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Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

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Wealth is a universal desire, and for many would provide endless opportunities in life. With numerous possibilities regarding education, location and luxury, this would entail a life of simplicity and ease. Yet, this is far from the truth and few people ponder the realistic implications of such a prosperous life style. However, a socioeconomic method of analysis, called Marxism, addresses the materialistic means by which wealth holds power over others and creates distinctions between classes. This approach was developed by a German philosopher, Karl Marx, who focuses on the power relationships and the differences in social status between the oppressed and the oppressing, or the privileged bourgeoisie and the hardworking proletariat. A Marxist point of view is one applied to many pieces of literature and since wealth is a dream few actually achieve, it makes for an appealing topic. This aspiration is known to many as the American Dream, which is explored in depth throughout Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, “The Great Gatsby”. This novel is written in the post-World War II …show more content…

Gatsby never felt emotionally connected to his parents, who were only common indigent farmers, which drove Gatsby to abandon them and decide to live on his own in pursuit of fortune. In order to completely disassociate himself from his family he changes his name from Jimmy Gatz to Jay Gatsby, yet struggles to find wealth, even with the help of Dan Cody, a wealthy copper mogul. In Gatsby’s poorer days before the war, he meets Daisy, who was the treasure of every man’s world. She lived in a monstrous mansion and dressed in angelic dresses, representing the definition of opulence. Gatsby pursues Daisy and shares this story with Nick, who, reflects upon their romance, evident in the following

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Maggie Gordon Froehlich’s academic article on F.Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, approaches the book from a different level. Froehlich analyses the mentorship between old man and younger man and focuses on how sexuality contradicts between man and woman. The Great Gatsby , experiences that everyone ,-even if their social status is elevated or not- can have the opportunity to reach some level on becoming rich and they can also fulfil their intentions. In the novel it is stated that the key to achieve this situation is to work hard. In the academic article Froehlich tell us about how a person can reach the American dream and the peak point of wealth level like the one in the book and also how a person can reach the breakdown when living the American dream.

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Jay Gatsby, at one of Gatsby’s spectacular weekend parties. Upon spending time with Gatsby, Nick discovers that all of Gatsby’s luxuries are purely existing due to the fact that he wants to woo a married woman. Gatsby’s love interest just so happen to be Nick’s cousin Daisy. Gatsby finds no fault in chasing after his former love, even though she is bonded to Tom through marriage. The waste displayed through Gatsby’s extravagant additions to Nick’s property show Gatsby’s lack of understanding and compassion for the less-fortunate in the desolation of the nineteen-twenties.

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In Dubious Battle Mob Quotes

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The dominant classes in society accumulate wealth off of expropriating the labor of society. One German economist Karl Marx has said, “The ideas of the ruling class are, the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class, which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.” Karl Marx shows that when you are considered a higher class, which means you produce the resources need by society, you control what happens to society.

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Money Wealth And Class In The Great Gatsby

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The novel The Great Gatsby, is centered particularly on the theme of money and how it will inevitably affect one’s life. Money, wealth, and class are central themes which fuel the plot, and the way in which characters act, think, interact with the other characters, and are portrayed. The Marxist theory expresses that class shapes who we are, what we experience, and how we see ourselves; moreover, our “class-consciousness” also determines how we perceive

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1536 Words | 7 Pages

Jay Gatsby or James Gatz, as the readers learned his real name in chapter six, is a man of great delusions. Gatsby did not have the luxury of being born into a rich family, however, he desired that life and felt he was too good to be a meager farmer. Gatsby, plague by pride and delusions of grandeur, he went through life scraping to get by. He felt as if he was too good for anything that was not upper class, and sent his goal towards becoming the wealthy person he wanted to be. His obsessions in life drove him to make drastic decisions and his obsession with Daisy, once he realizes how impossible it is for him and Daisy to have the same life they did five years ago, will make Gatsby make drastic decisions just as he had done to become wealthy.

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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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The ever-hopeful end result of pursuing the American dream is the aspiration of achieving a substantial amount of money and successfully building the white picket fence. Many talk about the famous accounts of successful dream chasers, however, hidden under their feet are countless Americans anxiously waiting to climb up the ladder. In contrast, several get caught up on earthly desires believing it will lead them to eternal satisfaction, but often, it decides their own fate. In The Great Gatsby, American author F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the tragedy found within numerous characters. This novel reveals all social classes striving to achieve the American dream, showing how even the most wealthy struggle to live an authentic, happy life.

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578 Words | 3 Pages

The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success, prosperity, and social mobility through hard work, determination, and initiative. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby attempts to achieve social mobility but ultimately fails due to the constructs of old vs new money. An argument is shown that the American Dream is just that, a dream, and that happiness cannot be achieved through wealth. In the novel, the super poor are stuck in their social class, unable to move because they live in the valley of ashes, which represents poverty and the corruption and social decay that came with the lavish and careless lifestyles of the rich.

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Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

1298 Words | 6 Pages

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Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

553 Words | 3 Pages

The divide between society has been apparent for many, many years. It was prominent in the 1920s and even though slightly less apparent, it is still part of our world today. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story, The Great Gatsby, the settings created by Fitzgerald are symbolic of the Marxist theory through his use of differing social classes and their living conditions. These distinctions are clearly shown to the reader through the story’s East and West Eggs and the Valley of Ashes, which lies trapped in soot, dirt, and grime between the two Eggs and New York City. During the 1920s, industrialization, prohibition, old money, new money, and lavish parties aided in constructing major gaps between The Great Gatsby’s characters like Gatsby, Daisy, Myrtle.

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Examples Of Marxism In The Great Gatsby

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It was quite interesting to think about all these different approaches that could be used to write about The Great Gatsby. One could use the Marxist Theory and analyse the American dream and criticise how it can destroy a person’s faith and bury them underneath their own illusions; one could also use a feminist approach to claim that this book is loaded with misogyny and sexist remarks, as the reader can clearly see how Daisy is treated by her husband, for example. There are also many more literary theories that could be used and every time you would get a slightly different story, depending on the way you read it. But I choose to read it in a way that Nick Carraway is gay.

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1140 Words | 5 Pages

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