The Great Gatsby Comparison Essay

Contrasts between places and settings such as the “Buchanan’s Colonial mansion” and the “desolate” valley of ashes illustrate 1920’s pronounced social division. East and West propose different social attitudes, East being portrayed as civilised whereas West is portrayed as barbaric. Both of these areas however, vastly contrast the Valley of ashes connected by the “railroad” described by critics as “the place where social barriers are broken down*” as Tom and Myrtle, who are from conflicting social classes meet here. The “Queensboro Bridge” however symbolises racial inequality, fuelled by organisations such as the Ku Klux Klan, a racist group who rose in the 1920’s, as the metaphorical, bigoted comment “yolks of their eyeballs” is made against

The dynamic verbs also symbolise upper class expensive leisure, such as polo, highlighting conspicuous consumption that lead to the era of mass unemployment, the Great Depression. The hallway, “fragilely bound” contrasts with the valley of ashes “bounded on one side by a small foul river”. The adjective “foul” mirrors T.S Eliot’s ‘’The Waste Land’’ that describes a world devoid of ambition. The use of the same letter “f” suggests both places, although financially opposite, possess the same corruption. Fitzgerald’s modernist approach suggests capitalism is the catalyst of social corruption. Similarly, Holden in The Catcher in the Rye depicts New York as “forty one gorgeous blocks” illustrating its attractiveness, contrasting the ‘’vomity-looking chair’’ in a hotel lobby. The adjective ‘’gorgeous’’ symbolises New York upper classes, whilst ‘’vomity’’ symbolises outsiders, therefore highlighting a strong social barrier. Working class, often farm workers lived a constant struggle against poverty as prices dropped, reflected by the oxymoronic statement in The Great Gatsby “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat” .This symbolises hopelessness and