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Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

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Marxism refers to the of theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A theory of the idea of the control and power an industry or person has over society. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Marxist approach to The Great Gatsby is shown with how New York is separated into three areas of class. East egg, West egg (the wealthy), and the Valley of Ashes (the poor). It was also interpreted in the time setting of the story during the 1920s and the social setting of the story with how the group of wealthy, educated people have carefree, fun, relaxing lives often spent at parties or gatherings who have little care for those who aren't as wealthy and actually work hard. Fitzgerald also shows his marxist approach in the ways in which power and wealth are attained and retained by the characters. …show more content…

People in East Egg come from wealthy families that are generally less-sophisticated, and a more innocent type of people. For example Tom Buchanan was born into a wealthy family, and Daisy, married into this money. They own a mansion, and are quite stuck up. Daisy and Tom think they have power over everyone. West Egg is known as the "less fashionable" with "wide lawns and friendly trees." Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway live next to each other there however, in very different conditions. Nick has a small house to himself whereas Gatsby has a huge mansion where he throws big parties that it seems only the wealthy are invited to. In between the two sides of the bay is the Valley of the ashes- “a fantastic farm… grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys… Occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track”. This is where Myrtle and George Wilson live and own a small run-down auto shop. The wealthy people (Tom, Gatsby, Daisy, Jordan) and Nick drive through there in their nice cars to go to

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690 Words | 3 Pages

Nick is Gatsby’s neighbor and Daisy’s cousin, and cautiously assists their relationship. Nick and Gatsby live in the West Egg area of Long Island, while Daisy lives across the way in East Egg. Fitzgerald uses these neighborhoods to symbolize the differences between the newly and old rich. In the novel, Nick and Gatsby are both newly parevenus individuals who do not come from a rich family. Carraway is earning his way to wealth in the banking industry, while Gatsby received his wealth predominantly from bootlegging.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

East Egg residents like Tom and Daisy have smaller, close-knit gatherings where they have personal connections with each other. West Egg is characterized as flashy because they wish to rise in social standing and have a chip on their shoulder. While East Egg is traditional. They have generational wealth and an image to

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870 Words | 4 Pages

So Tom takes Nick to a party at Myrtles apartment, where nick sees the real Tom and how Tom actually treats myrtle, and see’s how myrtle acts like an East egger. Gatsby’s mansion was “a colossal affair...with a tower on one side…, a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden”. Tom commented on his own mansion to Nick with “‘I’ve got a

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1621 Words | 7 Pages

He becomes obsessed with recapturing their past relationship, leading him to building himself a new life centered around Daisy. Wanting Daisy to believe that he is “in the same strata as herself” Gatsby turns to a life of crime and deceit, illegally earning money and becoming the ostensible epitome of wealth and success (149). This new Gatsby buys a magnificent mansion in West Egg “so that Daisy would be just across the bay”, the green light on her dock an infinite reminder of his ever so close yet far away goal (78). Everyday, people flow in and out of his “road house”, constantly attending his extravagant parties that’s sole purpose are to catch Daisy’s eye and perhaps draw her back to him one day (64). After years of this intricate display that becomes his reality, Gatsby expresses a want for Nick to invite Daisy over for tea.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout history, power has always been unequally distributed among people. From kings having a majority of power to slaves having none, the society of 1920s America mirrored the ways of the past. However, instead of kings and slaves, the differing classes would be the upper class and lower class. Viewing the different classes and the power each class holds is the foundation of the Marxist lens. A Marxist lens shows how rich people in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby are able to avoid the unwanted effects of their actions unlike their less wealthy counterparts, as contrasted by the actions of Daisy and Tom versus Myrtle.

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644 Words | 3 Pages

Many individuals believe that The Great Gatsby is a romantic novel because the novel is about Gatsby’s determined quest for Daisy. The novel also contains many affairs. Arguably, Fitzgerald’s award-winning novel takes a deep look into the worst aspects of society. The Great Gatsby is about the classism, superficiality, and recklessness of the 1920’s. Classism is the main factor that prevented Daisy and Gatsby from being a couple.

