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Who Is The Wealthy In The Great Gatsby

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During the 1920s, people seeking wealth flocked to large cities in an attempt to fulfill their dreams. Those that became wealthy, although technically part of the upper class, lacked the idiosyncrasies associated with their class. F. Scott Fitzgerald illustrates these differences in The Great Gatsby and explains how being wealthy doesn’t necessarily make one part of high society. In West Egg, many of the inhabitants lack the subtlety and elegance the old aristocracy and the inhabitants of East Egg demonstrate. Gatsby’s ostentatious parties illustrate the contrast between West Egg’s unfettered lifestyle and East Egg’s conservative lifestyle. On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, … …show more content…

An incident of this is when Tom and the Sloanes stop by Gatsby’s house and Gatsby invites them inside to talk. Gatsby tries to make his guests feel welcome, however, “Mr. Sloane wanted nothing. A lemonade? No, thanks. A little champagne? Nothing at all thanks” (Fitzgerald 101). Despite Mr. Sloane’s refusal of Gatsby’s hospitality, Gatsby continues to be polite, illustrating his inability to understand the social signals given to him by Mr. Sloane. This occurs again when Mrs. Sloane invites Gatsby and Nick to dinner. “’You come to supper with me,’ said the lady enthusiastically… concentrating on Gatsby. ‘My God, I believe the man’s coming,’ said Tom. ‘Doesn’t he know she doesn’t want him?’” (Fitzgerald 102-103). Being unable to detect the social signals, Gatsby doesn’t realize the insincerity of the invitation, while Tom, being from East Egg, does, showing how Gatsby is differentiated from high society even though he is rich. Although Gatsby is technically part of the upper class because he is wealthy, he is differentiated by his inability to understand subtle social

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After Gatsby invites Tom to dinner, the lady asks if Gatsby and Nick would like to come to dinner with them. Nick declines and as Gatsby prepares to leave, Tom, Mr Sloane and the lady ride off leaving Gatsby behind. Tom and Mr Sloane didn’t want Gatsby joining them.

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Gatsby hosts extravagant parties in an effort not only to boost his social status, but also to look for Daisy. Many wealthy, and often wild people attend these large social events held by Mr. Gatsby. Some of the guests even come lacking an invitation, “Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.” (41)

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The 1920s was a time of flamboyance and wealth in the upper class. Jay Gatsby, a man of old money, threw over the top parties, in which he would spend his money very nonchalantly. The ambiance of his parties greatly illustrated the upper class of the time. The author uses symbolism and characterization to support the central idea that the upper class was very careless, wealthy, and extravagant. Gatsby’s parties are luxurious, glamorous, and over the top.

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Gatsby, on the other hand, hosts extravagant parties, dresses in a garish pink suit, and drives a flashy yellow Rolls Royce. Equating an Oxford man-- a gentleman-- to his purchases, Tom claims that because Gatsby does not buy the same goods as the old money class, even if he went to Oxford, Gatsby is still not a gentleman that going to Oxford would normally entail. In the end, Gatsby’s flashy choice of purchases illustrates a deep contrast between the old and new money classes. When Mrs. Sloane insisted that Gatsby come to supper with her,“Gatsby looked at [Nick] questioningly. He wanted to go, and he didn’t see that Mr. Sloane had determined he shouldn’t.

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Wanting to gain status, Gatsby shows his wealth by throwing extravagant parties and purchasing expensive items to display. To announce himself as a man of wealth to the New York upper class, he purchases a “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (5), his mansion in West Egg. It is here that he chooses to throw parties every weekend, where everyone shows up, though rarely people are actually invited. It is here that he is able to show off the true extent of his wealth to other rich folk. For example, in his library, he has a collection of “absolutely real” books, rather than “durable cardboard” (45), expected by Owl Eye, and attendant of one of Gatsby’s parties.

