The upper class comprises of one to three percent of the United States population but holds 25% of the nation’s wealth. Many pieces of literature deal with wealth social class as it majorly affects most aspects of society. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald provides the audience with the distinction between the two types of wealthy: the old rich and the nouveau riche, or the newly rich. The Buchanans, Nick, and Jordan Baker have had money for generations, while Gatsby lives in West Egg and is considered a part of the nouveau riche. In the novel, the lower classes live in the Valley of ashes like George and Myrtle Wilson. The Great Gatsby magnifies the wealthier classes, in order to criticize them, who live in East or West Egg
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“’I told that boy about the ice.’ Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. ‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time’” (Fitzgerald 32). Myrtle believes that acting like a snob will make her seem fancy and upper class, but in reality, she just acts like herself, a rude, common, lower class women. "A wreath with a black silk bow for my mother's grave" (Fitzgerald ). Myrtle has had experiences with death which is something the lower classes are accustomed to. Fitzgerald tries not to criticize the lower classes as they have the harder life. The novel does not focus on these minor characters since they are part of the lower classes. These characters who live in the Valley of Ashes are the minor characters of the novel. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald focuses on the wealthier classes in order to criticize them while the minor characters are a part of the less wealthy classes. The wealthy have easier lives and use their money to try to fix their mistakes. In The Great Gatsby, social class is a particularly important element since it distinguishes the geographical settings in the novel. The setting also shapes many of the characters’
“’I told that boy about the ice.’ Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. ‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time’” (Fitzgerald 32). Myrtle believes that acting like a snob will make her seem fancy and upper class, but in reality, she just acts like herself, a rude, common, lower class women. "A wreath with a black silk bow for my mother's grave" (Fitzgerald ). Myrtle has had experiences with death which is something the lower classes are accustomed to. Fitzgerald tries not to criticize the lower classes as they have the harder life. The novel does not focus on these minor characters since they are part of the lower classes. These characters who live in the Valley of Ashes are the minor characters of the novel. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald focuses on the wealthier classes in order to criticize them while the minor characters are a part of the less wealthy classes. The wealthy have easier lives and use their money to try to fix their mistakes. In The Great Gatsby, social class is a particularly important element since it distinguishes the geographical settings in the novel. The setting also shapes many of the characters’