Social Stratification The Great Gatsby has many themes, including defective love, wealth, isolation, deception, and compassion. However, the main one that stands out is social stratification, which is how society ranks you based on your wealth. It practically represents that the poor stay poor and the rich get to indulge in their wealth and splendor. During the 1920’s it was very common to party and drink, even though drinking was illegal since January 16, 1919 (Source 3). Gatsby was known for throwing extravagant parties at his mansion. He didn’t always have that kind of money. He almost proves social stratification wrong, that is until the end of the novel when it is uncovered that he earned his money illegally through bootlegging. Al …show more content…
He was love struck for Daisy, and that caused him to do things that an ordinary person wouldn’t do. This defective love is eventually the death of him, literally. Nick is the narrator of the story. He isn’t the most important person in the novel, but he is important to the story line. Without Nick there would be no story. Daisy, Nick’s cousin previously knew Gatsby before she married Tom. The difference between Gatsby and Tom was that Gatsby was poor and Tom was very wealthy. Daisy came from a rich family so her parents approved of Tom just because of his money. They didn’t care about how he treated her or what personality that he had. (Source 2) is a cover of Life Magazine from the 1920’s is a replication of the lifestyle for many people in the 1920's. All they did was party. Tom was definitely one of those people. He partied all the time, and even had an affair with a lady named Myrtle, who had a husband herself. This lifestyle is a perfect example of the 1920’s. This wasn’t uncommon. With all that said, The Great Gatsby is a novel about wealth, deception, isolation, compassion and defective love. Social stratification is the main theme of the novel and it gives