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At the suite, Fitzgerald shows us Gatsby’s desperate hope for Daisy as he states to Tom, “She never loved you, do you hear?” this dialogue shows us how desperate Gatsby is to take Daisy from Tom. Fitzgerald uses detail to contradict Gatsby’s statement, by having Tom explain intimate moments between Daisy and himself. Gatsby’s hope for Daisy is causing him to damage Daisy’s marriage with Tom, because he is so desperate to take her away, that he eagers her to make a choice. Daisy is unable to admit to Gatsby’s claim, “Oh, you want too much!”

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F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby describes the life of Jay Gatsby in the 1920’s. The novel shares his love story and his loneliness. A major question the author raises is how does wealth impact class structure and society? Fitzgerald answers this question through the distinction between “New rich” and “Old rich” and the significance of East and West Egg.

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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.”

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In the great Gatsby it is seen as the “east egg” and the west egg”. The east egg represent people who have old money also known as the ancestral wealth which is run in the family. The west egg represent people who had recently climbed up the socioeconomic status. This could be clearly seen in the great Gatsby as fitzgerald portrayed in the disguise of clothes. Jay Gatsby is seen wearing multi colored dresses at different occasions which made him look different than other people like tom who has old money.

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Tom’s and Gatsby’s party differed in almost every aspect possible. While Tom’s party was a small party to assert his dominance to his mistress and friends, Gatsby’s party was to lure and impress the love of his life. Tom’s party displayed his snobby old money ideals by not spending much money and effort, while Gatsby’s party symbolized new money with its excessive and flaunting spending and grandiose show. The level of intimacy at both parties differed significantly. Despite Tom’s party being small, it was far from intimate with all the guests budging into all conversations, Nick couldn’t even have a talk with Catherine long enough without Ms. Mckee budging in.

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All that glitters is Gatsby’s party Once again, the night sky of West Egg was illuminated by Gatsby’s party. Every weekend, the huge and awe-inspiring multilevel mansion on West Egg will hold lavish and elaborate parties attracting many people to its vicinity. They come from all walks of life and every corner of New York, the entire city is packed into automobiles and every weekend ended up at Gatsby’s parties. The ostentatious display at Gatsby’s is a symbol of great wealth and luxuriousness.

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Although the mass of wealth and power may seem to greatly contribute in improving one’s social class, it does not, however, guarantee a higher status. With Gatsby’s background as an officer and a student at Oxford, Fitzgerald illustrates that there are other factors aside from wealth that determines status. Gatsby has undoubtedly achieved success financially as a result of his own hard work, although this was achieved illegally. Gatsby lived in the West Egg, and as portrayed by Fitzgerald, he is flashy, and lacking in taste. His house is overly fancy and lacks finesse, being “a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden.”

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All of the people at his parties did not care much about Gatsby, as none of them attended his funeral; they were only there to eat, drink, and be merry. These attendees represent the majority of the wealthy society during the 1920’s. There was a surplus of leisure and wealth, and those who didn’t obtain a high status envied those who were able to. Those who were wealthy were greedy to become wealthier, and showed gluttony through their materialistic

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Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, is a wealthy man with dubious sources of money; Gatsby is renowned in New York due to the lavish parties he holds every friday in his mansion. These are spectacles that fully embody the wealth and glamour of the roaring twenties, and are narrated through the eyes of another character Nick Carraway, an ambitious 29 year old man that recently moved back to a corrupt new york in a cramped cottage next to Gatsby’s palace. After admiring the careless behaviour of the parties from a distance, Nick gets a personal invitation to Gatsby’s next party, he promptly becomes infatuated by the extravagant and frivolous lifestyle the parties portray, along with the superficial

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In the novel, the social status was distinguished by different area. East Egg reflects high class society where the inhabitants are inherently wealthy, referred to as “old money”, but Gatsby lives in West Egg, which stand for the crowd that only become wealthy recently. Even though he mingle friends from higher class like famous director or state senator, he still cannot fit into East Egg. "I wouldn 't ask too much of her," I ventured. "You can 't repeat the past.

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