issue seen all through “Gatsby.” It seems as though Daisy and Tom almost look down upon others. At one point in the book, Nick says “in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.” It is because of their belief of superiority that they deem themselves better than other and allows them to live so carelessly.
“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.
Myrtle’s perception of reality is blurred. She fails to recognize her social standing as someone of the lower class, and instead brings upon a self lead pretentious charade that she is of the upper class. She has an acquired habit of stating that various aspect in her life are under her expectations. She insists that she only “married him because (she) thought he was a gentleman”, and that he “fit to lick ...
“They were the best of times; they were the worst of times.” This quote from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens can be used to sum up the hustle and bustle that consisted of American life in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a novel of love, loss, false hope and broken dreams is rightly set in the post-World War era of the “Roaring Twenties.” Here, the wealthy were seen as blessed and favored, while the poor were considered to be wicked, sinful, or even cursed. Mixing between the social classes was rare and looked down upon. Thus, springs the reason why Gatsby had to cheat his way to material wealth in order to win his real prize, Daisy’s love. The Great Gatsby could be referred to as a satirical criticism of the American lifestyle that showed the risks some would undergo for fame and fortune, even unto death.
.... (Parkinson 96) This kind of so-called rebellious lifestyle encompasses a part of Gatsby; the part that put ultimate wealth as a life goal and as a way to Daisy. This depiction of Gatsby’s battle for the girl proves that Fitzgerald’s view towards wealth had to have been influenced by the time period he lived in. It also demonstrates the emptiness of values and morals that were so common amongst the majority of the population at that time. This lifestyle spread like a virus to most people because it promised a happy life while being the social norm at the time. It not only included wealth as a goal but sex and women played a crucial role in the average American dream during the 1920’s. For, “wealth and sex are closely related in this vicious and greedy world of plunder, which renders life meaningless by denying any altruism in human endeavor” (Parkinson 110).
On one level The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period in which it was set. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby's parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby's involvement in crime all identify the period and the American setting. But as a piece of social commentary The Great Gatsby also describes the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideals conflict with the actual social conditions that exist. For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She scorns people from her own class and loses all sense of morality. And for all her social ambition, Myrtle never succeeds in her attempt to find a place for herself in Tom's class. When it comes to a crisis, the rich stand together against all outsiders.
In the past century in America, one of the decades that has stood out most as a time of change is the 1920s. In a post-war economic boom, the decade was a time of cultural and societal change. Among the parties and the more relaxed way of life, Americans experienced new wealth and luxury. Capturing the essence of the Roaring Twenties is a daunting task, especially because of the many different factors contributing to the decade’s fame. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald managed to capture and define the spirit of the 1920s through his novel. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the characters and events of the novel manifest the trademark qualities of America in the 1920s.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald took place in the 1920’s when the nation was undergoing rapid economic, political, and social change. Looking through different literary lenses the reader is able to see the effects of these rapid changes. The marxist lens reflects the gap between rich and poor while the feminist lens showcases the patriarchal society.
Callum Harvey Mrs. Frantzen 11 Honors Block 3A 25 March 2024. Callum Harvey Marxist Lens Paper The Great Gatsby, composed by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a tale of excess. Whether it be Gatsby's undying love, Tom's mansion, or Daisy's self-absorption, there is no shortage of excess. Throughout the book, characters are seen with exorbitant amounts of money, influence, and power.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, the 1920’s was a “throwaway culture, in which things (and people) are used and then abandoned” (Evans). This is true of the lives of the wealthy elite who ruled the East and West Eggs, causing the domination of materialistic thought. The substitution of money for integrity ultimately provided a way for corruption to take deep roots in the characters. The frivolous lives and relationships described by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby depict the emptiness of the shallow 1920’s era.
The 1920’s were a time of social and technological change. After World War II, the Victorian values were disregarded, there was an increase in alcohol consumption, and the Modernist Era was brought about. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a perfect presentation of the decaying morals of the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald uses the characters in the novel--specifically the Buchanans, Jordan Baker, and Gatsby’s partygoers--to represent the theme of the moral decay of society.
With its glittering parties, lavish lifestyles, and tragic love affairs, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby transports readers to the opulent world of the American upper class during the 1920s. Yet, beyond the surface of wealth and extravagance lies a deeper exploration of societal tensions, where issues of social class, gender roles, and the elusive pursuit of the American Dream converge. Against this backdrop, Marxist and Feminist Theory offer invaluable lenses through which to dissect the power dynamics at play within the novel. Set amidst the backdrop of the Jazz Age, a period characterized by unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural upheaval, The Great Gatsby reflects the social upheavals of its time. It portrays the stark divide between the old money elite and the nouveau riche, revealing the