In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, during the Roaring Twenties, there are many aspects of social and economic prejudice. Social standing in The Great Gatsby is dependent mainly on education, wealth, and material goods. Seldom higher class, wealthy individuals, were uneducated. Their substantial wealth gave them the opportunity to attend any desired Ivy League school, which reflected on their eloquence. Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan both attended Yale University, an Ivy League, and their education is portrayed through their ability to sound intelligent. Throughout the novel, those that are less educated speak in a slang type of manner, which can be represented by the dialect of Mr. Wolfsheim and Jay Gatsby. Wolfsheim, being associated with the lower working class, enunciates his words abnormally. For example, in the novel, he states that Gatsby is an “Oggsford” man, in which he really means “Oxford” (71). Gatsby spoke in the same way as Wolfsheim until he tried to change his speaking manner …show more content…
He mediated by doing business with Wolfsheim, to facilitate his wealth, while still romancing with Daisy. Due to Gatsby’s ability to be a part of both worlds, he occupies the social center of the book (Beuka, 11). Gatsby did not completely enjoy his association with the lower class, prior to his riches, and he aspired to be considered equal to the Buchanans. His aspirations led to his portrayal of a different person externally, than he was internally. In the same way, Gatsby was constantly adapting to this new environment to fit in. He valued his social standing so greatly because it was his means of changing his past aspirations into reality. He lost Daisy to someone rich, and in his eyes, the only way to win her back and fix the past was to gain an enormous amount of wealth in hopes of being considered equal to Tom Buchanan (Fitzgerald,