Social Mobility Between Jansie And Gatsby

Social Mobility For Gatsby vs Janie Upon first glance, Gatsby from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Janie from Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God seem very different. Gatsby — a wealthy white man-- seemingly has all the ability in the world to gain money and status, whereas Janie appears to have very little social mobility, as she is a black woman living in the South. However, upon closer inspection, it is clear that they have similar hopes and dreams, and that within their communities, their ability to move up is different than how it appears. Janie can easily move up since her money and light skin is all she needs to gain respect, and Gatsby struggles to really gain status since he faces the barrier of being new money vs old …show more content…
People of her many communities respect her due to her light skin, and she gains wealth through marriage easily. Even though she doesn’t dream of wealth, she is able to move around and follow her dreams of love and happiness. However, with this wealth comes the envy of her peers, who wonder “... Why she don’t stay in her class?” (Hurston, 2). Her dreams don’t revolve around money, so she can’t truly pursue them without judgement for giving up the coveted life of comfort she has. On a broader spectrum, Janie can’t move up very much because she is a black woman living in the Jim Crow South. But among her peers she has the upper hand, and lots of …show more content…
He gained the wealth easily enough, and appears to be at the top of the social ladder. However, he faces an entirely new social barrier: the idea of Old Money vs New Money. Though he has the same amount of money his friends and neighbors have, he is still below them since he is New Money. No matter how hard he tries, he can never break through this barrier and convince them to accept him. Part of his problem is that he doesn’t see that this barrier exists. He doesn’t understand the social subtleties and standards they have. For example, when Mrs. Sloane says “‘you come to supper with me,’ … ‘ Both of you,’” (Fitzgerald, 109), Gatsby doesn’t understand that doesn’t include him. He was invited out of politeness, but wasn’t really wanted. Gatsby doesn’t understand that he is only tolerated, and he is invited because Nick is there. Nick states that “This included me,” (Fitzgerald, 109) since he is Old Money, and therefore is on the same social level. Gatsby may have more money, but he still isn’t on the same level since he isn’t Old Money. While Gatsby can move up with general ease, he can’t gain status within his