West Egg Vs 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

In The Great Gatsby it shows that where you live and what you do represents your class. In Kathleen Parkison's article it says “ West Egg can be seen as representing vulgarity and formlessness, as opposed to the formality and style of East Egg”(Parkison). This shows that where you are living represents what class you are in. In The Great Gatsby it says

The American Dream is an idea that many Americans share and have faith in, but it can be used as a false promise of success. This notion is explored through the texts The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men written by F.Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck respectively. The Great Gatsby was first published in 1926. The novel is set in the summer of 1922 and follows the life of Jay Gatsby who tries to get the love of his life back, Daisy Buchanan, through his wealth and social status. Of Mice and Men follows the lives of George Milton and Lennie Small who are migrant farm workers. Lennie is mentally incapable but George is there to protect him. They both share a dream of one day owning a farm together. The authors have constructed the setting,

East Egg represents old money and the wealthier live there while the West Egg represents new money and “less fashionable of the two”; the ones who have become rich recently.

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

The Great Gatsby: Society and Class Differences At the early age twenty-four F. Scott Fitzgerald had made a name for himself as one of the country’s promising young writers. Living a fast and loose lifestyle, Fitzgerald quickly developed a reputation as a playboy with an extravagant lifestyle (Fitzgerald, Biography, 2015). In 1924 while living in France, Fitzgerald wrote what would be his greatest accomplishment, The Great Gatsby. Taking place in the 1920’s, and narrated by Nick Carraway, this novel shows us the way wealth affects ones social status.

Status is very important in this book. Gatsby has a big status in this book and everyone looks up to him for it. I believe that he has the biggest status in the book. Gatsby is known for throwing huge parties and everyone in town comes to his house for them. “He’s an oxford man”. (115 Fitzgerald). This shows that since he was told to be an Oxford man, showing that he is wealthy and rich. The community only thinks of him as a spoiled rich kid who got money from his parents. People thinking that he’s upper class because he was rumored to have gone to a huge college shows that he is well known and has a big status. “Who is this Gatsby anyhow, some big bootlegger?”. (102 Fitzgerald).

Throughout the novel it seems the West Eggers are trying to fit in with the East and be accepted by the East Eggers.

The character Gatsby can be understood at a higher level with the help of Marxist ideas because he is a representative of the lower class that understands the difference in classes and the superiority of the higher class. Moreover, he is forced to gain entrance to the higher class because of this segregation. Firstly, Fitzgerald demonstrates the idea of the separation between the classes best through Gatsby. He is someone who has been a part of both the lower and the higher class in different periods of his

Throughout history, the media has shown many different sides of love. Weather it be peaceful, violent, dangerous, beautiful, almost all forms of the media have shown love in some way. In the novel The Great Gatsby, love is shown between many different characters in different ways. The reader experiences love at its best and worst. We see relationships flourish, rekindle and end between the different characters. The most controversial relationship is the relationship between Daisy and Tom. Through infidelity, and mistrust, tragedy occurs. Other characters become associated with their marital problems, showing different kinds of love and relationships. In the play Hamlet, the reader also experiences many different kinds of love, ranging from

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

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 social hierarchy is influenced by the amount of money one owns which determines whether one can attain their dream. By creating apparent social classes within ‘The Great Gatsby’ – old money, new money and no money, Fitzgerald strongly suggests that American society is intensely stigmatised. Daisy, Tom and Jordan represent the elite social class of society where despite their problems and failures they are always protected and immune by their wealth. Tom refers to Gatsby as ‘Mr Nobody from nowhere” and a “common swindler who would have to steal the ring he put on her finger” as he boasts about his hereditary wealth compared to the other distinct elite group of society who acquire their wealth through business deals, which are sometimes corrupt. Although Fitzgerald mainly attacks the rich, by making them look judgemental, superior and selfish, evidently the lower class of society are vulnerable within American society. This is shown where so many, like Myrtle,

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

“ Society does not consists of individuals, but expresses the sum of interrelations , the relations within which these individuals stand.” ( Karl Marx). This quote ties into what Fitzgerald is trying to say about social structure because he’s saying that we together as a society come from the same person that we should all stand together. In the book The Great Gatsby Fitzgerald uses Irony , conflicts , and symbolism to develop the theme , Social structure of the 1920s. Fitzgerald uses those three literary elements to help the reader understand the book better.