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Use Of Social Construction In The Great Gatsby

1583 Words7 Pages

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. Another material essential to the plot and used to demonstrate social class is money. Despite social class, parties were frequent and wild. It is critical to understand the meanings of “old money” and “new money”. Old money in the novel is money inherited through generations. In other words, one is born into this social status such as the Buchanan’s. Contrastingly, new money is those who are new to wealth, in the case with Jay Gatsby it is something he earned himself. In “Medium of Exchange: The Blue Coupe Dialogue in The Gatsby”, Lauraleigh O’Meara writes, “What we have in The Great Gatsby is a creative manipulation of the automobile as symbol and image to accomplish a variety of …show more content…

Nick Carraway visits Tom and Daisy Buchanan at their home; Daisy questions Nick about folks back home about missing her and he jokes that they are mourning by painting one of the wheels of their car black. Another trivial time is before the apartment party with Tom, Nick, and Myrtle Wilson. After exiting the train, the three are hailing a taxi, however; Myrtle refuses each one until she spots a lavender taxi. Later, as Gatsby is speeding through the streets his high-status is seen; when stopped by a police officer he shows the officer a card and the officer apologizes and allows Gatsby to leave without any

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