Essay On The Great Gatsby Status Is Not Everything

In the beginning of the novel, Nick could have been one of those people who did not attend Gatsby’s funeral because he didn’t know who this man was. Since Nick started to have feelings for Gatsby, he tried to see the good in him. Nick says in the book “When I came back from the East last autumn, I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn”

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald chose to use Nick as a narrator because his middle class background along with his thoughts and personality provides an avenue to critique the wealthy, excessive world of Tom and Daisy. Coming from such a vastly different background than Tom, Nick is able to create judgements about Tom’s lifestyle. Another factor to these judgements is that Nick is insecure about himself. He doesn’t present himself with confidence, and deep down in his thoughts, he doesn’t hold much value to himself. For instance Fitzgerald writes, “...but now he’d left Chicago and come East in a fashion that rather took your breath away; for instance, he’d brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest. It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that” (6). This is a clear sign that Nick is not used to witnessing this lifestyle, due to the fact that Nick was raised middle class. He is essentially

Fitzgerald portrays Gatsby as the main protagonist of the lower progressive class by highlighting his limitations in accessing the benefits of the exclusive higher societal classes. Nick observes Gatsby on his pier as “He stretched out his arms towards the dark water in a curious way… I glanced seaward — and distinguished nothing except a single green light”(Fitzgerald 20-21). Gatsby is portrayed to highlight the fact that no matter how progressive and socially mobile he is, he will never achieve an equal status as those within higher society, which Fitzgerald uses the green light to symbolize. He was convinced that through superfluous wealth and mass property, he could go from the penniless man he was, to entering the highest echelons of American society with Tom and Daisy. Gatsby’s downfall is when he realizes that Tom and Daisy’s society is inaccessible by the rest of America no matter the wealth, proving Fitzgerald’s concept of the lower class’s restriction on

Is and will staus always be more important than character? Status is a social understanding in relation to someone or something. Fitzgerald's definition of status is how people view you and treat you based on what they know about you. The emphasis on status in society in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is how you are treated and viewed based on status instead of character.

Nick makes it so easy for us to notice the several moments that Gatsby’s personality changes. Gatsby changes himself to be Daisy's dream man, that’s why his expectations of having her are so high. He changed his identity to have a fresh start, and a new beginning. Also to run into the same social class as Daisy. He earned money, he bought

The essence of The American Dream has always surrounded the definition of greater social status. Whatever else Americans value at a certain time, it has always been because of wanting a higher social status. Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, a mysterious man of newly found wealth, strives for this dream of greater social status through love and societal image in numerous efforts during the novel. Another character with the same dream exists in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Walter, a man who tries to achieve greater social status by first trying to be successful economically but then shifting to trying to have good stance in his family. Gatsby doesn’t achieve his dream of a higher social status as he dies without the love of Daisy and without a legacy after his death while on the other hand, Walter somewhat achieves this same dream because although his liquor store never becomes reality, he does what is best for his family by making decisions that demonstrate his care for them.

The American Dream varies for everyone, however, hard work, determination, and the desire to achieve that dream are key factors that have played a role in the American Dream since it was first thought of. Jay Gatsby in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a prime example of achieving that American Dream because Gatsby worked hard and was driven as he moved up the hierarchy from transitioning from poor to rich. However, there are many who assume that the American Dream is a myth purely due to their belief that no one can ever truly be successful in obtaining the American Dream. While it can be difficult in accomplishing such a task, with factors such as gender, immigration, and social class participating, it isn’t impossible for people to succeed

‘Social class is the deciding factor in all loving relationships’. To what extent is this the case in The

As I began reading the novel The Great Gatsby I was introduced to many important characters. First off I met Nick Carraway the self-proclaimed narrator of the story. Nick is a young man who moved from Minnesota to the city of New York to learn the bond business. I learned that Nick studied at Yale and served time in World War One. Nick describes himself as an honest man, who does not judge onto others however contradicts himself when he says he is highly moral and has a stronger dignity than others. Nicks’ character really intrigues me because although what he says about his personality, I believe by the end of the novel he will be changed man and become a different person. This can be perceived early on because in chapter two he

By lying about his past Gatsby makes other people think highly of him and not seeing Daisy in five years he think that she should feel that same way about him as he is about her. “There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dream-not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion” (Fitzgerald 95). Gatsby has his expectation for Daisy so high after not seeing her for five years that she fell short of his exception in his eyes and not because of her actions. “He looked at me sideways and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying” (Fitzgerald 65). At this point Nick starts to question the stories Gatsby told him.

Not knowing where he came from or where he was going left room for rumors and allegations to spread. Despite having weekend parties where everyone from New York would come and spend the day into even into the night, no one ever saw Gatsby. He was a figment of their imaginations, a ghost, an illusion, yet no one really cared. He threw magnificent extravagant parties, that is all that mattered. With one invitation though it all changed. Nick got to know and become the closest friend Gatsby ever had. Nick got to see the man behind the parties, know his past, and why he did what he did. Gatsby branched out of himself to Nick, but for the most part he kept to himself.

The idea of social status pops up many times in the Great Gatsby and it compared

F. Scott Fitzgerald brings a sincere feeling of grandeur to the world of the Great Gatsby in it’s imagery, and this serves as a very successful and deliberate accomplishment. He does this in order to amplify the novel beyond what it is, small and unimportant social interactions, and makes the impact of mere affairs and social maneuvering seem world ending. An example of this divinity brought to mortal situations is Nick’s response to finally seeing Gatsby and his following description ”He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.” Such a lengthy and clearly biased overview of the first impressions of a character may seem pompous or ridiculous but one must take into account what the story of Nick actually follows. Our story follows a man, new in town, who struggles to make friends but eventually finds himself engrossed in the tangled love story of his cousin which ultimately boils over with Gatsby perishing due to his attempts to win Daisy. That’s it, end of story, however by propping the story up on hyperinflated character interactions the interest in the story is maintained.

Nick goes further by stating that Gatsby is ‘’worth the whole damn bunch put together’’ this is either because he intensely hates the rest of society or he views Gatsby in high regard. We see that Nick does ultimately give out judgements, these may judgements be accurate or they may be far-fetched, however the mere fact that he places his personal spin while conveying what is happening it is difficult to rely on his narration as not everything could be

In the book, The Great Gatsby, a very famous and wealthy man is told about and introduced. The other characters in the story have very little, if any respect for this man as a person, but rather a respect for his wealth. When other characters in the story talk negatively about him and judge him, Nick tells them otherwise and defends Gatsby. Throughout the story, Nick can never be found saying negative or degrading statements about Gatsby and when somebody has something negative to say about Gatsby, Nick is there to constantly defend him. Nick never stops supporting Gatsby with his decisions, and Gatsby trusts Nick greatly due to his loyalty and friendship. Though many of the people in the story believe Gatsby to be a nice and interesting man, there are those who have