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Social classes in america essay
Social classes in america essay
Social classes in america essay
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Society has developed the concept of social class to categorize people into different groups based on economic, political, and socio-economic status. This system of social stratification contributes to the difficulties that the middle and lower classes have to experience in order to succeed in the United States. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well as have different opportunities available to them. Because of this idea, people with a higher social class ranking have an advantage over those in lower class rankings. America is a place where all people are supposed to be equal, but social class has created divisions in society. In The Great Gatsby, money is a huge motivator in the characters’ relationships, motivations, and outcomes. Most of the characters prove themselves to be highly materialistic, their motivations driven by their desire for wealth and power. Both Daisy and Myrtle compete over Tom because of the privileged lifestyle he can provide them. “full of money—that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . .” (7.106). The highest status in society comes with …show more content…
Todays upper class enjoy similar lifestyles as proven by the round-the-clock private parties which are occupied with 5 figure bottles of champagne and chains of exotic vehicles lining the driveways. Although the two groups are from different times, the rich are always going to enjoy the most expensive and be the most powerful. A significant difference between the two groups is the large area of opportunity that the modern era offers as technology progresses, enabling anyone with the driver and resources to achieve their “American
Wealth has both a good and a bad side. It can change the life of a person for the better or worse, and that is clearly shown in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. Wealth affects the lives of the characters of Their Eyes Were Watching God very differently than the characters of The Great Gatsby. Janie’s wealth came about, mainly, from her failed relationships.
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
Tom having an affair with a middle class woman was a huge class difference. Also Daisy will not leave Tom to be with Gatsby because even though Gatsby has money he is not seen as high class. Gatsby lives in West Egg not East egg so he is not as classy as Tom and Daisy. Daisy doesn’t care that Gatsby had changed from the poor man she once new because she thinks that Tom’s old money is better than Gatsby’s new money. The rich seem to be unified by their money. There are also several class differences. There are the characters like Daisy, Tom, and Jordan who were born into wealth. Their families have had money for many generations, hence they are old money. The novel portrays this because people of old money do not have to work, they just spend their time fascinating their selves. They impose a distinction on Gatsby where his life is not based on how much money he has, but where his money came from and when it was received. In Daisy, Tom, and Jordan’s eyes they think he can’t possibly have the same sensibility, taste, and refinement they have. Gatsby may have money now but in their eye he once was poor so he can’t possibly be anything like them. They believe the people with new money cannot be like the ones with old
The Great Gatsby shows how money affects people. The characters “Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, Dan Cody, and Meyer Wolfsheim are examples of people who have been corrupted by their money.” (Smith) Daisy doesn’t care about anybody but herself and we can see that when she hits Myrtle and keeps on going. Gatsby covers up for her but he tells Nick the truth when Nick asks, “Was Daisy driving?” and Gatsby responds, “Yes.” (Book) She didn’t even stand up for her actions and let Gatsby get blamed which ultimately led to his death. Also when Gatsby is killed by George Wilson, Daisy does not even “telephone or send flowers.”(TheBestNotes.com Staff) She didn’t even take the time to go see the man that was so in love with her. Gatsby is a character that is very wealthy but it is not corrupted by his money. The reason he wanted to become wealthy was to show Daisy what he can have so he can impress her and hopefully win her back. Fitzgerald shows the American Dream very clearly in this book. Gatsby who did not come from a wealthy family, later becomes very wealthy after he comes back from the war and starts doing sneaky business with people. The only way he could get crazy rich in such
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.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explores the issues of society and the hierarchy of social class. The three homes belonging to Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, are all in the vicinity of each other, which illustrates the close proximity of their three lives, and foreshadows how they end up intertwining. Myrtle and George Wilson’s home is between the Buchanan’s and Gatsby’s, in the Valley of Ashes, and eventually comes to represent the failure of the American Dream. The homes in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby represent the different characteristics of their dwellers. Gatsby is a man with a one track mind, while Nick is simple and sensible. The Buchanan 's are unashamedly opulent, while the Wilson 's are poor
The novel The Great Gatsby shows many different aspects of the upper class. From corruption to being uncaring many characters never change personalities and don't even try to change. Daisy stayed the same careless, materialistic woman throughout the book and Tom stayed hypocritical and angry. Eventually both run away never accepting responsibility for the damage that they caused. They thought that because they have money they would never have any problems and if they did money would get them out. Money was everything to them and Daisy loved money more than she loved her own daughter. Tom thought that because he had money he could cheat on his wife and that love meant buying his wife a necklace which to his wife was love because it cost a lot of money. Both characters never realized what money couldn't buy them. Between Daisy and Tom money can buy love. To them money equals happiness.
