Idolized Society In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Improved Essays
Mendoza1 When talking about society and how individuals act within it, a big factor will always come up. Everyone wants to be high in the power caste and will do anything to attain that power. Because of the way, that the idolized society views a person, this can force the individual to wear a mask. When you are in high power, you tend to have things come easier than others. When talking about society and how individuals act within it, a big factor will always come up. Which would explain why people always try to put up a façade, better known as, a “mask” in society. F.Scott Fitzgerald uses the transformation from James Gatz to Jay Gatsby to highlight the need to become high in power, as well as some other supporting characters. But when …show more content…
People like Jay Gatsby who is famous and known by that name but truthfully that’s not who he really is. Jay is actually a poor man named James Gats who came from a dead mans land, where most people who lived there will sadly most likely never see the day that they make it out of there. This is because society has a habit of looking down upon those who seem like they have no ambition or even class to be associated with people who are high in the power caste. So in order to achieve the requirements that the idolizes society are setting Jay killed off the persona known as James, and became this mysterious classy man who started to make big money out of no where and hosted parties that brought people from all over new york to his mansion almost every week, all in the effort to get the respect of others but more importantly to get the attention of his true love Daisy, who just like jay had a deep conceived love for their relationship, "pulled out the string of pearls. Take 'em down-stairs and give 'em back to whoever they belong to. Tell 'em all Daisy 's change ' her mind. Say: 'Daisy 's change ' her mind!" (4.129). Jay Gatsby changed his whole appearance to fit in and get daisy back; he started to see success, however even though he changed these things about himself he still found that people refused to let his past stay be hind him, "About Gatsby! No, I haven 't. I said I …show more content…
So it is understandable why haizlip’s family chose to do that and in a sense neglect/disown they’re past and try to start a new. Even though it is true that we can wear a mask of our own free will as seen in the text “Passing”, and that we can be pressured by society to wear a mask in order to fit in with other as seen from the text “The Great Gatsby.” It is highly possible that we as a society can be tricked into the idea of wearing a mask. This statement is proven through the “biography of Monique Wittig” and her examination on the fact that the things that we think are is actually an assumption of what we told is right not what truly is

