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Stereotypes In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby is hailed as a great piece of 1920 's fiction due to its detailing of a new, fast paced America, and the way that America affected the population. These affects manifested as traits in people, and further developed into stereotypes. In the post World War 1 America this novel is set in, industry and technology were becoming readily available to the public, cementing these stereotypes into our population as we quickly moved along at a new pace. In The Great Gatsby, these people, actions, and relationships, are represented by the four main characters: Nick, Daisy, Tom, and Jay. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these characters to symbolize the stereotypical people of a modern America. The most representative person from The Great Gatsby is Nick, who symbolizes the average person through his work, income, and perception. Nick lives an average life, using public transport to commute to a "nine-to-five" job almost everyday. This is revealed from a quote very early into the book, "A young man suggested we take a house together in a commuting town … At the last minute I went out to the country alone" (Fitzgerald 3). Almost immediately, Fitzgerald makes him out like everyone else, experiencing a fast, modern world first hand. Nick 's income relative to the other characters displays his similarities to the average person aswell. He makes enough to live and hang out with his friends throughout our view into his life, however, when compared to the rich, he has very little.
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