The American Dream and Class Separation

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Class Separation lowers a person’s opportunity to achieve the American dream. As the separation between class increases, there is less possibility of achieving the American dream. Class separation has been around for a while. The higher class has higher prospect of achieving the American dream whereas the lower class does not. The separation between the class and its affect on achieving the American dream is demonstrated in the novel Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, a political cartoon, The Great GAPsby society, an article by David Cay Johnson, Richest Are Leaving even the Rich Far Behind and Shadowy Lines That Still Divide by Janny Scott. Even though some argue that the class separation does not affect the ability of achieving the American Dream, these articles clearly explain how it does. The separation of classes is an issue that can affect an individual’s ability to achieve their American dream. In the Cartoon by Jeff Parker, it shows the separation between the classes is increasing. The gap represents the social classes. The man with suit is from the higher social class while the man opposite him is from the lower class. The differences between the men demonstrate the difference between the social classes. The man with the suit has his chin up, he is turned away from the other man, he has glass and he seems to have his eyes closed to the gap between them while the other guy has baggy clothes, a spatula in his hand, the other hand pointing the other way. The ways both men speak also demonstrate the difference in class deference. The man in suit seems to be ignorant about the widening gap that is right in front of him while the other man is working 2 jobs. It also proves that for the lower class American dream is harder to achieve... ... middle of paper ... ...est Egg and East Egg. Only wealthy people with a social class live in east Egg while only wealthy people live in the West Egg. The valley of ashes is the people with no social class lives. “I lived at West Egg, the well, the least 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….. all for eighty dollars a month”. West Egg seems to be less fashion able but with big houses. The houses in West egg were big and elegant as a way to show they have money but in East Egg the houses were simple but very costly. It is easier for the upper social class to achieve the American dream rather than the lower class due to many reasons.

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