Role Of Social Class In The Great Gatsby

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Social classes rule the world, especially in the United States. Even as social classes are still alive and well today, they were stronger than ever in the 1920’s. In The Great Gatsby, social classes were based on how much money someone had, who a person knew, and where they lived. What class an individual was in depicted who they were and how people knew them to be. Does a person’s social class truly define them? Should it? Does one have to change their social to be who they believe they truly are? Can one completely change the social class in which they belong? Many believe social classes can never truly be changed. A person will always belong to where they came from. In the novel, Gatsby changed his social class. He began his life in the lower class but then worked his way up in life. He did whatever he thought he had to do to gain wealth and a reputation. Eventually, he succeeded becoming the richest man on the West Egg, throwing extravagant parties in his lavish home each weekend (Fitzgerald 39). Although the entire city resided in Gatsby’s home, he was not well accepted by his guests and fellow class members. Many of them took advantage of him and accused him of being something he was not, …show more content…

The theory is that if one acts as if they belong, eventually they will. A person can be accepted and belong in more than one class. For example, Nick Carraway, the narrator in the novel The Great Gatsby, was a member of the lower class, which can be concluded when he describes his home as “a weather-beaten cardboard bungalow” (Fitzgerald 3). Regardless of his class, he was befriended by the highest of the high class members. Actually, Carraway even seemed to belong with these individuals, and his money, or lack thereof, was never mentioned by anyone other than

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