How Does Fitzgerald Present Social Class In The Great Gatsby

In the book “The Great Gatsby” we are presented with this idea of classes. In the novel there are three classes presented, which are working class, newly rich (earned), and old money (inherited). The Great Gatsby displays the fact that social classes played a large part in the lives of people in the year 1925. One specific time in which it shows the different classes is in the beginning of the book. Fitzgerald references the Valley of Ashes, which is described as “desolate area of land,”(p.21) and a “solemn dumping ground,”(p.21) this is the place the poor live in. The Valley of Ashes is located in the middle of West Egg and New York, West Egg is the place where striving classes are placed, this is the “less fashionable of the two” (p.8), West Egg is where Gatsby lives. F. Scott Fitzgerald also presents us with idea when he talks about what Gatsby does for a living. Gatsby, rumored to be selling alcohol illegally, makes fast money which means that people have a lot of money to afford buying this expensive drink.

“And a whole clan named Blackbuck, who always gathered in the corner and flipped up their noses like goats at whosoever came near.” (p.49) Some people in the book call it the ‘mixing pot’ with all the social classes combined. New York City is where Tom and Myrtle have their secret apartment “The living room was crowded to the doors with a set of tapestried furniture entirely too large for it” (p.25). This quote shows us that the apartment they have is very small, which is completely different from the space Tom has at his house that he has with Daisy. This tells us that if you were in the upper class, back then, you were able to afford a house taht has a lot of room, but if you were with the lower class all you could afford was a small compact