Inequality Of The Upper Class In The Great Gatsby

In chapter one, Nick Carraway says, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” (Fitzgerald 1). Here, Nick is trying to explain to Gatsby how the upper class rarely seems to realize the problems that the lower classes face. Due to Jay Gatsby’s higher standing within society, he rarely seems to fully comprehend the atrocities of the lower class. Gatsby bases his so-called ‘superiority’ on his money, rather than his actions. As proven by his lifestyle and his past, the reader can come to the conclusion that Gatsby demonstrates an insignificant amount of class. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald brings in the idea of old money versus new money. In the beginning, Jay Gatsby throws

Before formally meeting Gatsby, Nick says, “There was music from my neighbor’s house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whispering and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald 39). In this statement, Carraway describes the rambunctious parties that Gatsby throws to flaunt the exorbitant sum of money he has. The way that Gatsby displays his money is completely classless and brazen. By the end of the novel, the reader can come to the conclusion that Jay Gatsby is not of high class because he is always trying to prove himself to the old rich. After one of Gatsby’s extravagant parties, Nick details Gatsby’s paring actions, “On Week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all the trains” (Fitzgerald 39). While this scene does show how compassionate