How Does Fitzgerald Present Social Class In The Great Gatsby

The emerging inequitable class systems and antagonisms of the nineteen twenties saw the traditional order and moral values challenged, as well as the creation of great wealth for few and poverty for many. The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, explores the causes and effects of the unbalanced class structures. Fitzgerald outlines the idea that the desire to accumulate wealth and status is a common ambition amongst the lower classes; when that desire is reached, the traditional upper class is challenged by the emerging newly wealthy, which finally leads to destructive consequences. By creating rigid class structures, traditional upper class, new wealth, and the poor in The Great Gatsby, it is

The complex social hierarchy of America in the Twenties is a major factor in the lives of the characters in The Great Gatsby, especially Gatsby himself. From the time he falls in love with Daisy, Gatsby strives to ascend into her social class so that he will be worthy of her. The narrator tells us, “He let her believe that he was a person from much the same stratum as herself – that he was fully able to take care of her” (Fitzgerald 149). From then on, everything he does is driven by this desire to break

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

During the 1920’s, wealth and extravagance followed the economic boost provided by WWI. Men determined to gain financial and social status by entering the stock market, bond sales, or illegal methods of getting rich began to mix amongst those of ‘old money’ and those of extreme poverty. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby features characters like the Buchanans, who were raised in wealth, as well as those who live in persistent poverty, like the

The Great Gatsby written in 1925 was a novel that expresses F. Scott Fitzgerald’s concerns for the direction that America was headed in during that decade. During the novel he repeatedly gives examples of the contrast of the economic classes; the thriving upper class in extravagant living conditions while the lower class lives in filth like “fields of ashes.” To criticize the American upper class during the nineteen twenties, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses vivid imagery in his revelation of Gatsby’s facade to give the reader an idea of the contrast among the classes of the early nineteenth century and how it continues to last.

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

One of the most important themes in the novel is the important of class. Fitzgerald makes it evident that the social classes are divided by the setting, the possessions thy have and how that certain individual interacts and behaves with other people. This is shown by Fitzgerald uses powerful adjectives and verbs to portray to the reader what that character is like. I am looking at the importance of class as this is the reason for the differences in the characters.

The culture of the upper class, illustrated by Tom and Daisy’s lifestyle, was a closed society that individuals such as the Wilsons had seemingly no chance of achieving. Tom and Daisy represented the old wealth which will cause conflict in between the society in their time when the book stated, “I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors eyes; fresh, green breast of the new world; the trees vanished where they made way for Gatsby’s house”

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.

Class structure in the 1920s was synonymous to prejudice. The 1920s was known as a period of wild excess and great parties with excitement arising from the ashes of the wars in America’s history. It was a period in history where rapid materialism and narcissistic ideals grew uncontrollably, and it was the days where Jay Gatsby, illegally, rose to success. Having social classes was the same as segregation, except it was through economic standings, the two both instil injustice within social standards. Class structure was used to describe the difference between the new money and old money. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, written during the 1920s, emphasizes the division between the social classes and the reasons behind why they

Rich and upper class live in East and West Egg and poor, almost peasant appearing individuals live in the valley of ashes. Fitzgerald making these living arrangements almost mocks at how vulgar Marxists believe working classes will keep the superstructure together. These working class individuals are portrayed throughout the book as being hardworking and looked down on by upper class. In the book Tom walks into George’s shop and talks down to him about buying the car and even makes passes at his wife as soon as he leaves the room. In other parts of the books as Daisy and Jordan Baker are mentioned they are always lying around, at luncheons or attending parties, and trying to find activities to do. The upper class characters are being supported by working class or people they can merely pay. Gatsby is rejected it seems from both upper and working classes. Daisy rejects him because of how he came into his money and when they were younger because of his social class. Tom rejects anyone in the book because of social status, looks, education, wealth, and even his wife; he rejects Gatsby for being inferior in many of these ways. Gatsby is rejected by working classes because he has money and nice possessions, which they can not afford.

The 1920’s was a time in which there was a big divide in the social classes and the economy. While some people were very rich, others were very poor. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, depicts a society in the 1920’s dominated by the social classes of that time. There are many symbols in The Great Gatsby that help move the plot forward such as a billboard, the East and West Eggs, and the valley of ashes. One of the symbols in The Great Gatsby is the billboard between West Egg and Manhattan.

Through the use of Fitzgerald’s disheartening imagery, he is able to portray the true monstrosity of the middle class. Throughout the entire novel, the Valley of Ashes is portrayed as a “grotesque garden” featuring the discouragement of all who live their. Through characters George and Myrtle Wilson, Fitzgerald exemplifies the idea that those in the middle class are stuck there. In connection to the early 20th century; those who joined the middle-class had little chance to escape the condemnation that came along with the class. The creation of the middle class ultimately did not seem to be as glorified as it

“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” (2). So speaks Nick in the beginning of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. This exemplifies how people born into different social classes are not born with the same character and ethics. Since people from different classes think so differently, this may cause conflicts between them and might prevent them from having substantial relationships with each other.

The Roaring Twenties, or the Jazz Age, was a period characterized by post-war euphoria, prosperity, profligacy, and cultural dynamism. There were significant changes in lifestyle and culture in the 1920s; many found opportunities to rise to affluence, which resulted in groups of newly rich people, such as the hero of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby. Set in this booming era, the novel portrays the lavish and reckless lifestyle of the wealthy and elite. With the aristocratic upper class in the East Egg and the nouveau riche in the West Egg, people are divided into distinct social classes. Contrasting the two groups’ conflicting values, Fitzgerald reveals the ugliness and moral decay beneath