In The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan mentions racial fears and anxieties going on during the modernist period when talking to Nick Caraway. He says, “Civilization’s going to pieces…the white race will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved”. Scientific discoveries during the early part of the modernist period were against the mixing of races because African Americans were viewed as biologically inferior to whites. Some believed that racial inferiority was not based on science, but rather based on racial dominance in society, and it is the white race that has been in control throughout history. These ideas are evident in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, but also Nella Larsen’s Passing. Both texts reflect the sociological,
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While people like Tom Buchanan wanted to oppress African Americans in order to keep his white superiority and power, others looked to change African American identity. During the Harlem Renaissance, African American writers as well as musicians and artists redefined black identity, however they could not escape the white dominated society they were born into. White privilege was something many African Americans wanted, which lead to a lot of light skinned black people “passing” in society for white. The issue of “passing” in Nella Larsen’s Passing allows us to see white racial dominance and the perceived inferiority of …show more content…
Wilson kills Gatsby because he has found out from Tom that Gatsby is the one who killed his wife. Tom is convinced that he told Wilson “the truth” and that Gatsby “had it coming to him”. But Tom’s truth is determined by the dominant culture, not based by rational thought. So the truth that leads to Gatsby’s death is also based on class dominance, which is shown by Tom admitting that Gatsby “had it coming to him”, and by Tom calling him the “Nobody from Nowhere.” Like Irene’s selfish desire to want Clare out of her life, Tom also wants Gatsby out of his life because not only is he having an affair with his wife, but Tom also sees Gatsby as not fully belonging to the white race and therefore sees him as a threat to white racial dominance. He sees Gatsby’s death as stopping the submergence of the white race because for Tom that comes from both interclass and interracial relationships. However, it is Tom’s view of Gatsby not belonging to the white race that ultimately kills
While people like Tom Buchanan wanted to oppress African Americans in order to keep his white superiority and power, others looked to change African American identity. During the Harlem Renaissance, African American writers as well as musicians and artists redefined black identity, however they could not escape the white dominated society they were born into. White privilege was something many African Americans wanted, which lead to a lot of light skinned black people “passing” in society for white. The issue of “passing” in Nella Larsen’s Passing allows us to see white racial dominance and the perceived inferiority of …show more content…
Wilson kills Gatsby because he has found out from Tom that Gatsby is the one who killed his wife. Tom is convinced that he told Wilson “the truth” and that Gatsby “had it coming to him”. But Tom’s truth is determined by the dominant culture, not based by rational thought. So the truth that leads to Gatsby’s death is also based on class dominance, which is shown by Tom admitting that Gatsby “had it coming to him”, and by Tom calling him the “Nobody from Nowhere.” Like Irene’s selfish desire to want Clare out of her life, Tom also wants Gatsby out of his life because not only is he having an affair with his wife, but Tom also sees Gatsby as not fully belonging to the white race and therefore sees him as a threat to white racial dominance. He sees Gatsby’s death as stopping the submergence of the white race because for Tom that comes from both interclass and interracial relationships. However, it is Tom’s view of Gatsby not belonging to the white race that ultimately kills