Examples Of Dichotomy In The Great Gatsby

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The rich bastard/good guy dichotomy is most essential to Steinbeck’s narrative purpose for Chapter Two. Tom Joad Jr., while prying the truck driver for a ride, claims that “sometimes a guy’ll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker.” We know that the driver wants to be a good guy, similar to the emergence of ‘good personality’ over ‘good character’ in The Great Gatsby. The phrase “good guy” is only referenced six times within the novel, all within chapter two. “Rich bastard” only appears twice, both within chapter two again. Not only placing the descriptions within the same chapter to dichotomize them, Steinbeck goes further to isolate them from the rest of the book. The truck driver and Tom both agree that the “rich