Friendship in The Great Gatsby by F. Scoot Fitzgerald and The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

He throws large parties to compensate for his lack of friends. In the beginning sentences of the story the readers get a negative connotation of the upper class by Nick Carraway’s father “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone...just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” (p.1) This advice tells us that Nick at one point in his life thought he was more important than others by criticizing them. Materialism becomes apparent again with the thought that money can deteriorate the moral standards of people. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as having “new money” slang from the era, which means he has a desire to display his wealth extravagantly and let people know how rich he is. However, everyone around him appears to be oblivious as he throws these large parties to gain Daisy’s attention in hopes that one day she will attend his massive blowouts. This suggests that Gatsby believes the only way into Daisy’s heart is through money and material items.

The concept of social class has been around for ages and is still a part of today’s society. Social class is not only based on the individual’s wealth but also on their social standing such as; monarchs, priests, nobles, merchants, and peasant class. The peasant class was practically ignored, which means that the higher classes would only pay attention to each other. This can be the case in society today, there are some people who feel that their career makes them higher than a janitor. Even though humans have been around for centuries, social class is still a big issue.

For example, when Nick describes Jay Gatsby’s younger years as a poor fisher in North Dakota he mentions his dreams and how, “Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God [...] and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 98). Gatsby was born into a lower class family with little money, but through his hard work and planning he was able to become extravagantly rich and a successful businessman. His ability to break the constraints of his past and go beyond what his family had previously defined him as, shows how anyone can climb the social ladder and make a name for themselves. Although Gatsby has acquired financial capability, when he accepts an insincere dinner invite from a wealthy woman, Tom astonishedly remarks, “My God, I believe the man’s coming [...] doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him? By God, I may be old fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days [...] They meet all kinds of crazy fish” (Fitzgerald 103). While Gatsby’s wealth is up to par with those of the East Egg, he is discriminated against and looked down upon due to his lack of manners and social graces that could only be associated with a wealthy upbringing. The divide between

Social class has always been around, whether it is the present time or the past. It is a way to group people into a set of hierarchical social categories. For this reason, social class is something that will never go away. No matter how hard we try as a society, there will always be people pushing hard to keep these groups alive. The rich, high class, will never be ok with sharing a table with the poor, low class. Social class affects not only our outward appearances, but it plays a factor in what schools we can attend, our health, what jobs we can get, who we can marry, and the treatment we receive from police and courts.

After a time of prosperity, the roaring 1920’s became a decade of social decay and declining moral values. The forces this erosion of ethics can be explained by a variety of theories. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald paints a convincing portrait of waning social virtue in his novel, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald portrays the nefarious effects of materialism created by the wealth-driven culture of the time. This was an era where societal values made wealth and material possessions a defining element of one’s character. The implications of the wealthy mindset and its effects on humanity are at the source of the conflict in The Great Gatsby, offering a glimpse into the despair of the 20’s. During a time

Many novels are written as a means of scrutinising the details and flaws of a specific society. The author’s purpose is to use the novel as a lens through which they can offer their own critical perception. The highly praised novel The Great Gatsby provides such a view into 1920s America, an era which was often described as the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring 20s,” mainly due to the +and carefree nature of the wealthy. This higher class, who were essentially safeguarded by their money, lived life as if it was an endless party. It is this particular group that F. Scott Fitzgerald mainly targets when providing his criticism

"I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parceled out unequally at birth" (Fitzgerald 7), as stated by Nick, shows that, in The Great Gatsby, class determines the value of a person’s identity. Even between the rich, those with old money are more respected than those with new money, since there is a history of wealth associated to those with old money. Wealth holds great priority in society, since it provides more opportunities. However, while it provides more opportunities, the characters in The Great Gatsby shows the negative aspects of money. In the book The Great Gatsby, it is seen that rich people are powerful,

The novel, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald is set in the 1920s America, New York - a class society of money -, depicts a society which exists in a state of moral confusion and chaos, through the eyes of the narrator; Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald condemns the character’s tendencies in the novel to become greedy and materialistic in order to be successful, displayed throughout the chaos that arises as a result of the repercussion of these actions. This chaos continues to grow through the unfaithful marriages and illegal practices that exists extensively throughout the novel. Furthermore, Fitzgerald explores the prejudice discrimination between the newly rich and those with “old money”. Through all of this we come to see that during the “roaring 20s” was one of moral disorder and mayhem.

