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Division of social classes the great gatsby
Division of social classes the great gatsby
How and why are rich and poor represented in the great gatsby
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In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the contrasting values of new money and old money. Even though the East Eggers and West Eggers are technically from the same social class and are both wealthy, their morals differ greatly. In the third chapter, an extravagant and tasteless amount of wealth is found in West Egg at Gatsby’s mansion parties. When Nick describes the sights he sees while living next to Gatsby, he states, “There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and he champagne and the stars . . . On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past …show more content…
These parties are a representation of the overall behaviour and reputation of the “new money” West Eggers. They don’t seem to care about having values, they just like to have fun and bask in their abundance. On the other hand, the aristocratic East Eggers are more polite and reserved, however lacking in compassion for other people because they’ve never had any kind of struggle. Daisy is painted as lovely because of her charm and is considered pure because she wears white, however, as a person she is very careless and materialistic. Tom is painted as a strong, tough, man and a former football star at Yale, but at the same time he is careless and aggressive. Daisy enjoys flirting with Gatsby throughout the novel but doesn’t take his feelings into consideration when she ultimately chooses Tom just because of his higher status and money, and then moments after she lets Gatsby take the blame for her killing Myrtle. Tom cheated on his wife with Myrtle and punched her when she mentioned his wife, but still played the role of a victim when he found out about the love between Daisy and
Benjamin Franklin once said, “He does not possess wealth; it possesses him.” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby demonstrates the idea of the quote from Benjamin Franklin. The Great Gatsby tells the story of a tragic war for love, wealth, and power which Jay Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan, and Tom Buchanan explore on their own. Fitzgerald sets the scene of The Great Gatsby in East Egg and West Egg. Newly rich people live in West Egg while those who inherit “old money” live in East Egg. East Egg and West Egg contrast the angle of old and new wealth. They help the reader notice the different divisions of the upper-class and the theme of the American dream.
The Great Gatsby is one of the most ironic classic books of all time. But when we look a bit deeper beyond all the glitz and glamour and stop romanticizing all the characters and see them for who they truly are we begin to see the recurring irony found within the pages. This irony begins with money. More specifically old money and new money which happens to create segregation among characters. When it comes down to it the book is simply about a bunch of rich folks judging one another's money and riches. This also forms the setting of the book this is all laid out for us in an elementary picture on the fifth page painted by Nick who is the narrator of this tale. He states, “I lived at West Egg, the-well the less fashionable of the two, though
The first example of Gatsby's belief that money can buy his happiness is when Nick Carraway describes the subdivision in which he lives, West Egg. The subdivision across the water is East Egg. The houses are very luxurious to say the least. On the other hand, there is a distinction between the two. The West Egg house are more recently built and are elaborately decorated, where as the houses in East Egg are still as big but very conservative in architecture. The two neighborhoods represent the division in the upper class at this time in America. During the 1920's, the conservative "old rich" despised the "new rich". A good example of an "old rich" family would be the Rockefellers, where as a "new rich" family would be the Kennedys. The East Egg represented the conservative money of the "old rich". For generations their money passed down giving them the belief that the "new rich" with their newly acquired wealth were still lower and not equal to them. The "new rich" liked to display their wealth in lavish ways that the conservative wealthy did not approve. In addition, the "new rich" often did not earn their money in legitimate ways; most earned their money from boot legging. Carraway in an ironic way is neither "new rich" nor "old rich". He lives in a rather modest house compared to Gatsby's huge mansion. Gatsby owns a huge house but is the only person living there besides some servants. Gatsby tries to use the house to win the happiness and respect from others. Another reason for the house is to hide the way in which he really makes his money.
The East and West Egg are two opposite parts of Long Island. The East Egg is where people of old money reside, like Daisy and Tom, who have inherited the riches of the aristocracy. However, the West Egg is the home of the nouveau riche or new money. It is where Gatsby and Nick reside, who have accumulated great wealth on their own. Fitzgerald contrasts these two places and the characters from each Egg to highlight the cultural clash in the 1920’s between old and new money and the contrasting theme of corruption and morality.
“Money so they say is the root of all evil today.” - Pink Floyd, “Money”
In the book, The Great Gatsby, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald, there seems to be conflict between old money and new money. New money meaning that they have inquired wealth recently, and old money meaning they have inherited the money from their ancestors and have been building up their powerful social connections for many years. Fitzgerald portrays new money as being reckless and unwise with their wealth by lavishly spending their money on new cars,new clothes and parties. On the other side of the spectrum, old money individuals are presented as being more responsible and knowing how to handle their money. The difference between these two social classes goes beyond the way they spend money, but, in their personalities also; the new money groups tend to be more caring and lacking in social graces while old money are deeply selfish and inconsiderate. This conflict between the two ranks is very interesting in that even though the book takes place in the 1920s, this concept is fully evident in our society today.
