Since the beginning of mankind, there is no doubt that society was broken down into millions of groups, otherwise known as social breakdown. Segregation, not only by skin color, and religion, but wealth as well, plays a vast part in the socially broken down society of the past and present. Likewise, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the environment as a whole is socially broken down economically. First and foremost, the two neighborhoods of East and West Egg play a central role in this division of wealth throughout the story, especially in comparison to Nick, the main character, and Mr. Gatsby, who lives next door to Nick. Also, the criticisms Nick faced of his small fortune are expressed several times throughout the story such as …show more content…
the confrontation with his cousin Daisy’s husband, Tom. Therefore, in The Great Gatsby, division of wealth plays a large role in the socially broken society of the story line. In the early 1900s, the neighborhood you lived in determined how much you were worth. Correspondingly, in the story, Nick explains the standards of living between his neighborhood, West Egg, and the one of wealth, East Egg, that is a very short distance from where he lives. “I lived at West Egg—the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season” (Fitzgerald 5). From this description of the two neighborhoods, it can be seen that your status of wealth is determined ultimately by which of the two areas you reside in. Despite the shabby slums and tenements that Nick and the majority of Americans lived in during the time period of which the story takes place, in both reality and fictionally, Americans still found ways to get make a way of life with what they had. In this case, one of the most vital examples that paints the division of wealth across the storyline throughout, is the differences between the East and West Egg neighborhoods. On the contrary to Nick’s style of living, one of the houses mentioned in particular is Nick’s neighbor, Mr. Jay Gatsby. Gatsby is a very wealthy man who lives in a large house and acquired much of his net worth through several means, both ethically and unethically. Gatsby eventually creates a friendship between him and Nick, largely in part to his love for Nick’s cousin, Daisy. The bromance between the two gets so deep that Gatsby can precisely tell that Nick is struggling financially, and therefore offers him a job that can reel in a healthy amount of revenue. In the end, Nick decides to turn down Gatsby’s offer due to the fact that it is a form of repayment to Nick for getting Daisy to visit, as well as the unethical sources the revenue would come from. This example from the story also displays a vast role in the idea of division of wealth in part by Gatsby’s large fortune that came from unethical sources, such as organized crime. The next example that describes the division of wealth comes during the meeting between Nick and his cousin Daisy’s husband, Tom.
Daisy and Tom Buchanan's relationship is fueled more by wealth than love as Tom is a famous European sports star who is openly having an affair with another woman. When Tom greets Nick at the house, he has a few choice words that sets the standards of how the poor are frowned upon by the wealthy. ‘“Now, don’t think my opinion on these matters is final,” he seemed to say, “just because I’m stronger and more of a man than you are.” We were in the same senior society, and while we were never intimate, I always had the impression that he approved of me and wanted me to like him with some harsh, defiant wistfulness of his own”’ (7). This incident in itself displays the high regards to which the wealthy believe they deserve, and their expectations upon how the poor should view them. In addition, this way of thinking paints a spinning image to the similarity of how the White race had the same actions expressed towards African-Americans for hundreds of years. In short, this example in particular plays a vital role in the story that represents the division of wealth of …show more content…
mankind. In conclusion, throughout The Great Gatsby, there is no doubt in the reader's mind that there are obvious differences between the classes of wealth.
A prime example of all that is displayed in the novel would come from the clear cut descriptions of the East and West Egg neighborhoods. Subsequently, the treatment of lower class citizens also paves the way in which this story is set, from one extreme to the other. Therefore, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the capitalistic environment directly correlates to the socially and economically broken down society, and contributes to the division of wealth amongst
people.
“The Great Gatsby” was a extremely sophisticated novel; it expressed love, money, and social class. The novel is told by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor. Nick had just moved to West Egg, Longs Island to pursue his dream as a bond salesman. Nick goes across the bay to visit his cousin Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan in East Egg. Nick goes home later that day where he saw Gatsby standing on his dock with his arms out reaching toward the green light. Tom invites Nick to go with him to visit his mistress Mrs. Myrtle Wilson, a mid class woman from New York. When Nick returned from his adventure of meeting Myrtle he chooses to turn his attention to his mysterious neighbor, Gatsby. Gatsby is a very wealthy man that host weekly parties for the
The Great Gatsby is a well written and exemplary novel of the Jazz age, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald desired writing his books about the roaring twenties and would explain what happened during that time frame. The majority of the characters in The Great Gatsby cared more about money, power, and having a good time then the people in their lives. This lack of caring for others resulted in the hardships the characters faced. Especially, Jay Gatsby was one of these cruel characters.
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.
Many forms of literature portray conflicting or contrasting areas in which each place has a significant impact on the story. These opposing forces add to the overall theme, symbolism, and meaning of the story. In the ‘Great Gatsby’, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, these areas are the ‘East Egg’ and the ‘West Egg’. To illustrate, the East Egg represents the former or classic establishment. It consists of wealthy families who have handed down money from generation to generation.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald emphasizes the demise of the American Dream. Through greed, pursuit of empty pleasures and cynicism many characters throughout the novel realize that life is not always as luxurious as it seems. Based on the East and West egg, both communities live very expensive lifestyles.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explores the issues of society and the hierarchy of social class. The three homes belonging to Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, are all in the vicinity of each other, which illustrates the close proximity of their three lives, and foreshadows how they end up intertwining. Myrtle and George Wilson’s home is between the Buchanan’s and Gatsby’s, in the Valley of Ashes, and eventually comes to represent the failure of the American Dream. The homes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby represent the different characteristics of their dwellers. Gatsby is a man with a one track mind, while Nick is simple and sensible. The Buchanan 's are unashamedly opulent, while the Wilson 's are poor
The Great Gatsby “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.
Undoubtedly, Tom and Daisy Buchanan exceedingly demonstrate the wealthy class's lack of integrity. Their lives are filled with material comforts and luxuries and completely empty of true purpose. Daisy's lament is especially indicative of this:
Over the past year, the class has spent a lot of time reading books that give the reader the chance to experience different time periods and societies. Every single book the class has read followed a common theme of characters trying to break out from the societal norms. Something that writer Robert Louis Stevenson fully supports as shown in his quote, “To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive”. The quote itself most closely means something to the effect of, “To know what you believe instead of lowly saying it is so to everything that you are told to believe, is to have kept your consciousness alive”. Meaning that he believes you must always question
The origin of wealth is a key factor for deciding which social class each character in The Great Gatsby belong to. Jay Gatsby is the character who made the greatest social mobility. The other characters use him for his parties and hospitality but they do not consider him as an equal. This is something that is evident particularly on page 66 in the novel when Gatsby tells his story to Nick Carraway, the novel's narrator, and Nick describes Gatsby's phrases as so threadbare they lack credibility. No matter how much money Gatsby makes he is never going to be good enough for either Daisy or the other characters.
In the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel was written in the 1920's and during that time society had no civilized manners, they only cared about money. Because the society has no ethics they hurt others and do not realize how greedy they are. The author uses different characters throughout the novel to present his theme. Symbols can also be found in The Great Gatsby. An example would be West Egg which represents the recent rich and East Egg which represents the established upper classes. The West Egg and East Egg symbolize the different social status of society.
In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, all the characters are, in one way or another, attempting to become happier with their lives. The characters in the novel are divided into two groups: the rich upper class and the poorer lower class(West egg and East egg) though the main characters only try to make their lives better, the American dream they are all trying to achieve is eventually ruined by the harsh reality or life.
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...
Social class and status is also emphasized through the barrier that exists between East Egg and West Egg which symbolises “old money” and “new money” effectively, and the corruption of morals as witnessed and expressed by the narration of Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald shows that for all the lavishness of society there is ultimately unfulfilled dreams, corruption and separation, and in the case of Gatsby a tragic end to a tragic hero of the lower class.
The "American Dream" supposedly allows everyone to climb the "social/economic ladder," if they wish to do so. Anyone that works hard is supposed to be able to move to a higher class. However, society often prevents social mobility. Social classes dictate who moves to a higher class and who does not. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this issue was especially prevalent. The rigidity of classes was often an underlying theme in many novels during this time period. For example, The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby both feature the exclusive nature of social classes as a motif. In both The Age of Innocence and The Great Gatsby, the rigidity of social classes and the desire for social mobility leads to the downfall of several