Stereotypes In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Everyone loves parties, and no one throws a party like Jay Gatsby. “The Great Gatsby” is a classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book acts as a commentary looking at both the American Dream and the lives of those living in 1920s America. Being written from the point of view of an American in 1920, there are some points of contention seen within. The book is heavily filled with stereotyping of Jewish characters and African American characters, while also viewing cultural bias through wealthy elitism. The book “The Great Gatsby” follows our main character, Nick Carraway. Nick moves to New York, finding himself thrown into the life of “The American Dream”. He meets the book’s title character, Jay Gatsby, his wealthy neighbor. Gatsby

This was no different in 1920s America. The novel depicts a Jewish character through the example of Meyer Wolfsheim. Meyer is a friend of Gatsby, who is described as a dubious character. He gives an example of how he may have “Fixed” the world series years prior. These depictions of Jewish people being shady and cunning, focusing specifically on money, is a stereotype that is seen throughout history, especially in the years following the book’s publication. Alterations to the book, including an addition of characters depicting non-stereotypical Jewish culture, may be able to alleviate some of these concerns. The last aspect the book looks at is the depiction of wealth and class divide. Class divide and the social elite create a clear divide in the book. The American dream is played into in the novel, showing the rich and extravagant lives of the rich and powerful characters. Jay Gatsbys parties are seen as the larger-than-life occasions, and people will still use them to describe large parties today. The divide comes when looking at how the lives of most people lived at the time. During the book's time, the United States was in what could be called a Golden