Nick Carraway is the only character worth knowing in The Great Gatsby. He is living in East Egg with the rich and powerful people. He is on the guest lists to all of their parties and yet he is the person most worthy of attending such parties because he is well bread and his family is certainly not poor. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” (Ch1, P1). These words were taught to Nick by his father showing the qualities that a man with goals and values would have in a place where goals and values was no existent. His Judgmental eye for character and guts of using them when desired makes him more interesting. He has a greatest fear that he will be

People conceal who they really are; they prefer to let others see them in the most agreeable terms. The influence of classes, popularity, money, and trends can cause trouble between others. People create images for themselves to allow them to hide behind the mistakes they’ve created. Their ignorance blocks them from doing the right deed. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the Roaring Twenties biggest hits were large parties, entertainment, and the bibond business. People were separated by old money, rich families, and new money, earning one’s money themselves. They lived completely different lives in society. One of the characters, Daisy Buchanan, belongs to the old money society and lives an elegant, carefree life with her

Dickens and Fitzgerald both depict these views in the novels, using the social structure during their time periods (Victorian Era and the Roaring Twenties) to portray them. One such example is with Pip sees the upper class as a revered status, and “[he] wished Joe had been rather more gently brought up.” Pip wishes to be higher up in society without seeing their flaws and the kindness of Joe. Furthermore, Characters in The Great Gatsby feel the same way, as seen through Nick’s allusion to his father’s saying: "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." Nick understands that the upper class might have more material wealth but they are not “better” as human beings than the less fortunate.

In the period of the 1920’s, there was a certain status of wealth that was difficult to achieve. There were two societal classes consisting of those with wealth from prior generations, and those who worked to earn it themselves. Tom, Daisy, and Nick, who represented the old money society did not have to work hard, unlike Gatsby which he represented the new money and they had to work to earn money. People like Gatsby, who gained their wealth on their own often fought for the approval from the upper class who inherited their wealth. Rather than having new money and old money, people who tried achieving the American Dream and ended up in failure usually they end up like George and Myrtle Wilson In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the notion that social norms in the upper class depict the idea that being apart of it was impossible unless they were born in it was expressed through Daisy’s rejection of Gatsby because of the corrupt way in which he gained his wealth, making his American Dream unattainable.

In Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway describes his life in New York; stating he is too busy with “work” to think or participate in parties, that he is alone in the city and stays out of trouble, and that he often “fantasizes” about women. Yet, Nick tells much more about his true experience in New York through his actions and interactions, or therefore lack of, with the city and the people around him. Firstly, Nick pretends to be much more classy and posh than he really is by attending “high class” activities, he reveals his loneliness in the city through his improper interactions with women, and Nick avoids the loose morals of the 20’s by refusing to confront discourse around him. Throughout the passage, Nick attempts to appear

The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald gives the reader a look inside the drama driven world of the high class of New York. Told from the point of view of one of the novel’s protagonists Nick Carraway, the novel displays recurring themes of love and deceit. The narrator considers himself to be on the outside looking in, and he feels justified in judging the characters within the elite society due to his belief that his sense of morality is stronger than theirs. Despite his belief, however, he unintentionally reveals to the reader the true manner of his character, which is really just as unacceptable as the people he commentates on. Though Nick prides himself in his honesty, he falls in love with Jordan Baker, suggesting that he is not better than the high society he abhors.

In today’s society, people are judged by their values or are frightened to take sacrifices to better benefit their lifestyle. Characters like Gatsby, Tom, Daisy and Myrtle are shown as evidence of greed and how wealth surrounds their values. Fitzgerald uses social commentary to offer a glance of an American life in the 1920s. He carefully sets up his novel into distinct groups, but in the end, each group has its own problems to contend with, leaving powerful ideas for readers to adapt(add morals characters inhabit). By creating distinct social classes, old money, new money, and no money, Fitzgerald sends strong messages about the elitism running throughout every perspective of society. F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays characters like Nick,