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The Great Gatsby shows us that people will do anything to attain wealth. Mr. Gatsby, who was thehis main character in the novel, wanted the good life so badly so he became a bootlegger and sold alcohol illegally just to earn his pretty penny. F. Scott. Fitzgerald also illustrates to us that luxury, money, and power can corrupt us and make people careless just like it did to Daisy and Tom Buchanan in the…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Gatsby continuously searches for his true identity in hopes of solidifying the image that he works effortlessly to create and maintain. However, Gatsby presents himself in quite an enigmatic fashion to those around him, never explicitly naming his occupation nor his past and present endeavors. Instead, Gatsby’s guests and even some friends, such as Nick Carraway, remain in the dark in terms of Gatsby’s past and how he has come to possess the wealth and stature he currently displays, left to guess and gossip amount themselves at his spectacular parties. Wealth, a lost love, obsession, and stupidity led Jay Gatsby to lead a life full of lies and ambiguity.…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One is able to change the appearance and their lifestyle, but they are never able to change their past. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby built himself the reality that he always dreamed of. He started his life out poor because he was the son of farmers, but he knew he wanted to change his future. He did whatever it took to make sure he was successful and he worked hard to get where he is. Gatsby went through a lot of complications and obstacles to build the life he dreamed of.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Concealed Countenances Countless numbers of people put on false fronts to conceal their true identities and to hide what they truly are. Some of these people include the immoral characters from The Great Gatsby. Although they do a better job than most people by pretending to be someone they are not, the audience can still see right through their masks. In deeper meaning, these characters present a disguise to others who are too blind to notice their flaws. Not only do they fool each other, but in the beginning of the novel, they mislead the reader.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are several components to a person; each one affected by different things: relationships, family history, gender, race and ethnicity, and a surrounding society. It is also these components that create a character in literature, which explains why characters can seem so relatable. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, characters are lost in an array of parties, clubs, and events that have no purpose. Life in the 1920s seems glamorous and wonderful; however, it is the underlying corruption and deception that causes the eye to only see the glamor. One of Fitzgerald’s main characters, Daisy Buchanan, is depicted with the elegance and glamor that she should have; however, she is as corrupt and desperate as the rest of society.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby portrays that the appearance of his life is unlike true reality. James Gatz grew up in a very poor family from North Dakota, and after he became wealthy he changed his name to Jay Gatsby to hide from his past appearance. Gatsby appears to be this Individual who has a successful and accomplished life because of all his wealth, but in reality he is a fraud. His wealth was not inherited from a wealthy family nor was it gained through a sincerely hard working job that but he became a bootlegger and gets his wealth from illegally selling bonds.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Social commentary can be defined as the act of using pretentious means to comment on issues in a society. F. Scott Fitzgerald used The Great Gatsby as social commentary to criticize the ethical issues related to the wealthy. Although published 100 years ago in the "Roaring Twenties", Fitzgerald’s use of social commentary in The Great Gatsby relates to today’s atmosphere by stressing the significance of money and material things. Moral decay, the act of losing positive virtues, and the decline of decent individual ethics often go hand and hand in society, with an example being adultery. A modern example of adultery is the Tiger Woods scandal, where Tiger reportedly “confessed to cheating with as many as 120 women behind his wife’s back”…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The “Great” Gatsby? Bob Marley was once quoted saying that, “the greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” This idea flawlessly accentuates the false idea many have about Jay Gatsby. He is seen as an immensely wealthy bachelor who on the surface seems to be “great” (as the title of the book represents), but in reality his importance is just a “great” illusion. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the main character, Gatsby himself, should not be considered great due to the fact that he relies on wealth and a single woman to be happy, and he is essentially a man built on dishonesties.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Despite evidence of Daisy’s shallowness, Gatsby’s unrealistic desire to restore the past ultimately blinds him to the reality of his destructive relationship, as his infatuated pursuit of Daisy consumes his identity. In an effort to assimilate into the aristocratic class, Gatsby reinvents his identity under the illusions of pre-established wealth, despite his actual humble upbringing. His pursuit of Daisy ultimately resulted in his own downfall, as she fails to take responsibility for her automobile accident that evoked Myrtle’s death. Gatsby’s innocent and inevitable death ultimately highlights the unattainability and corruption of the supposed American Dream. Gatsby’s infatuated pursuit of Daisy ultimately unveils his preexistent figurative blindness, thus his inevitable death illustrates the corruption underlying the American…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main conflict exists between three distinct social classes: the old-money, the new-money, and the no-money. Tom and Daisy Buchanan descend from old-money and, therefore, felt as if they should inherit certain rights. They believe that their birth gives them power, similar to the idea of divine right. New-money is represented by the character Jay Gatsby. While the source of his money is originally unknown, it is obvious to other characters in the novel that Gatsby lacks certain social abilities that are bred into the characters from old-money.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    During the 1920s the upper class society lived with tremendous power. They all shared similar personalities and attitudes towards life. All except one character, Jay Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is about an upper class society versus the working class. The upper class characters, Tom and Daisy, run into trouble because of their thirst for power.…

    • 1956 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Great Gatsby Downfall

    • 1825 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Fitzgerald connects the façade of wealth and social class with the inevitable passage of time that preserves the truth by way of memory. As Gatsby and characters around him strive to achieve the “American Dream”, they come to realize that the façade of wealth does not hide the truth of the past. Even though yellow dreams of wealth and social status may disappear, those lingering reminders of the past keep the “American Dream” just out of reach (much like the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock).…

    • 1825 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This parallels to people’s thirst for money, which acts as an illness because it prompts them to commit acts they would not do otherwise. The labyrinth that mirrors a dozen suns protects the identity of the person behind the windshield. Similarly, the impoverished James Gatz’s persona is hidden behind a façade of the prosperous Jay Gatsby. Because Gatsby hides his true self, it is evident that he is not complacent with his life. The people who come to his parties believe that Gatsby is complacent with his life because he has money.…

    • 2004 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Socioeconomic Status Classification According to a former writer Will Lavender,“ Literature is a writer’s secret life record in symbols.” The Great Gatsby is a story that takes place during 1922 where the narrator Nick Caraway guides the reader into the American dream, Jay Gatsby tries to achieve throughout the plot of the book, but he fails and is murdered by another character George Wilson. Fitzgerald creates an artificial world in The Great Gatsby in which he symbolizes a socioeconomic class based on their characteristics, location and wealth through the characters Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and George Wilson. The wealth status of these characters shows what type of socialization they have.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Topic 7, Values and Goals of Society in The Great Gatsby The 1920s were a period in history marked by the end of the First World War and the ensuing economic boom. This great economic change also brought on an immense social change: the loss of traditional morals and a shift in the focus of life for society. In the novel The Great Gatsby, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates this replacement of ideals of society in this time period through his characters.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays