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Social Class Divide In The Great Gatsby

1509 Words7 Pages

t was winter holidays, and I made a rare trip to Brisbane City with my family, quicky putting into perspective the social class divide within our community. Turning the city street corners, in my jeans and puffer jacket, I walked past 4-5 homeless people, curled up for warmth. Their demoralising reality is so distant to my own – suburban house, small white dog, air-conditioning to accommodate Queensland’s unpredictable weather. From this city trip, I couldn’t help but notice we are constantly living in a social divide, and now, as critically consuming teenagers, we are becoming aware. This reality has been continuously represented throughout literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald opens The Great Gatsby (1925) with the perspective of young Nick Carraway remembering “all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that [he’s] had”, foreshadowing the social class divide and the correlated entitled behaviours that follow. Additionally, John Crowley directed his 2015 film Brooklyn to follow the journey of a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through contrasting social classes and norms of Ireland and America. The opportunities awarded to high-class citizens cause detrimental disparity between social classes, a theme accentuated by both The Great Gatsby and Brooklyn …show more content…

The Great Gatsby highlights how superficial social hierarchy may not correlate to personal happiness. Jay Gatsby, originally born James Gatz, worked as a janitor during college to pay tuition, when one summer working at sea, Dan Cody, an ‘old money’ mentor, influenced his speech, manner, and outlook on life. As readers, we experience Dan’s impression on Gatsby through Nick’s perspective as Gatsby consistently refers to him as “old sport”. The repetition showcases the insecurity and imposition Gatsby feels in upper-class society, mimicking phrases he associates with a high-class

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