Since the beginning of mankind, there is no doubt that society was broken down into millions of groups, otherwise known as social breakdown. Segregation, not only by skin color, and religion, but wealth as well, plays a vast part in the socially broken down society of the past and present. Likewise, in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the environment as a whole is socially broken down economically. First and foremost, the two neighborhoods of East and West Egg play a central role in this division of wealth throughout the story, especially in comparison to Nick, the main character, and Mr. Gatsby, who lives next door to Nick. Also, the criticisms Nick faced of his small fortune are expressed several times throughout the story such as
During Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, it is apparent to be an absurd time for the wealthy. The shallowness of money, riches, and a place in a higher social class were probably the most important components in most lives at that period of time. This is expressed clearly by Fitzgerald, especially through his characters, which include Myrtle Wilson, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and of course, Jay Gatsby. This novel was obviously written to criticize and condemn the ethics of the rich.
At first glance, The Great Gatsby is merely a classic American tragedy, portraying the story of a man's obsession with a fantasy, and his resulting downfall. However, Fitzgerald seems to weave much more than that into the intricate web of emotional interactions he creates for the reader. One interesting element is the concepts of greatness each has. For Daisy, it lies in material wealth, and in the comfort and security associated with it. Daisy seems to be easily impressed by material success, as when she is touring Gatsby's mansion and seems deeply moved by his collection of fine, tailored shirts. It would seem that Tom's relative wealth, also, had at one time impressed her enough to win her in marriage. In contrast to that, Gatsby seems to not care a bit about money itself, but rather only about the possibility that it can win over Daisy. In fact, Gatsby's extreme generosity gives the reader the impression that Gatsby would otherwise have never even worked at attaining wealth had it not been for Daisy. For Gatsby, the only thing of real importance was his pursuit of Daisy. It would seem that these elements are combined, too in the character Myrtle.
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...
The coined phrase, “money can’t buy happiness” is an infamous saying that has pondered many minds. The debate over what wealth brings to a person’s life has been around long before currency became a way of payment. As long as money is made, there will always be people who have more of it than others. These people are the ones who attend the lavish parties, dress in clothes of gold, and drink water from the rivers in Fiji. These people are filthy rich, and although “money can’t buy happiness”, it sure can buy them everything they desire. In the United States, the 1920’s was a time full of dancing flappers, wealth, extravagant parties, and lots of fun. The 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of Nick Carraway, a young man who moves to New York City and becomes entangled in the mystery of Jay Gatsby. Throughout the novel, readers unravel the tragic tale of Gatsby working his way to winning back Daisy Buchanan, a rich, elite women who is married to the wealthy, Tom Buchanan. In The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the use of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby’s characterization helps to establish the importance of wealth in the novel demonstrating that the desire to be wealthy leads to decisions based on greed and materialism, making characters in the novel chose money over everything else.
...be who they want to be. Tom is completely different around Myrtle and Daisy. He knows he can be more dominant around Myrtle since she is poor. He knows he cannot be that way towards Daisy since she comes from money herself. The idea of the American dream is totally destroyed in The Great Gatsby because of the way the characters interact in the story.
Gatsby believes in the aforementioned "American Dream." Thus, Gatsby believes that money alone will allow him to enter the upper class. However, the unspoken truth of the "American Dream" is that class mobility requires money and the culture typical of the upper class. Gatsby becomes wealthy, but his lack of this culture prevents him from fulfilling his goal of social mobility. Writer Andrew B. Trigg discusses Gatsby 's inability to climb the social ladder: "culture provides a barrier to entering the top echelons of the leisure class" (Trigg.) Throughout The Great Gatsby, Gatsby 's lack of taste is evident, which leads to the upper class 's rejection of him. Gatsby repeatedly displays his wealth in excessive ways. Gatsby throws extravagant parties, buys flamboyant clothes, and purchases an opulent car and mansion. Throughout the novel, these displays of wealth are met by criticism from those that Gatsby is trying to impress. Tom Buchanan, Daisy 's husband, and a man of inherited wealth, detests Gatsby. In Chapter seven, Tom frequently criticizes Gatsby for his gaudy displays of wealth. First, Tom criticizes Gatsby 's car: " 'Come on, Daisy, ' said
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a novel that tells of social stratification through categorizing the people of West Egg and East Egg. It is a story of great success and terrible misfortune. The Great Gatsby is a novel in which the roles of social class and society are key themes. Wealth is key to being successful in society but Gatsby could not have done it without the help of Dan Cody. Nick uses a metaphor to show Gatsby's vision of the world: “ To young Gatz, resting on his oars and looking up at the railed deck, that yacht represented all the beauty and glamour in the world”(100).