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Class Rivalry In The Great Gatsby

444 Words2 Pages

The hierarchy of social classes lies within the location, wealth, and the demeanor of the denizens in the world. F. Scott Fitzgerald introduces the social differences in The Great Gatsby by depicting the distinctive characters, their certain conduct in their place in society, and the sly innuendo of the setting’s significance. The East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of the Ashes correspond to the three different social class: Daisy and Tom Buchanan as the bourgeois, Gatsby as the nouveau riche, and Myrtle and George Wilson as the proletariat. The affluent community consists of hypocrisy and feigned masks to satiate its ravenous thirst for monetary values. Thus, playing in a continuous cycle of competition and derogatory decency. The author implies …show more content…

The old money considers this tacky, indicating their disapproval and superiority over any class lower than them. As incredulous as it may seem, the highly perceptive author initially illustrates intimations of the class rivalry through placing the Egg towns literally oppose to each other across the water. The tension over authority and power seems to permeate throughout the Long Island. However, the water that separates Daisy and Gatsby represents the social distance between them and how even with his wealth, the latter cannot reach the social status of the former. On the contrary, the people inhabiting in the Valley of Ashes live by the minimal commodities of life and the location below the East and West Egg underscores the lower social position of the people. As the name of the valley suggests, the people in the “no money” class--usually overlooked by the adversity at the top--receive no cordial welcome from the wealthy and struggle to stridently invoice their aspirations in

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