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727 Words | 3 Pages

It's mostly full of people who worked during their lives in whatever way to earn their money. Although they earned what they have, they are often looked down upon by residents of the east egg. “Tom Buchanan compelled me from the room as though he were moving a checker to another square” (Fitzgerald 12) this displays Tom's perception of power over the people around him through his given title and status. The people from the east egg believe they have power over the people around them. Observing Nick and Gatsby's actions we find that residents of the West may have a better understanding and grasp on life through earning their position.

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821 Words | 4 Pages

Nick comments that it is a coincidence that they live so close now after all that time, but Jordan refutes him by claiming “Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay”(Fitzgerald 78). In the years since their time together five years ago, Gatsby has bought a huge mansion, for the single purpose of being right across the bay from his love. He spends so much money throwing these extravagant parties in hope that maybe, just maybe, Daisy will show

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1177 Words | 5 Pages

Tucker Evans Frantzen 11 Honors Block 3A 25 March 2024 A Marxist lens through the Great Gatsby The wealth of each citizen has an impact on their societal views and experiences. Does earning your money versus having it handed to you truly affect the person you become and the experiences you have? In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the reader notices that the generational money holders are cold, stagnant characters who hold a mysterious and far away persona almost untouchable.

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321 Words | 2 Pages

Nick Carraway the narrator of The Great Gatsby moves to New York and resides in a small house next to Gatsby’s mansion. Within the first two chapters he is exposed to various parts of New York that have drastic differences. The main four areas he discovers is New York City, East Egg, West Egg which is separated by the Valley of Ashes. When Nick is invited to dinner by his cousin Daisy, he arrives in East Egg which is filled with mansions and a sense of luxurious lifestyle but is elusive due to only snobby and greedy aristocratic families that reside in these mansions. It becomes obvious that this is where New York’s wealthiest of people live and that their wealth correlates with their character traits.

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747 Words | 3 Pages

Not only does the amount of wealth affect social class, but the type of wealth also affects it. It even affects where people live and who people marry as seen with Gatsby and Daisy. The characters social standing affect who they interact and how they are perceived by others. Fitzgerald highlights the different class structures like “New rich” and “Old rich” and the impact of wealth on the people’s lives in those classes. He also shows the superficial nature of the characters and highlights the value placed on wealth.

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Drama, affairs, murder, lies, and crimes; these aspects and more in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Throughout the story Fitzgerald will drag you along in a story full of twists and turns. Though his characters are realistic they show some of the darker qualities in people. The American Dream is based upon materialism, violence, and social class. Materialism: devotion to material wealth and possessions at the expense of spiritual or intellectual values.

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1298 Words | 6 Pages

Society has always had a big impact on how people act on a daily basis. People tend to focus on the materialistic needs to provide satisfaction, such as wealth and social class. Proletariats are controlled and manipulated by the Bourgeoisie. Which in turn, determines their values, beliefs, and behaviour in society. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott.

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178 Words | 1 Pages

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald the novel focuses on Jay Gatsby, a guy whose existence revolves around his desire to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, the love he lost five years ago. As Gatsby's ideal of adoring Daisy is shattered by the disparity in their social standings, his resorting to crime to impress her, and the unrestrained materialism that characterizes her existence. Gatsby's journey takes him from poverty to fortune, into the arms of his beloved, and ultimately to death. The narrative is not a Marxist book, but it contains a few elements of the Marxist perspective and criticism of capitalism. “Marxism is a social, political, and economic philosophy named after the 19th-century German philosopher and economist Karl Marx.

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924 Words | 4 Pages

The Great Gatsby GEOGRAPHY Throughout the novel, places and settings symbolize the various aspects of the 1920s American society that Fitzgerald depicts. East Egg represents the old aristocracy, West Egg the newly rich, the valley of ashes the moral and social decay of America, and New York City the dissolute, amoral quest for money and pleasure. Additionally, the East is connected to the moral decay and social cynicism of New York, while the West is connected to more traditional social values and ideals. Themes: The American Dream "Whereas the American Dream was once equated with certain principles of freedom, it is now equated with things.

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