ipl-logo

Theme Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby

619 Words3 Pages

In the 1920’s, social classes were divided with a large gap. The poor wanted nothing to do with the rich, and the rich wanted even less to do with the poor. In the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he uses the class structure in the 1920’s to redefine poverty. While the rich people in the novel are material rich, they are still “poor” socially and psychologically. Poverty is shown in a differently in this book than other books being written in this time era, and in doing this, it shows the rich what they are, and how they treat others from a different perspective. Claire Shalinsky wrote an article titled “The Problem of Poverty in Gatsby”, and she explains how throughout the book, Jay Gatsby is picked apart, so we can see past …show more content…

The website wordpress made an article about the social classes in the Great Gatsby, talking about the differences and similarities that both social classes in the book have with each other, from the good things, to all their flaws. “All the characters do not suffer due to lack of funds in life, but from key dimensions within themselves”(wordpress, Poverty in Great Gatsby). All of the characters in the Great Gatsby have some form of funds in their life, but each of them are devoid of certain key aspects of their personality. One of them could have a lack of social wealth, such as Jay Gatsby. Everyone is wealthy and poor, and when this was brought out to the public when this novel was published, this redefined poverty, and wealth as a whole. In the novel itself, Gatsby in the end is poor, just as he was when he was born. “Gatsby’s house was still empty when I left- the grass on his lawn had grown as long as mine”(Fitzgerald, pg 179). Jay Gatsby was born a poor man, and even though he rose up in his social class to be one with the rich, powerful people of the time, he was still a poor man. There is a big difference in the social class in the 1920’s, that nobody could escape

Show More
Related
834 Words | 4 Pages

Born James Gatz, his economic turn began before the story even began; when Gatsby was 17. He was a poor, and ambitious boy, and a passing millionaire took notice of this, along with “James Gatz’s” first impression, he was hired. Gatsby’s tastes, and ideology remain fixed on his desires of wealth from here on out. Even as the modern Jay Gatsby, his ideology is ever present; to do whatever it takes to live lavishly. Of course, this dramatic change and ambition was met with a crushing defeat when his employer died, and his days of wealth were squandered.

Read More
372 Words | 2 Pages

In the classic novel, The Great Gatsby, a boy raised in a low class family becomes part of the elite upper class of New York. Jay Gatsby 's wealthy lifestyle lead him to become a man who once

Read More
1077 Words | 5 Pages

Gatsby believes that money can buy him whatever his heart desires. Gatsby’s misunderstanding of the way money functions in the society he lives in results in the failure of his attempt to gain both status and the

Read More
862 Words | 4 Pages

Many people believe that money is the key to happiness and they seek it persistently in order to run away from poverty. Poverty alone is challenging but it becomes a bigger challenge when you become a victim of the corruption of money. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald the readers explore a story of ambition, tragedy, and betrayal;All because of money and reputation. In his novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald utilizes symbolism to reveal the drastic differences between the wealthy and the poor.

Read More
1194 Words | 5 Pages

Some may argue that Gatsby hasn’t been corrupted by wealth at all and that he was only an innocent, hopeful young man chasing after his dreams. But that’s not the truth because Gatsby became corrupt as soon as he began to desire a luxurious life and pursue Daisy with an increasing fervor. “So he invented the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end” (Fitzgerald 112). Gatsby, while chasing the illusion of a life he had made got involved in shady businesses such as the one he has with wolfsheim whose criminal connections are implied throughout the novel. As his wealth increased Jay began to spend his money carelessly and throw extravagant parties were “men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars” (Fitzgerald 43).

Read More
792 Words | 4 Pages

The impact of socioeconomic status can be examined through a myriad of lenses. F. Scott Fitzgerald aims to show the relationship between socioeconomic status and power. Throughout The Great Gatsby, Tom’s character shows that socioeconomic status is equivalent to power within the novel. Tom puts great pride and emphasis on his socioeconomic status and wealth.

Read More
621 Words | 3 Pages

In the Great Gatsby, privilege comes into play. Privilege in this context means being born with advantages that you did not earn or work for. Some people have to work to get their money but others are born with money which means that they didn’t have to work for their money. Gatsby for example was not born with money. He had to make his own money by selling and dealing drugs and is now a very wealthy man.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

In The Great Gatsby the characters in the novel come from various social classes. Nick, Daisy, and Tom are from Wealthy families who have been wealthy for a long time. These characters are referred to as “Old rich” because of their families’ long histories of wealth. Jay Gatsby, unlike Daisy and Tom, did not belong to a wealthy family, and he earns his wealth through his own hard work and success. Although Tom and Gatsby are both wealthy, Tom and the other “Old rich” people look down at Gatsby.

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald characterizes the 1920s as an era of decayed social and moral values. One of the major themes explored in this novel is the Hollowness of the Upper Class. The entire book revolves around money including power and little love. Coincidentally the three main characters of the novel belong to the upper class and throughout the novel Fitzgerald shows how this characters have become corrupted and have lost their morality due to excess money and success and this has led them to change their perspective towards other people and they have been portrayed as short-sighted to what is important in life. First of all, we have the main character of this novel, Gatsby who won’t stop at nothing to become rich overnight in illegal dealings with mobsters such as Wolfsheim in order to conquer Daisy’s heart.”

Read More
845 Words | 4 Pages

The people who live in poverty have a harder time moving up to the higher class because of what surrounds them. The influences that live around them are a lot more different than the ones in the upper class. It is difficult for people to ascend in the social class ladder because of how different the environments of each class are. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, social class structure plays a big role in defining characters throughout the book.

Read More
2207 Words | 9 Pages

Having grown up in a lower-middle class family to two “shiftless and unsuccessful farm people,” Gatsby feels the need to overcompensate for his humble background growing up because he wants to be fully accepted into the upper social and economic class (105). Sadly, Gatsby is unable to enter the “old money” community, which is full of families with large endowments, because, socially, he will always be tied to the class he was born

Read More
1992 Words | 8 Pages

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is a story based in the early twentieth century. In the 1920’s, there was a big distinction between the “old wealth” of Americans, inherited money, and the “new wealth” of hard workers who had to work their way up in the rankings. “The Great Gatsby” is told by a neutral character Nick Carraway. In the novel, colors are assigned to characters to signify something similar to a certain race.

Read More
637 Words | 3 Pages

Everybody wants to be the wealthy however the poor suffer lots as a result of the by-product of the capitalistic society. The by-product during this novel is the Valley of Ashes. This shows how individuals throw out regard for others in exchange of the pursuit to be wealthy (This is incredibly immoral). This is often believed to be the American Dream. On the opposite hand you have got extravagant parties at the Gatsby house simply to impress a lady.

Read More
956 Words | 4 Pages

Jay Gatsby does many wrong things in order to meet his dream. Gatsby is a secretive guy that lots of people don’t know about, or even know who he is. As he climbs his ladder to success people begin to ask questions about his wealth. He is apart of the newer rich people in the West Egg, but no one knows how he’s so rich. People wonder where all this money is coming from.

Read More
537 Words | 3 Pages

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made” (Fitzgerald 179). This quote captures the advantages the upper class has because of their money. Tom and Daisy’s actions left three people dead, yet they received no punishments .They put all their baggage on the lower class, and left them to pick up the pieces.     In The Great Gatsby, the theme of social class is very significant in the book. Scott F. Fitzgerald used the theme of social class to show the reader that it plays a much bigger role in life.

Read More

More about Theme Of Poverty In The Great Gatsby

Open Document