Class Divide And The Great Gatsby

The American dream has always been an interesting part of our country’s history and a rather difficult concept to define. It’s explored as a prominent theme throughout our literature and entertainment. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby'' and Marc Levin’s documentary, “Class Divide” are examples that thoroughly portray the harsh reality through different societal perspectives. Both authors reveal obstacles that emphasize the flawed corruption, responsible for making this dream difficult for many to obtain because of the perpetuating inequality wired in it.
F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates how the American Dream was an unreachable and corrupt ideal throughout the 1920’s jazz era in New York. The characters in “The Great Gatsby''

Through constant over consumption and desire to pursue the American dream, downfall was the ultimate result despite tremendous sacrifices and effort. Fitzgerald uses various literary techniques such as symbolism and irony to deliver the message of how the American dream remains unfulfilling. Displaying this concept through Jay Gatsby’s character, Fitzgerald sets him as the millionaire protagonist embodying the American Dream. Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby’s biggest aspiration was represented by the green light at the end of the dock. He continuously chases his unrequited love for her by throwing lavish parties to satisfy his attachment with the past she shares with him. However his wealth and status is not enough to truly win her love therefore his fantasy remains as an unachieved dream. His tragic end was the consequence of overboard sacrifices that he made for her. Gatsby’s downfall was very unfair, but strongly depicted how unreachable the green light was for him. Tom and Daisy Buchanan ironically mirror each other’s affairs as they both were unfaithful spouses to each other. Myrtle Wilson is Tom’s mistress who lived

Both Gatsby and Myrtle’s ending contextualize a failure to achieve a social desire. Their unattained dreams remain hopeless indicating the corruption and decay of the American dream.
Marc Levin created the documentary, “Class divide” examining the social and economic divide in present day New York City. By filming the family and individual lives of those students attending two different schools located on opposite sides of the streets, Levin captures clear distinctions between the two. One is Avenues, a prestigious private school for the wealthy and the other is a public school for the working class and students coming from low income families. Many advantages and disadvantages are exhibited between the two throughout the film. Systemic barriers preventing upward mobility on the social ladder contribute to how a student’s life is shaped. The private school students having access to numerous resources and opportunities put them in a high place of privilege compared to the public school counterparts on the other hand, who weren’t as fortunate. Rosa is a young girl living in a housing project who was featured numerous times throughout the film. Despite her tremendous levels of academic success and aspirations to attend