Wealth And Status In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby: Comparison Essay

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan to portray the differences and similarities in the behaviours and attitudes of new money and old money, and how their specific type of wealth affects their social status in the 1920’s time period.

The personalities and attitudes of the characters in The Great Gatsby are complex by nature, especially since the story is set in a time when wealth and status were of utmost importance, and as a result, there are quite a few variables to consider when analyzing them. For example, Gatsby is portrayed as an infamous, mysterious, and elaborate man who throws extravagant parties and thoroughly revels in leading a lavish

Gatsby, having grown up in poverty, has experienced many hardships and struggles which have fundamentally contributed to the makeup of his innermost identity and values. His story of building a much more comfortable life for himself after growing up with very little is also an incredibly transformative part of Gatsby’s character, as from this he gained values such as resilience, independence, and gratitude, even if his motivations were corrupt. Essentially, Gatsby has experienced what is to be both poor and rich, and because he was able to see both sides of things he is certainly kinder and more charitable than someone who was born and raised in the Old Money crowd. Tom, on the other hand, is portrayed as a self-serving, abrasive man who almost always gets what he wants, when he wants it. In the novel, Tom typically does a very good job of ringing these portrayals to be true, and very rarely shows any tenderness or vulnerability, but this is not because he is inherently bad or mean. The reality is, Gatsby and Tom

Tom Buchanan’s overall personality is best described as snobby, abrasive, and aloof. He seems typically uninterested or disconnected, and doesn’t offer up respect often; he is unfaithful to Daisy yet fiercely and hypocritically jealous of her and Gatsby’s relationship; he takes advantage of the fact that he can afford to act unpleasantly due to his status and wealth; and his personality is very arrogant and egotistical. Gatsby, in a similar manner, is also quite snobby and avaricious. He uses his accumulated wealth and fame to climb higher on the social ladder and to obtain whatever it is that he may desire; he is reckless and unreasonable, especially when in reference to Daisy and his expectations for their love affair; and his personality is also pompous and controlling, in a very similar manner to Tom. The biggest difference between Tom and Gatsby is that Tom’s motivations for his negative actions are self-servicing, and Gatsby’s motivations are pursuing his long-awaited dream of gaining wealth and winning back