Cortez Douglas Ms. Maggert English 3 13 March 2018 The book, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald took place in the 1920’s. This period in history was a milestone for the future. It was a time when people rebelled against prohibition and did as they pleased. The book represents social classes throughout and how they chose to live. The two social classes represented in this book are the new money and the old. The role of social class demonstrated in this novel proves that the “new money” show a lack of integrity, the lower class works hard and tirelessly for their money, and the only thing that determines what you are in the world is the amount of money you own. Tom Buchanan was born into money. He never had to worry about a cent a day in his live. Tom was a careless human being. Tom married Daisy and later in the book cheats on her without an afterthought of the outcome. This class believed they were above the rest and saw it no other way. They had very high educations and most if not all went to Ivy League schools. Tom inherited a ton of money so he did not work. He played polo and lived his life without a care in the world. “Here’s your money. Go and buy ten more dogs with it.”(Fitzgerald). Tom was a very arrogant and opinionated person all due to the fact he grew up with lots of money. The upper class is all the glitz and fame. They love to party, buy expensive things, and mingle and make friends with people of the same. These upper-class people would not be
In “The Great Gatsby” Fitzgerald presents editorial on an assortment of topics, — equity, control, insatiability, treachery, the American dream. Of the considerable number of subjects, maybe none is more all around created than that of social stratification. The Great Gatsby is viewed as a splendid bit of social discourse, offering a clear look into American life in the 1920s. Fitzgerald deliberately sets up his novel into particular gatherings in any case, at last, each gathering has its own issues to battle with, leaving an effective indication of what a problematic place the world truly is. By making unmistakable social classes — old cash, new cash, and no cash — Fitzgerald sends solid messages about the elitism running all through each stratum of society.
Tom didn’t have to work for his money. His family was very rich when he was born and he hasn’t had to work a day in his life. The book makes really good points that have examples of privileged characters. Tom Buchannen is a very rude and disgusting character in my opinion. He was born into a wealthy family and hasn’t had to do work or have a job a day in his life.
The impact of socioeconomic status can be examined through a myriad of lenses. F. Scott Fitzgerald aims to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and power. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom’s character shows that socioeconomic status is equivalent to power within the novel. Tom puts great pride and emphasis on his socioeconomic status and wealth.
“Then wear that gold hat, if that will move her; If you can bounce high, bounce for her too, Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you” (title page). Throughout the novel, the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents Tom Buchanan as a very controlling person who believes he is entitled to many things because of his wealth. Similar to the quote, Tom’s constant need for wealth and power leads to a need and want for everything in sight. If a reader were to read this book through the Marxist lens, they would see an obvious struggle between the powerful and powerless and how that directly coincides with how much money the person with power has. The main character with power and wealth in the novel is Tom Buchanan, and he uses his control to gain power over others.
The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and narrated by a man named Nick Carraway. This novel was written with the intent of showing the readers how morally corrupt the 1920s were. Throughout the novel, characters abandon their moral values for a materialistic lifestyle. The novel depicts a great picture of the roles men and women played in the 1920s. Even with the changing roles of men and women, they continued to rely heavily on whom they were married to and what social class they belonged to.
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 179). This quote captures the advantages the upper class has because of their money. Tom and Daisy’s actions left three people dead, yet they received no punishments .They put all their baggage on the lower class, and left them to pick up the pieces. In The Great Gatsby, the theme of social class is very significant in the book. Scott F. Fitzgerald used the theme of social class to show the reader that it plays a much bigger role in life.
It was ironic that even Nick, a person who was “inclined to reserve all judgment” (Fitzgerald 1), was able to see how money had made Tom and Daisy careless and lazy. Nick also notices that Daisy and Tom had disappeared right after Gatsby’s death. Daisy and Tom were wealthy enough to move out of Long Island, while they made everyone else solve the problem that they had left behind. It is easy for rich people to become weak and only focus on
Fitzgerald first introduces Tom to be affluent and insensitive, which follows the work’s message. Shortly after, the author introduces Gatsby to also be wealthy but this time more respected and
Another material essential to the plot and used to demonstrate social class is money. Despite social class, parties were frequent and wild. It is critical to understand the meanings of “old money” and “new money”. Old money in the novel is money inherited through generations.
Not only does the amount of wealth affect social class, but the type of wealth also affects it. It even affects where people live and who people marry as seen with Gatsby and Daisy. The characters social standing affect who they interact and how they are perceived by others. Fitzgerald highlights the different class structures like “New rich” and “Old rich” and the impact of wealth on the people’s lives in those classes. He also shows the superficial nature of the characters and highlights the value placed on wealth.
Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan are two very wealthy men fighting over the same women, yet these two enemies aren’t that much different from one another. Tom has come from a wealthy family and has not had to work hard in life to enjoy its luxuries. At Yale he was a very successful athlete and excelled in almost
The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic 20th century story -that period was also known as the “roaring twenties”- which critiques the vision of the American Dream people in general have. At that time, the idea of a free market, and industrial revolution provided the opportunity for many to seize the market and people were starting to see that they could become rich without having any type of restriction. New York city was the centre of this wealth-creating society. After the war, this movement generated new opportunities and ambitions for people wanting to start a wealthy upper class life. That period of time was all about alcohol, partying, gambling, fashion, and money.
The reader comes to the realization that the middle class was almost nonexistent since the poor were very poor and the rich were very rich during that era. In the beginning of the novel we are introduced to Daisy Buchanan one of the most known woman during the time due to her status and wealth. However, despite her wealth we are exposed to her marginalization by men and society. In chapter one, Daisy herself reveals how she wishes her daughter was a “little fool” since that 's the best thing a girl could be in the world during the twenties.
Although my adventure into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literature has just begun, I have, without a doubt, already been beguiled by his exceptionally well-written prose. The Great Gatsby, much like Fahrenheit 451, is filled with ideologies, literary devices and themes that reveal the deepest, darkness secrets of human emotion and expose – in this case - the fabricated fantasy known as the American Dream. If there is one thing this book is, it is eye-opening. This novel, which is set in New York City during the 1920s, depicts a scandalous society where sex, money, class, love, and morals (or lack thereof) govern the lives of people and the decisions made. As such, The Great Gatsby is a social commentary on American society following the large economic boom after the First World War [].
In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. One of the major themes explored in this novel is the Hollowness of the Upper Class. The entire book revolves around money including power and little love. Coincidentally the three main characters of the novel belong to the upper class and throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows how this characters have become corrupted and have lost their morality due to excess money and success and this has led them to change their perspective towards other people and they have been portrayed as short-sighted to what is important in life. First of all, we have the main character of this novel, Gatsby who won’t stop at nothing to become rich overnight in illegal dealings with mobsters such as Wolfsheim in order to conquer Daisy’s heart.”