Examples Of Classism In The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his book The Great Gatsby, exposes the effect of classism on the ability to achieve the American Dream. In this book, Daisy loved Gatsby prior to Tom but didn’t want to commit to Gatsby on account of him being in the lower middle class. Gatsby decides to become a bootlegger in order to advance in the social class and to win over his dream girl, Daisy. Gatsby and Daisy have a little rendezvous but it does not go beyond that because Daisy knows that Gatsby may not be able to provide her a stable life. In the end, Gatsby dies before he could have achieved his idea of the American Dream. The fact that Gatsby was dedicated enough to work hard and buy a house across from Daisy shows how much he loves her but because Daisy

According to Nick, “With the influence of the dress her [Myrtle] personality had also undergone a change” (30). Once she went to her’s and Tom’s house and changed her outfit into something nicer she started to act snobby. As if she was not in the middle class but was in the upper class from old money. Another example would be when Daisy “wanted her life shaped now [and] that force took shape in the middle of spring with the arrival of Tom Buchanan” (151). When she left Gatsby to marry Tom shows that she wants a stable life even if it means she would not love him later on. This means that because of Gatsby being in a lower class or not being honorable rich prevents Daisy from marrying him showing that people would choose money over love. Fitzgerald shows us that people think money would make you happier than having a happy

According to Nick, “She [Daisy] vanished into her rich house, into her rich, full life, leaving Gatsby―nothin” (149). It shows that at the beginning of the day she might show she loves him but at the end of it she will go back to her perfect life and forget about him until the next time she sees him. This shows that the upper class tends to not care about lower class. At the end of the book Nick calls Tom and Daisy “careless people” (179). Tom is the reason why Gatsby died and Daisy is the reason why Myrtle died. They were in an unhappy marriage, had affairs to fill the emptiness they felt, but in the end decided to stop one another's affair by killing their partners. Tom and Daisy were both respected and in old money while Gatsby was not respected and Myrtle was neither respected nor wealthy. This shows that the rich will always be on top preventing those below them from achieving the American Dream. According to Nick, “They [Tom and Daisy] smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness” (179). They hurt people but went back to living their life like nothing happened. This shows what kind of people they are because they do not show that they are affected by what they caused upon people. Fitzgerald is trying to make us see through Gatsby and Myrtle that they thought they were getting so close to the American Dream but death