Theme Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

America was built on the idea of creating a classless society, deeming it possible for anyone to climb their way to the top. This “dream” diminished as people started to realized it wasn’t common to become self-made wealthy American. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates the corruption of the classes in his novel The Great Gatsby. In this novel, the reader follows a middle class man, Nick, as he observes the unprincipled morals of the “high-class” characters. Jay Gatsby pursued the “American Dream” and was able to climb the social and economic classes to the top. This immoral social climbing surfaces the unfair division between the rich and the poor. Those who are rich are either born into the life style or inherit it in an unseemly manner. The central idea that capitalism encourages immoral behavior comes from the idea of power, wealth and, capitalism. These three aspects are what separate the classes from each other and
They study the differences in social classes based off of socialism theories. Karl Marx created this theory by studying social organization in a technological way (Delahoyde). He viewed history as a sequence of classes being oppressed and oppressing and sympathized for the working class (Delahoyde). Marx examined that materialism is one of the central driving forces for the classes, as seen so prevalent in The Great Gatsby. Marxist critics champion authors whose works challenge economic equalities found in capitalist societies (“Literary Theory”). They find complications in capitalist societies portrayed in works of literature. They look at whom the work benefits, how the lower and working classes are oppressed, how the different classes are represented, and the values that are overthrown (Brizee). This type of lens highlights the corruption of classes in a capitalistic society by looking at each class