The Great Gatsby: The Princess And The Frog

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Princess and the Frog (2009) are stories that center on dreams and wishes. Both texts also highlight how socioeconomic class affects how characters think about their wishes, and how they go about achieving them. Upper class characters are able to fulfill their wishes much more effortlessly than lower class characters because of their financial privileges and their high social status. Because of their experience of having their wishes handed to them, upper class characters come to expect instant fulfillment of their wishes. This attitude of entitlement and privilege contributes to an inequality in upper class characters’ social interactions with lower class characters’, because lower class characters …show more content…
Upper class characters take up all the space in the conversations, sometimes even using their power to bully lower class characters. At her party, Charlotte’s friend Tiana finds out that the restaurant that she has been saving money to buy has just been bought by someone else. Tiana then trips into a table, spilling food all over her dress. When Charlotte sees Tiana looking distressed, she expresses momentary sympathy for Tiana, offering to lend her a new dress. However, Charlotte proceeds to chatter to Tiana all about her own fantasies of marrying Naveen, ignoring Tiana’s sorrow. Charlotte reminisces about her and Tiana’s past, saying, “‘Seems like only yesterday we were both little girls, dreaming our fairytale dreams. And now they’re finally coming true’” (The Princess and the Frog). In her own excitement, Charlotte seems to forget that Tiana’s dreams have just been ruined, demonstrating how difficult it is for Charlotte to focus on someone else’s problems. However, Tiana doesn’t correct Charlotte or confide in her, merely turning away slightly and closing her eyes in sorrow. While Charlotte consistently feels comfortable complaining about her problems and sharing her joys with Tiana, Tiana always takes a supporting role in their conversations throughout the movie. Tiana never shares her own feelings with Charlotte, likely because she guesses (correctly) that Charlotte is not actually interested in supporting Tiana as a friend. This brings a one-sided dynamic to their relationship that reinforces their unequal statuses. Meanwhile, Tom’s privilege leads him to feel that he has a right to control people of a lower class. For example, Tom uses his class as leverage to establish his dominance over Wilson, the working class husband of Tom’s mistress. Wilson cannot offend Tom, because Tom has promised to sell Wilson a car, and Wilson cannot afford losing Tom’s