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Examples Of A Classless Society In The Great Gatsby

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A Classless Society: Determining Standards through Character The 1920s were a time of excitement and economic growth for the young and bustling American nation. Although the country was progressing as a whole, a class system was very prevalent and separated the country. Fitzgerald comments on the American class system through his description and actions of the characters and their traits. By associating contrasting traits and actions with opposing characters of the same class, the author demonstrates the idea of a classless society through the application of diction, imagery, and details. Fitzgerald first establishes the idea of a classless society by using diction to point out the difference between characters ethics and morals. On page …show more content…

Fitzgerald primarily establishes the difference between Tom and Gatsby on page 98 when he states “It was James Gatz who had been loafing along the beach that afternoon in a torn green jersey and a pair of canvas pants” and “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people”. By providing a vivid picture of Gatsby’s background, the reader can now understand Tom’s contemptuous attitude toward Jay, though they were of the same wealth when they first met. On page 133, Tom expresses his disdain of Gatsby by stating "I found out what your little 'drug-stores' were... he and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn't far wrong." It is here that Tom essentially recognizes Gatsby's way of living, however illegal it may be, as worthless due to his pretentious belief that the upper class consists only of those with old money and excludes those with newly hard earned wealth. With the application of imagery, Fitzgerald separates Tom and Gatsby's background and shows its effects on the traits and thought processes of each character, which adds to the diversity that creates such a rift between classes within itself that it essentially dismantles

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Fitzgerald creates clear distinctions between the upper and lower classes primarily through the use of the valley of ashes. The valley of ashes is nothing but a grey wasteland where “Ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke” but it is also the home of the poor, “The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land”. This is very much different to East Egg, where the wealth live which is described that “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water”. This distinct different between settings shows the differences of the classes but also the hollowness of the upper

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How Does Fitzgerald Use Class Structure In The Great Gatsby

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Fitzgerald’s use of class structure compares almost directly to that of the class structure in the 1920’s. While The Great Gatsby is an almost exact representation of the 1920’s, it primarily focuses on the darker aspects of the roaring age. The Great Gatsby has characters from multiple financial backgrounds; from characters like Tom who come from money, or characters like Gatsby who came from almost nothing and worked hard to get to where they are, Fitzgerald brings out social and class structure throughout the novel. Fitzgerald shows how vastly different new money and old money are from each other. The Great Gatsby shows Marxism and class structure by comparing East and West Egg, how old money views new money through Tom, and the embarrassment from being a self made man.

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How Does Social Class Affect Society In The Great Gatsby

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Throughout life, many people display the extreme effect social class can play on one's personality. In Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams," he emphasizes the complications of social status in the 1920's and the negative implications that come from the aggressive pursuit of the American Dream. Throughout Fitzgerald's work, he illustrates the accumulation of one's wealth causes one to lose sympathy for others through characterization, diction, and tone. In "Winter Dreams," Fitzgerald emphasizes the negative effect of wealth on one's sympathy for others through the use of characterization.

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Fitzgerald offers up commentary on a diffusion of themes — justice, energy, greed, betrayal, the American dream, and so forth. Of all of the topics, possibly none is extra well developed than that of social stratification. The Great Gatsby is seemed as a remarkable piece of social observation, providing a bright peek into American lifestyles within the 1920s. Fitzgerald carefully sets up his novel into awesome corporations but, in the long run, each group has its very own troubles to contend with, leaving a effective reminder of what a precarious vicinity the sector genuinely is. By developing distinct social lessons — vintage money, new cash, and no cash — Fitzgerald sends robust messages about the elitism jogging during every strata of society.

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F. Scott Fitzgerald was a prominent figure among the Lost Generation writers. His novels and short stories satirize the consumer society that emerged after the World War I and reflect the decadent spirit of this specific period in American literature. He based his writings on his and his friends’ private lives. Most of his works contain autobiographical references to his marriage, and what is more, many characters bear a resemblance to him and his wife Zelda. This gives the authenticity to his works which are a satirical reflection of the modes of behaviour cherished by his contemporary society.

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