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The Great Gatsby Research Paper

2028 Words9 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby” illustrates the idea of the American dream in the 1920s by narrating how wealthy people in New York spend their summers recklessly partying. A side character, who does not see himself as a member of the upper class, observes his environment and tells the story of his self-made millionaire neighbor Jay Gatsby. Oftentimes glorified, the upper class is also presented as careless and their misuse of power in many different instances is revealed. Fitzgerald portrays the recklessness of the upper class through different speakers to point out various aspects of how they misuse their power and privileges. Disregarding Daisy’s attempts to explain herself, Gatsby tries to convince Tom Buchanan that his wife doesn’t love him. Stating the quote …show more content…

A bad driver and not even TRYing!” (60) stated by another party guest shows the outrage among people watching this scene. That the bad driver himself doesn’t care too much about the car, identifies him as a member of the upper class. While crashing a brand-new car would be close to a disaster for any average family, the careless high society can handle the loss with ease. This influences their daily behavior. Since members of the upper class know they can afford almost everything happening, they behave recklessly in their environment and around fellow men. In addition to that, they have privileges people from other social classes don’t have and tend to get treated differently. When Gatsby gets caught speeding, he shows the officer a Christmas card. The quote “‘Right you are,’ agreed the policeman, tipping his cap. ‘Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse ME!’” (74) reveals an inequality between Gatsby as part of the upper class and other people. Even though he breaks the law by speeding in his car, he doesn’t face any consequences for it. The stressed word “Excuse ME!” (74) shows that quite the opposite happens: the officer apologizes to

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