Who builds his own wealth and therefore builds his superiority. With a lack of family wealth and self-earned fortune, he represents the opposite from Tom and Daisy Buchanan. While the Buchanans seem to live without goals or ambition, Gatsby has a one track mind – to become wealthy to win back Daisy. Fitzgerald shows Gatsby’s ambitions with the schedule of his daily activities written in his childhood novel (Fitzgerald 164). Gatsby’s father say to Nick “It just shows you…[He] was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this” (Fitzgerald 164). This quote is what separates the East eggers (old money) from the West eggers (new money). Gatsby has earned his social superiority through his drive and ambition. The house symbolizes Gatsby 's upbringing from a poor farm boy to a rich, wealthy New Yorker. His flashy and superficial personality comes from the importance he puts on material items. “[an] imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side,…a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald 11), all suggest Gatsby 's desire to be perceived as
...rom the elite rich, who possess old money. Tom also claims that Gatsby “threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s”, (142) and can be said to be using his false wealth to mislead and confuse Daisy and Nick into thinking he is someone of their standards, which shows that Gatsby is not recognised as one of their class. This undercuts the glamorous wealth associated with Gatsby, and the ideal of equality in the American Dream.
On one hand, Fitzgerald conveys the split in society of the wealthy between the classes of old money and new money through the setting and environment of East and West Egg. West Egg is described as the embodiment of new money and is the less fashionable of the two. It is known for its people’s corrupted ways and ostentation. East Egg is old money and is known for being more elegant and fashionable. East Egg has a high aristocratic status and its people are known for their taste and fondness of leisure. The extravagant appearances of East Egg, however, have harsh realities and cover up the demoralization and corruption on the inside. Daisy, a citizen of East Egg, states “I hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool” (Fitzgerald 17). This shows how people must play the part of what society portrays them as in order to maintain their lavish lifestyle. Gatsby lives in West Egg and is the fulfillment of the West Egg lifestyle of parties and flamboyance.
Gatsby was born into a life of poverty in rural North Dakota. His dream was to always be rich and as he grew older he was able to do so by participating in organized crime, such as, illegal alcohol sales and trading. The Great Gatsby is established as East Egg and West Egg, to very similar, yet completely different places to live on Long Island. In East Egg, you have the Buchanan’s, Tom and Daisy, and in West Egg, you have Nick and Gatsby. Here we are introduced to the idea of socioeconomic status and the idea of old money and new money. Tom and Daisy live in East Egg, where they both were born from families with wealth. They live their lives in what appears to be sophistication and class, whereas in West Egg, we see Gatsby throwing huge parties, wearing extravagant clothes, and driving even more extravagant cars. The idea that Gatsby has that he could ever rise to such a stature as those who are from old money is mocked by those whose financial status he has matched. “An Oxford man! Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit” (Fitzgerald, 1925, p. 122). Here Tom Buchanan is pointing out to everyone that those who are new to the concept of money find the need to showboat themselves to everyone around them in order to get as much attention needed in order to feel wanted. It would be like comparing a Kardashian to the Queen of England, they
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...
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s language gives the impression that Gatsby’s party is not as bewitching as expected and through the excess of things, types of expressions, types of actions, and types of words spoken by the rich guests their false happiness and displeasure with their own lives is revealed. In the beginning Nick Carraway-Gatsby’s neighbor- gets an actual invitation to Gatsby’s extravagant party. Although, Nick starts by noticing the glamour and wealth of the 1920’s and telling how the party is enchanting, glamorous, and magical, the further Nick scrutinizes he becomes aware of how the guest “have no other interests other than money and the illusion of happiness than happiness itself.” Nick also describes things to indicate that Gatsby is only trying to show off his wealth.
A significant section of the plot of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald unfolds when Nick Carraway is assimilated into the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy inhabitants of East and West Egg. After moving to New York from the Midwest in search of prosperity and happiness, Nick Carraway involuntarily finds himself in the midst of luxury after buying a dainty house right next to Gatsby’s overwhelming mansion in West Egg. Because of his close proximity with the great Jay Gatsby, Nick becomes a detailed observer of the mysterious fellow, for he has never met the man and is extremely curious. Soon after moving into his new house, Nick notices that Gatsby has thrown a magnificent party filled with hundreds of people, who are in constant supply of alcoholic beverages, gourmet foods, and amusing entertainment. Nick surveys the scene from a distance, wondering how Gatsby can manage such a party, and why he is having the boisterous event in the first place.
During the 1920’s, money was a big factor that impacted the people’s lifestyle and made people change their perception on other people. People in this period would do anything to obtain money, even if that means doing it illegally. One way that people would obtain money is bootlegging alcohol, during the 1920’s this was illegal. But money is money and people see it all in the same way. Except in The Great Gatsby, the way people obtain money changes people’s views. The East and West Egg are perfect examples of this. People from the East Egg have what we call old money and people from West Egg have what we call new money. In The Great Gatsby, money affected people’s attitudes on life.
In Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrator Nick takes the time to list and describe many of the guests that visited Gatsby in his residence during the summer of 1922. The list of Gatsby’s guests includes people from different social groups and parties. There are people from East Egg, the location of “old money” and social importance and people from West Egg, the location of “new money” where people are trying to fit into the society as people from East Egg. Even though all of Gatsby’s guests come from different places and have different morals, they all have one thing in common, which Nick states as, “those who accepted Gatsby’s hospitality and paid him the subtle tribute of knowing nothing whatever about him”(Fitzgerald