Social Economic Lens In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald the effect of different social classes and the influential ways of the viewed higher classes demonstrates how hollow and ignorant having money and being perceived as wealthy can make a person. Compared to how the lower-class characters are viewed and treated by the upper class. The Great Gatsby is a good representation of seeing literature through a social-economic lens, this is shown in many different ways in the story. The reader is shown the ignorance of the upper class, the things that the characters do not know they have compared to the lower classes, and the opportunities they do not have, the little things that the rich take advantage of.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the novel illustrates the patriarchal society of the 1920s and the oppression of women within it. The novel shows traditional gender roles being strictly enforced through the character of Daisy Buchanan and also presents contrast through Jordan Baker, a strong independent woman challenging the gender roles imposed upon her. This serves to highlight the societal restrictions and traditional expectations faced by women during this era and the emergence of a new generation of women who sought to break free from these constraints. Some critics renounce this, stating that the novel reinforces patriarchal societal norms rather than challenging them. This essay will argue that the novel presents a distinct
The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells a story about social structures and how impossible it is to achieve the American Dream. The story takes place in the villages of East Egg, West Egg, and New York City in the 1920s. It depicts the rigid class system of the time and how hard it was to move up in status. Narrated by Nick Carraway, one of the main characters in the book, who witnesses the withering of the American Dream for Jay Gatsby and the shallowness of the upper class. Each character in the book has a unique personality, characterized by descriptions of where they lived.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby illustrates that materials and possessions are crucial to the plot development and represent the social status of the characters. First automobiles subsist throughout the story to highlight the differences between “new money” and “old money”. Consequently, automobiles are crucial to the conclusion of the novel. In addition, some characters live in small apartments and homes others live in elaborate mansions, which is signifies their social classes. Clothing is used as a means to show social class or pretend to be in a higher one.
The Roaring Twenties, known as the decade of the 1920s in the Western World, consists of dramatic changes in social values. The cultural differences between the 1920s and the Victorian era changes people's behavior, where they become more free-will, youthful and carefree, despite of being more conservative before. People are more open-minded and found satisfaction through the “open pursuit of sex, money, and booze” (Berman 53) as they suggest their wealth and status in the society. New York City had become one of the cities where materialistic wealth has become the key of happiness and the standard to judge people's success, further leading Americans to pursue each other in a negative, acquisitive way. Through the different scenes and characters of the famous novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald explores how the society twisted the original idea of
As World War I drew to a close, the modern world swung into a new era of societal breakdown and reconstruction. Examples of this are evident throughout modernist literature, both now and especially then. One of the most famous modernist literary works that came from the beginning of this movement is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout his novel, Fitzgerald includes a variety of situations that display some common ways that society can split apart, Divorce rates hit their peak during this time period, making the destruction of marriages Fitzgerald 's first example of social breakdown.
In The Great Gatsby, social status is a significant element in the book as it separates the haves from the have nots. However more importantly, social status portrays the personalities of people belonging to different classes. In the end, you are stuck in the class you are born into, and attempting to change classes only leads to tragedy and heartbreak. In The Great Gatsby, there are three main social classes portrayed. These are old money, new money, and no money.
Tyler Bloomfield Dr Andrews American Literature 12 May 2023 The Dangers of the Growing Social Divide in the 20th Century In the early 20th century, America was undergoing significant changes as the country moved towards modernization and industrialization. One of the major social issues of the 20th century was the growing divide between the rich and the poor, which was made worse by the period's concern with luxury and money. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby offers strong criticism of social standards in the 20th century.
Gatsby Thematic Essay In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, lots of connections are drawn through various thematic subjects presented in this novel. One of these connections is between love, wealth, and social status, which are all very prominent subjects within The Great Gatsby. The relationships between various characters within the pages of this written work make one message very apparent: Love can be regarded as flimsy and deceitful when it is dictated by one’s wealth and social status.
The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success, prosperity, and social mobility through hard work, determination, and initiative. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby attempts to achieve social mobility but ultimately fails due to the constructs of old vs new money. An argument is shown that the American Dream is just that, a dream, and that happiness cannot be achieved through wealth. In the novel, the super poor are stuck in their social class, unable to move because they live in the valley of ashes, which represents poverty and the corruption and social decay that came with the lavish and careless lifestyles of the rich.
While both novels are “great” and “American,” Twain’s ability to challenge his readers in topics that continually produce tense debates in the United States reigns over Fitzgerald’s widely viewed and accepted novel, that observers often glaze over the social commentary held within. Great novels as such are not easy swallows. They are not the pizzas, ice creams or chocolates of the world – those would be the romance novels for single middle-aged women whose children have fled the nest, or dystopian novels narrating strong female leads who always seem to be caught in a tacky mess of a love-triangles for young “adult” females. Great novels are the Brussel sprouts, the sour krout, and most horrifically: the pink bubble-gum flavored amoxicillin.
While Canadians are consistently stereotyped as polite, peaceful and accepting individuals, Canadian history demonstrates its evident use of war and rebellion. Canadians fought against First Nations’ tribes, the French, the Americans and against Axis powers in the First and Second World War to achieve various levels of independence and peace for Canada and its ideals. Wars create distinct symbols, customs and of course art work, resulting in a uniquely Canadian culture. During the Second World War, Canadian art culture flourished with the creation of an official art program designed to document the Canadian war effort overseas, inspiring a new generation of artists and art movements. However, secondary research provides little information on
The biggest question remaining after the reading of the book is what is Fitzgerald saying about American society? Is Fitzgerald insulting American society? Fitzgerald’s main ideas of American society in The Great Gatsby are about social class and status. The majority of his comments towards these subjects relates to the cars, houses, and money that people have. How does Fitzgerald throw Gatsby into the book?
The Great Gatsby Literary Analysis “They were careless people…” says Nick Carraway, the narrator of The Great Gatsby. In a story depicting the 1920s during a time of prosperity, growth, and the emergence of the America as a major global power, this statement may seem to be contrary. But in reality, Nick Carraway’s description of his friends and the people he knew, was not only true, but is an indication of those who were striving for the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream is foolish, the people who pursue it are immoral and reckless, and this pursuit is futile. First, F. Scott Fitzgerald proposes that the American dream is foolish.
I will focus on the themes that he showed throughout his novel. Two of the main themes that I found were the decline of the American Dream during the 1920's and the hollowness of the upper class. The Great Gatsby portrays the 1920‘s as an era of decayed social and moral values. This is shown in the opulent parties thrown by Gatsby which is attended to by cynical, greedy, and empty people who are only in pursuit of pleasure.
