Theme Of Social Class In The Great Gatsby

"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,

There is no better example of an accomplished American dreamer, persevering through economic hardships than that of the characters in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby was born into poverty, consequently he didn’t have the same lifestyle or opportunities as, for example, Nick, "..just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." (Fitzgerald) It’s harder to get to the ‘top’ when there is no one to help achieve that goal. This economic setback leads Gatsby to work with the wrong people and he was introduced into the world of corruption. He didn’t have the same advantages that those who were born into wealth had. Dishonest jobs were the easiest way out of poverty, helping him fulfil the materialistic fraction of his American dream.

The social status is a main theme in The Great Gatsby , take the exemple of Tom and Gatsby they are both rich but use their money differently they are also not the same type of rich. Gatsby is part of the nouveau riche he spends his money irresponsibly and Fitzgerald shows that by describing his mansion where only himself lives in “It was Gatsby’s mansion.Or, rather, as I didn’t know Mr.Gatsby,it was a mansion, inhabited by a gentleman of that name” (5) and his fancy car but in reality all of this is to impress everybody especially the women he always loved Daisy. Gatsby wasn’t always rich he comes from a poor family and earned his money from crimes and bootlegging. Tom on the other side always had money and never worked to have it because his family always had it “His family were enormously wealthy even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach” (6) and is more responsible with his money then Gatsby he tries to save it. He likes to spend money for himself whereas Gatsby

Wealth played a big part in The Great Gatsby and in the 1920s. Gatsby’s parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people. Gatsby never wanted his life to be anything like his parents and he tried hard to make it so. James Gatz, now known as Jay Gatsby, changed his name. Gatsby changed his name so he could have a new beginning and forget about his past and start his future.Gatsby wants to be like God and be rich and powerful, so he goes about his father’s business. Gatsby did become wealthy and to exercise his wealth he throws big lavish parties but he doesn’t participate in the parties. Gatsby throws parties in hopes that Daisy Buchanan will attend.

In the great Gatsby, There are 2 different classes being shown between characters. Tom and Gatsby are the 2 most wealthy people in the story. Socially , Gatsby hides his origins, he pretends he has a higher status. This highlights the distinctions made in American society between ‘old money’ and the ‘new money’ or ‘newly rich’ such as Dan Cody and Gatsby . In chapter 6, Tom clearly recognises the social distinction, while Gatsby does not, causing him to be excluded from the supper party. Gatsby's wealth is more about criminal things, throwing parties and driving nice cars and over all having the “American Dream”, and based off Gatsbys definition of it, most americans

Gatsby fails to earn respect from wealthy socialites of the East Egg because he disguises his true identity, which hinders him from achieving his dream. The world Fitzgerald creates in his novel is split into three different categories: old money, new money, and no money. “Old money” are those who inherited their money since many generations whereas “New money” are those who recently acquired money. As a young child, Gatsby was not familiar with wealth since his parents were poor and unsuccessful farmers. When Gatsby does earn his wealth he is not accepted by the “old money”. Gatsby tries to trick others about his social status with lies of his own “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years” (Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby’s tries to hide his background by saying he was “brought up in America” this implies that he wants others to think of him as socialite because he studied at a prestigious college, Oxford. Gatsby thinks that lying about his education at “Oxford” will increase his chances of being accepted into the society of “Old Money”. For instance, Gatsby lies about his education and birthplace to deceive people into thinking that Gatsby has always been a part of the “Old Money”. Gatsby’s own account of his prominent past seems very exaggerated. Gatsby’s spontaneous response to give proof to substantiate his story is itself very mysterious. Gatsby is willing to distort his past

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

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

Social classes are truly like a ladder, but that final step is by far the most difficult. Trying to become the most powerful, and successful person around it an almost impossible task, which very few will ever achieve. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby spends his entire life attempting to climb the social ladder, in order to win back his young love, Daisy Buchanan. The novel makes a naturalism argument stating that no matter how hard you try, and how much you think you’ve achieved in your life, you will most likely never be able to rise from a lower social class.

In The Great Gatsby, wealth can be distinguished from class; it is possible to achieve great wealth without being accepted into the élite class, as evidenced by Jay Gatsby’s experience. Jay Gatsby was part of the new rich, the millionaires that popped up over night in the 1920s. His money could not buy him into the society of old money, the aristocratic money. The life of ease and luxury that Tom and others enjoy is contrasted sharply with the stranglehold of poverty containing Myrtle and George Wilson or the life from which Jay Gatsby emerges. Wealth is what separates Gatsby from his love, as he notes of Daisy that "her voice is full of money."(Fitzgerald 127).

F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of the finest American authors of the twentieth century wrote The Great Gatsby during the Jazz Age to critique the distortion of the American dream, and his work has lasted long past his lifetime. Fitzgerald discusses the nature of love and wealth and stresses the importance of defining a person beyond their external position. In his novel, letter to his daughter, and the screenplay adapted from the novel, it is clear that F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes exposition, narration, and imagery to illustrate how people in the 1920s did not understand the meaning of true love and worried about superficial characteristics, thus resulting in the corruption of the American dream from the pursuit of true love and equality to the pursuit of wealth and discrimination; however, he moralizes that human beings are capable of emotional growth and of escaping the illusion of wealth.

Fitzgerald, in his sarcastic novel The Great Gatsby, frequently shows how racism and classism seriously influence the possibilities of achieving American dreams in obscure methods. The novel details Gatsby’s achievements and dream including Daisy, and makes comparison with other people in different races and classes indirectly but visibly. The fact that, though Gatsby is much wealthier than those in East Egg, he has never achieved the American dream, never owned Daisy truly and never acquired respect, but rumours, due he isn’t born in high class and makes money through bootleg. To some extent, the miserable end of Gatsby is the reflection of the disparity of classism. Gatsby’s mansion reminds people of the feasibility of making the American dream come true. However, his unexpected death that is not caught by police, but killed by Wilson, a white man in mid class, proves that it is related to races and classes closely. Fitzgerald takes us into the suffering of Gatsby to show us that the American dream is like a shell company, which makes everyone look forward to their future with great expectations, but only certain people can truly reach it because people are not standing on the same starting line.

Jay Gatsby was in the pursuit of wealth even though he was born into a very poor family. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.” (Fitzgerald, 104). In this quote you can see that Gatsby wasn't born into wealth, yet he was able to move into the higher class achieving “The American Dream.” The class mobility was still accessible at the time Fitzgerald wrote his book, and it continued to show in the character Gatsby.

“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.

Gatsby is a common man who had the ambition to achieve a big dream. Part of Gatsby’s dream was wealth, which is the idea that each person desires to achieve within their lifespan through their hard work. Gatsby is not born into wealth nor privileges. He was a farm boy from North Dakota with no education or money, Nick states “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (Fitzgerald 98). Some of Gatsby’s many achievements were becoming a war