Social Class In The Great Gatsby

1751 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critical analysis of the great gatsby

Ian Wohlers
Taylor, 6

The Depiction of the Lower Classes in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jane Eyre, and The Great Gatsby

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are all undoubtedly masterpieces. Each novel deals with issues of wealth and social class in it’s own way, but all three books seem to take the same stance on the poor. Twain, Bronte, and Fitzgerald all seem to portray the poor in an overwhelmingly positive light. The three novelists use the trope of a moral lower-class as a vessel for social commentary, defaulting on this stance, while simultaneously subverting it to flesh out characterization. The poor seem to be a perfectly analogous to the value …show more content…

Jim, in one of the closing scenes Twain’s novel, sacrifices himself to help Tom Sawyer, expecting nothing in return. The inverse also seems true, Nick Carraway’s manor in The Great Gatsby seems needlessly big, filled with sprawling italianate gardens. Meyer Wolfsheim of The Great Gatsby further proves this concept, a man who was willing to rig the World Series for more money. However, a significant character where this analysis breaks down is The Duke from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His character, a travelling scam-artist represents the worst aspects of the poor. This contradiction to my thesis adds a great deal of depth to Twain’s novel. He acknowledgees that the relationship between poor and rich isn’t so one-sided. The trend also breaks down in Jane Eyre with Mr. Rochester. In a conversation between Jane and Fairfax, Jane claims “There are people who seem to have no notion of sketching a character, or observing and describing salient points, either in persons or things: the good lady evidently belonged to this class; my queries puzzled, but did not draw her out. Mr. Rochester was Mr. Rochester in her eyes; a gentleman.” (198 Bronte). The rich aren’t necessarily bad people, but for every Rochester there’s a Brocklehurst, a Tom, and a Mrs

Show More
Related

  • sathf Satire of The Grangerfords and Pap

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Grangerfords and Pap are two of the characters who are used by Twain to condemn civilized society. Twain employs satire to express his belief that “civilized” society is neither moral, ethical, nor civilized.  Exaggeration, stereotyping, and irony are used throughout the story to satirize and to expose the Grangerfords as the typical southern aristocrats and pap as the typical drunken “white trash.”

    Read More

  • Huck Finn Greed Quotes

    414 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain gives direction to the reader about characters that have traits of greed for material or their own self wanting to have wealth to show how he thinks about the problems with our communities dealing with greed and wealth. He hopes he can make an impact on people so they can better themselves in the long run.

    Read More

  • Class Distinctions in 'The Great Gatsby'

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chapter 1: Chapter one introduces the reader to the narrator Nick Halloway and most of the other other characters of the story. Including his cousin daisy, her husband tom and their friend jordan - the golfer. Nick comes from a wealthy family; however, doesn’t believe in inheriting their wealth. Instead he wishes to earn his own wealth by selling bonds in the stock market. Chapter one also talks about the separation of the rich. Where the east egg represents the inherently rich whereas west egg represents the newly rich. The people in the east also seem to lack social connections and aristocratic pedigree. Whereas the people in west egg possess all those qualities usually lacked by people in the east.With nick living

    Read More

  • Love, Money, And Social Class In The Great Gatsby

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • Dreadfulness of Modern Experience

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain’s main characters depicted the societal issues of racism in the South. Huck Finn, a poor white boy, and Jim, an African American slave, both encounter situations that cause these characters inter turmoil because of the societal standards of the time. According to Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mark Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through much criticism and denunciation has become a well-respected novel. Through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, Huckleberry Finn, Twain illustrates the controversy of racism and slavery during the aftermath of the Civil War. Since Huck is an adolescent, he is vulnerable and greatly influenced by the adults he meets during his coming of age. His expedition down the Mississippi steers him into the lives of a diverse group of inhabitants who have conflicting morals. Though he lacks valid morals, Huck demonstrates the potential of humanity as a pensive, sensitive individual rather than conforming to a repressive society. In these modes, the novel places Jim and Huck on pedestals where their views on morality, learning, and society are compared.

    Read More

  • Social Class In The Great Gatsby Essay

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    Social classes have been around since the beginning of time. Most people are lead to believe that rich people live in beautiful and extravagant homes, throw luxurious parties and do not give a damn about keeping it a secret. The poor people are happy to have a roof over their heads and have food on the table and will work their asses off to make a penny. The higher the class that someone is in, the better that person’s life is perceived to be and vice-versa. There is old money versus new money, which determines which side of town one lives on. Everyone knows the difference in social classes and is able to see where most people fit in. In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby, the reader is exposed to many things that show a difference in social class that sadly, still exist in today. Most people have a dream of being in a certain class; whether they ever get to experience it or not, the dream is there. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, shows how social class plays a theme in the story.

    Read More

  • Wealth and Class in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1470 Words  | 3 Pages

    In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Fitzgerald criticises the increase of consumerism in the 1920s and the abandonment of the original American Dream , highlighting that the increased focus on wealth and the social class associated with it has negative effects on relationships and the poorest sections of society. The concept of wealth being used as a measure of success and worth is also explored by Plath in ‘The Bell Jar’. Similarly, she draws attention to the superficial nature of this material American Dream which has extended into the 1960s, but highlights that gender determines people’s worth in society as well as class. Fitzgerald uses setting to criticise society’s loss of morality and the growth of consumerism after the Great War. The rise of the stock market in the 1920s enabled business to prosper in America.

    Read More

  • Social Mobility in The Great Gatsby

    595 Words  | 2 Pages

    This essay discusses the role of social mobility in Great Gatsby. It argues that not all people can reach the highest social class, this is a class you must belong to from the beginning of life or marry in to. However, the characters are living the American dream which makes social mobility to the other social classes available. The essay addresses the American Dream, the difference in social class between the main characters, and how social mobility is unreachable. There are two frames of values for social mobility in The Great Gatsby.

    Read More

  • The Role of Social Class in “The Great Gatsby”

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Social Classes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1640 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Roaring Twenties was a time of great prosperity and a booming economy; this led to people following their American Dream. However, there was a drastic division in social class due to the new emerging money. Due to successful stock market speculation and an abundance of white collared jobs, men climbed the social ladder. Stock market speculation also led to bankruptcy, revealing more people shifting to the low class. In The Great Gatsby, the author writes about various characters in different social classes and how they act. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald exposes the gilded differences in the unique class structure of the 1920’s for the new money class, old money class, and the lower class.

    Read More

  • Social Class In The Great Gatsby

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Class In The Great Gatsby

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald the most defining thing is the social classes, the success of a person. Also in the Great Gatsby, what social class you are in defines you if you have more money than you was considered higher or more superior than others. shows the rise and fall of the American dream through one person, Jay Gatsby. People may not see it in the book like symbolism and the connections between the characters but the American dream should stand out the most because all the symbols lead back to the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald defined the American dream in many ways. The Great Gatsby shows the rise and fall of the American dream through Jay Gatsby who is the reason for everything that happens in the book and how

    Read More

  • Huckleberry Finn Social Commentary Essay

    428 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many cases in which one wonders whether or not what they are reading may have more than meets the eye,The adventures of Huckleberry Finn is more of a social commentary book rather than child’s literature, because it revolves around the main topics of racial difference, and a time period in which there was a varied amount of opinions over the solidified role of public education.

    Read More

  • humor race and misunderstanding

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain satirizes the idiocy and cruelty of society in general. The language of the book, despite its accurate reflection of 19th century dialect, in and of itself is an illustration of misunderstanding.

    Read More

More about Social Class In The Great Gatsby

Open Document