The Great Gatsby Social Class Essay
Life is made up of social classes. Everyone is a part of them. Everyone wants to climb up the social ladder. Can everyone move up social classes? Is it possible to change one’s entire demeanor to fit that of a higher social class? As the great Albert Einstein once said, “The distinctions separating the social classes are false: in the last analysis they rest on force” (Picture). There are many different viewpoints relating to the difficulties of crossing society’s borders, many of which will be discussed and evaluated in the upcoming paragraphs.
One may believe that the only way to exterminate social prejudices is to ascend the social ladder. However, what many people fail to realize is what is needed in order to rise to a higher social class.
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As The Great Gatsby has proven, in more ways than imaginable, one’s social class cannot be decided based upon any one measly factor, but rather a combination of the given characteristics of an individual. Personal evolution is the key as pertained to social classes. Saying, though, how difficult it is for one to modify oneself for the benefit of others, change may not always be possible. In the end, a lion’s share of individuals will revert to their formal social class and the work they put in would be nothing but dust in the wind. Humans like to believe that there is always a way to better oneself, and, in some cases, there is, but in reality, many who want to become a part of the upper community will drown attempting to continue that lifestyle. The reality of the matter is that, while few will succeed, countless others will dwindle back down to their original class while still grasping for the green light on the other side of the lake. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . ” (Fitzgerald
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