Buying Reality
Set during the epitome of the American dream, the roaring 1920’s, Great Gatsby on a surface level could easily be interpreted as the celebration of a rags to riches story gone astray or the glorification of the lavish lifestyles afforded to some people who benefitted from the country’s current economic state. With the economy on a rise after the first world war, capitalistic opportunity was abundantly available for most American citizens. Because of this boom in economy, production and consumption were also increasing at a rapid pace. A white upper middle and high class were born into society, with it coming a large amount of buying power. This major gap difference in wealth created more deeply rooted social and racial class structures in society. Fitzgerald illustrates a separation between the realities those of upper and lower class live through the portrayal of his characters and …show more content…
This separation from reality is a present theme and characteristic of his more problematic and popular characters. The story focuses mostly on characters that belong to upper class society, with characters of lower class having significantly smaller roles in the narrative. The upper class is glorified, with lengthy descriptions dedicated to introducing characters like Gatsby and Daisy, while more minor characters are not even named or given value outside of the services they provide. This is a reflection of the role social classes played in society. Those with wealth are those with power, because with money comes privilege and status, and those without have less of an opportunity to have a voice within their society. The lower class characters are vastly underrepresented in the novel to show that they don’t hold the same power within society as others
Set during the epitome of the American dream, the roaring 1920’s, Great Gatsby on a surface level could easily be interpreted as the celebration of a rags to riches story gone astray or the glorification of the lavish lifestyles afforded to some people who benefitted from the country’s current economic state. With the economy on a rise after the first world war, capitalistic opportunity was abundantly available for most American citizens. Because of this boom in economy, production and consumption were also increasing at a rapid pace. A white upper middle and high class were born into society, with it coming a large amount of buying power. This major gap difference in wealth created more deeply rooted social and racial class structures in society. Fitzgerald illustrates a separation between the realities those of upper and lower class live through the portrayal of his characters and …show more content…
This separation from reality is a present theme and characteristic of his more problematic and popular characters. The story focuses mostly on characters that belong to upper class society, with characters of lower class having significantly smaller roles in the narrative. The upper class is glorified, with lengthy descriptions dedicated to introducing characters like Gatsby and Daisy, while more minor characters are not even named or given value outside of the services they provide. This is a reflection of the role social classes played in society. Those with wealth are those with power, because with money comes privilege and status, and those without have less of an opportunity to have a voice within their society. The lower class characters are vastly underrepresented in the novel to show that they don’t hold the same power within society as others