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Compare And Contrast Social Classes In The Great Gatsby

1258 Words6 Pages

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald analyzes various controversial themes such as love, betrayal, and social classes in his novel The Great Gatsby which takes place in Long Island, New York in the summer of 1922. During this notorious time period, there was a major economic growth, wealth was expressed through the material things such as fast cars, big houses, and extravagant attire, and those who had only just acquired their wealth would not fit in with those with old money—people who were born into rich families and did not have to work for their fortune. Ordinarily, social classes did not merge. In fact, there was a huge gap between those who believed in the American Dream—the belief that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success and …show more content…

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores the pursuit of love between contrasting social classes in order to teach his audience the overall lesson that everyone chooses and is attracted to their soulmate in consideration of whether they have a substantial fortune or if they stand high on the social ladder, but due to the fact that different social classes do not wed, only relationships in the same social class prosper. Fitzgerald utilizes his complex characters; Jay Gatsby, the protagonist who is in love with Daisy Buchanan, Daisy Buchanan who had a past with Gatsby but is married to Tom Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, a rich socialite who is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, and George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle Wilson to portray …show more content…

When one is a socialite—a person who is well known in fashionable society and is fond of social activities and entertainment—they’re guaranteed to appeal to a crowd of people and have an alluring way of life that makes others want to join them. Gatsby was aware of how desired Daisy Buchanan was before their relationship flourished: “It excited him, too, that many men had already loved Daisy—it increased her value in his eyes” (Fitzgerald 149). Through his sentence structure and choice of using an em dash, Fitzgerald portrays that ironically, the fact that plenty of other men have been captured by Daisy’s charm attracts Gatsby more. This portrays that Gatsby is purely attracted by Daisy due to the fact that many men chase and desire her. Besides alluring a quantity of other people, socialites like Tom Buchanan also rouse others to follow them. In this case, Tom has allured Myrtle to want to move West with him: ““I’ve been here too long. I want to get away, My wife and I want to go West.” “Your wife does,” exclaimed Tom, startled. “She’s been talking about it for ten years.” He rested for a moment against the pump, shading his eyes. “And now she’s going whether she wants to or not. I’m going to get her away” (Fitzgerald 123). The way Tom acts surprised is just an act due to the fact that it is his fault that Myrtle wants to go West. Myrtle has been

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