F. Scott Fitzgerald exhibits a glimpse of the American society in the 1920s in his novella The Great Gatsby; set ‘In the city that never sleeps’, he exposes the social hierarchy full of injustices, consumerism and excess. The novel tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a man whose desire to be reunited with his long lost love brings him from poverty to unimaginable wealth. Sadly being married to unsensitive Tom Buchanan, Gatsby’s beloved Daisy does not bring him happiness, but eventually, death. Fitzgerald deliberately sets up the story to show how each distinct social class -old, new and no money- has its own problems and uses various settings to contribute to the novel’s themes about the disapproved social climbers and the abysmal difference between
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The opulent mansion “was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden,” (pg. 7) which mirrors Gatsby’s position in society. An “imitation” of the rich. Proving how, regardless of all the money, someone not born rich (New Money) can’t never become fully respected by society/Old Money. The mansion represents the culmination of the cliché American Dream, dream which consists in making enough money to indulge yourself with ridiculously expensive possessions. This is highlighted when the narrator describes how “inside, as we wandered through Marie Antoinette music rooms and Restoration salons..” (pg. 70) Fitzgerald uses “Marie Antoinette” the once Archduchess of Austria, who later became famously known for her “madame deficit” (prominent consumption) when becoming Queen of France during the 1770´s, as a symbol to display the social climber’s tendencies. Trying to show off their wealth in extravagant ways to demonstrate they are not longer
The opulent mansion “was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden,” (pg. 7) which mirrors Gatsby’s position in society. An “imitation” of the rich. Proving how, regardless of all the money, someone not born rich (New Money) can’t never become fully respected by society/Old Money. The mansion represents the culmination of the cliché American Dream, dream which consists in making enough money to indulge yourself with ridiculously expensive possessions. This is highlighted when the narrator describes how “inside, as we wandered through Marie Antoinette music rooms and Restoration salons..” (pg. 70) Fitzgerald uses “Marie Antoinette” the once Archduchess of Austria, who later became famously known for her “madame deficit” (prominent consumption) when becoming Queen of France during the 1770´s, as a symbol to display the social climber’s tendencies. Trying to show off their wealth in extravagant ways to demonstrate they are not longer