How Does Ecklberg Present Social Class Conflict In The Great Gatsby

In what ways does the green light, T.J. Ecklberg’s advertisements and automobiles represent social class conflict in The Great Gatsby?

Placed in the ‘Roaring 20s’, the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald describes a period of mass prosperity and wealth due to the augmentation of the economy through the results of significant corruption by contrasting the lifestyles of different wealth classes. The Great Gatsby encapsulates the stiffness of movement between social classes and the struggles Jay Gatsby goes through as he undergoes both perspectives of social class judgment by getting judged for having ‘new money’ and by looking down on those in the Valley of the Ashes. The narrator, Nick Carraway, provides a neutral perspective of the numerous conflicts

This reckless behavior creates a tone of carelessness and entitlement, as Tom believes that he deserves to be above all others, including Gatsby, due to all the wealth that he was born into. Reckless usage of automobiles by the higher class is accentuated when “[Myrtle] rushed out into the dusk”, and the “‘death car’ as the newspapers called it, didn’t stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend” (p. 85). Daisy Buchanan being the one driving the automobile that killed Myrtle symbolizes the power and control that the higher class holds over the lower class. Throughout the novel, there is increasing apprehension within Daisy as Tom has an affair with Myrtle, and as this progresses, Daisy feels as though her social status is being stripped from her. Although this was described as an ‘accident’, the usage of the automobiles through the initial recklessness and failure to stop and show remorse underlines the idea that the high class will always have superiority over the low class. Precedence and supremacy are