Social Class In The Great Gatsby Essay

519 Words2 Pages

The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1920 shows an insightful exploration of social class and the inability to change ones social class no matter how hard they attempt to. Fitzgerald was a great author in his ability to take himself out of reality in the 1920’s and write in The Great Gatsby the dangers of social climbing by comparing characters with regards to their social class. The desperation to achieve but ultimately failing the American Dream was explored through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson. I am going to investigate the inability to change one’s social class in 1920s America.

The idea of changing social class in the 1920s is a common theme highlighted throughout The Great Gatsby. Through the characters of Gatsby and Myrtle who both fail in their desperate attempt to live out The American Dream, Fitzgerald successfully convinces the reader that The American Dream for most of America at this time was just that of a dream and was not obtainable for many. Fitzgerald explained that The American Dream was a highly unrealistic standard that so many tr...

Show More
Related

  • 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

  • Materialism and Manipulation in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...on materialism and social class. While novel is widely considered a zeitgeist of the time period, it is also a warning for the American Dream. Although the Dream is not Marxist materialism, it is certainly not traditional individualism and freedom. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby poses a question: what is the American Dream?

    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

  • Examples Of Idealism In The Great Gatsby

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since its publication in 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has indisputably been one of the most influential and insightful pieces on the corruption and idealism of the American Dream. The American Dream, defined as ‘The belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone,’ was a dominant ideal in American society, stemming from an opportunist pioneer mentality. In his book ‘The American Tradition in Literature’, Bradley Sculley praised The Great Gatsby for being ‘perhaps the most striking fictional analysis of the age of gang barons and the social conditions that produced them.’ Over the years, greed and selfishness changed the basic essence of the American Dream, forming firmly integrated social classes and the uncontainable thirst for money and status. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ was a time of ‘sustained increase in national wealth’ , which consequently led to an increase in materialism and a decrease in morality. Moreover, the

    Read More

  • The American Dream In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The American Dream'

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    The thesis of Kimberley Hearne’s essay “Fitzgerald’s Rendering of a Dream” is at the end of the first paragraph and reads “It is through the language itself, and the recurrent romantic imagery, that Fitzgerald offers up his critique and presents the dream for what it truly is: a mirage that entices us to keep moving forward even as we are ceaselessly borne back into the past (Fitzgerald 189).” Hearne’s essay provides information on the misconception of The American Dream that Fitzgerald conveys through “The Great Gatsby”. She provides countless evidence that expresses Fitzgerald’s view of The American Dream, and explains that Fitzgerald’s writing of the novel is to express to Americans what The American Dream truly is.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Class In The Great Gatsby

    798 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many things that affect how people see each other. Judging others on their looks, personalities, and lifestyles is as natural as sleeping. A common subject of judgement has always been social class; each class has judged one another for centuries. Looking at another class is like looking into the window of another world that is shrouded in mystery; especially the upper class. The idea of being wealthy is surrounded by a stereotype that life is easy and everything is perfect. F. Scott Fitzgerald teaches in The Great Gatsby that this is not true through three different social classes in the 1920s: old money, new money, and no money. Although status makes life easier it can negatively affect the personalities of people with old money, new money, and no money.

    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

  • The American Dream in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emerging trends of the 1920’s. More importantly, the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dreams and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive to acquire the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the author's view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby.

    Read More

  • The Rich and The Poor in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    “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. Such is exemplified by Jay Gatsby, Myrtle Wilson and Tom Buchanan. Their ambitions distinctly represent their class in which Fitzgerald implies strongly about.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Final Essay

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.

    Read More

  • Society And Class In The Great Gatsby

    255 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are many themes in The Great Gatsby, but the main theme is Society and Class. It is shown throughout chapter one that there is a difference between the East Egg, which is made up of Old money, and the West Egg, which is New Money. In The Great Gatsby, the letter from Curtain, and also Private Donald Fraser, there are differences and similarities in the themes.

    Read More

  • Social Commentary in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    On one level The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period in which it was set. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby's parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby's involvement in crime all identify the period and the American setting. But as a piece of social commentary The Great Gatsby also describes the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideals conflict with the actual social conditions that exist. For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She scorns people from her own class and loses all sense of morality. And for all her social ambition, Myrtle never succeeds in her attempt to find a place for herself in Tom's class. When it comes to a crisis, the rich stand together against all outsiders.

    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

  • Essay On The Upper Class In The Great Gatsby

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Gatsby takes place during the infamous jazz age of the 1920s, where only the wealthy were able to enjoy it in all its hedonistic decadence. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, constantly depicts the upper class during the novel as self-indulgent and careless people. He does this by portraying acts of carelessness through the upper class and showing the irresponsibility in which they possess. The epitome of this carelessness can be seen through two of the main characters in the novel, Tom and Daisy Buchannan; when they consistently make messes and refrain from cleaning them up due to their vast money and contemptuous nature. Recklessness while driving is also displayed throughout the novel to show this theme of irresponsibility within the wealthy; this can be seen when Tom and Gatsby drive along with Jordan and Daisy. Therefore it can be said that throughout The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald demonstrates his disgust for the upper class through Tom and Daisy’s careless acts and irresponsibility for their actions.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American Dream, a long standing ideal embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring 20s, people in America put up facades to mask who they truly were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream is simply an illusion, that is idealist and unreal. In the novel, Gatsby, a wealthy socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In the process of pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, destroys one’s own character and morals. Through Fitzgerald use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives.

    Read More

More about Social Class In The Great Gatsby Essay

Open Document