Social Class Distinction in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

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Recommended: Great Gatsby as criticism on contemporary society

Have you ever thought of how social and economic classes work into a capitalist system? Marxists believe that different social and economic classes should be equal. In the book the “Great Gatsby” written by F. Scott Fitzgerald these classes are very much defined and show the flaws and reality of how social and economic classes are viewed through Marxists. Viewing the classes through vulgar Marxists the characters attempting to climb social and economical ladders in the book are not accepted and rejected from upper class individuals. “The Great Gatsby” shows that people attempting to be something he or she is not does not mean they have achieved these social and economic goals and will be rejected by the very people they are attempting to mirror. The upper class characters belief in their superiority allow them to see themselves as better than others and allows them to live carelessly. Throughout the story Tom and Daisy make many careless decisions and talk down to those who are not as wealthy and have the same social status as them, knowing that they can fall back on their money and the people in working classes who they hire or can pay for help or support. For example, Daisy is willing to allow Gatsby to take the blame for her killing Mrytle and Tom allows George to believe that Gatsby is actually the killer of his wife. Just as in society upper class or those with money keep on making their money and can allow themselves to make careless massive mistakes knowing that they will have money and working class people to fall back on once those mistakes are realized. These types of careless mistakes are seen on news channels daily as celebrities, athletes, and wealthy individuals get into legal trouble and are able to pay their way... ... middle of paper ... ...ceed in spreading gossip and rumors about him. Mrytle tries to glamorize her and Tom’s relationship in front of Nick, her sister, and neighbors; but is talked down to by Tom and slapped for mentioning Daisy. Those who actually try and move their way up are constantly put down and rejected by upper social and economic classes. Throughout the novel the characters attempting to mingle with upper class, wealthy individuals are constantly kept in their class. Fitzgerald shows that working class and newly rich individuals are conveyed as prey to upper classes. These upper class characters make themselves superior in every way and will not allow working class people to gain access to their world. They want to keep them down and be able to use them as support to stay at the top. In this novel those who attempted to escape working class life ended up paying tragic prices.

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