In The Great Gatsby, a novel written and set during the post-World War II society of the 1920’s, author F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates what life was like for those thriving to reach the American dream. Economic prosperity appeared open to all and the dream of leading a rich life was within arm’s reach for many. While the Roaring 20’s appear to have been a time of social and economic prosperity, a Marxist interpretation of the time and novel may suggest the opposite. Marxism, or the Marxist approach
novel, The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby undergoes a major change in life; he goes from being a poor man to West Egg’s richest man. Gatsby believes that his wealth would help him get the love of his life back—Daisy Buchanan. In this paper, the Marxist theory will be used to describe how the idea of achieving the American Dream lead to the deaths of Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby—their corrupt versions of the American Dream. Nonetheless, this analysis will give the
capitalist society: A Marxist Approach to “The Great Gatsby” Love can be defined as honesty, trust and respect; it occurs when two people touch each other 's soul. Every series, every story and every movie speaks about how two people fall in love and live happily ever after. All stories come to that same conclusion but what happens when two people don’t belong to the same social class. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story about Jay Gatsby, a man who is part of the working class that
The novel is based around Jay Gatsby, the protagonist who obtains an exuberant amount of wealth and rises from the well-kept secret working class he was born into. However, he is unable to attain that true upper class, despite the fortune he has amassed. While Gatsby fooled many into believing he was a part of the upper class, he was unable to deceive the upper class. Jay Gatsby is never able to climb to the social class equivalent to his economic class;
of riches, happiness, and everything they could ever possibly want. At the same time, across the globe, the Russian Rebellion had recently happened in 1918, and the first communist state had been created out of the wreckage. Communism is based on Marxism, created by Karl Marx, and outlined in the “Communist Manifesto”. The Marxists have a view on the American Dream just as the people who want the American Dream do, but their view is slightly different. Marxists believe that the American Dream is impossible
1859 ‘Towards a Critique of Political Economy’ that “it is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but their social existence that determines their consciousness”. By stating this, Marx sheds light into the workings of ‘The Great Gatsby’ thus showing that the social circumstances in which the characters find themselves define them, and that these circumstances consist of core Marxist principles a Capitalistic society. These principles being ‘commodity fetishism’ and ‘reification’
From the feminist criticism, everything seems somehow related to everything else. Feminism is involved in any given field cannot be cordoned off. Marxism, however, ignored the position of women which is strange as its key concepts are the “struggle between social classes and the blinding effects of ideology”, it might have been employed to analyze the social situation of women. Feminism saw clearly that the widespread of negative stereotyping of women in literature and film constituted a formidable
or sign-exchange value, and neither form of value is inherent in any object. Both are forms of social value:they are assigned to objects by human beings in a given social context.”(69) We rely so much on values of the objects we have just like how Gatsby cares deeply about the socioeconomic status of each and every one of his party
Many individuals played an important role in the production of this thesis, and I would like to take this opportunity to note my heartfelt appreciation. First, I am indebted in particular to my entire family; most importantly, Mom; every path I have taken has been to make you proud, and I hope to fulfill your dreams through my shoes. I would also like to thank my sister Michelina, Joel, Dad, Nanny, Ken & Jarret, Uncle Ian & Aunt Kari, my guardian angel Thomas, Gran & my late Grampy–without your