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Clash of social classes in the great gatsby
Clash of social classes in the great gatsby
Clash of social classes in the great gatsby
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Here Nick speaks about his how father taught him, why he should be slow to judge people. And how everyone wasn’t as fortunate as him. In this entry it shows how Tom can not face the truth and has to hide behind his fist. Knowing that he can’t have the women he wants and her talking about his wife makes him angry. During this period of time to know you had money you must have had a library filled with real books. Since Gatsby is considered “New Money” they were surprised to see the books were not cardboard or blank pages.
However, despite Nick’s flaws and obvious misjudgement of himself, Nick does not become a ‘bad person’. On the contrary, it is these flaws and errors of judgement that shape Nick into a human, relatable character. Being human is not about perfection; on the contrary, it is flaws of character and errors of judgement that shape the human experience.
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is the one of masterpieces in American literature and the product of three years of the thorough work. It was unfair undervalued in the first part of the 20 Century and was banned in 1987. Fitzgerald wrote the short story Winter Dreams as he described as “a sort of 1draft of the Gatsby idea” (Hook 51). He finished the novel in the end of August 1924 and sent the manuscript to the Perkins, his editor, with the letter where he wrote: “I am sending you my third novel: The Great Gatsby (I think that at last I’ve done something really my own) but how good “my own “is reminds to be seen” (Hook 62). As all writings of Fitzgerald this novel represents the reality of the life through the author’s crystal-clear and romantic nature. Most of the reviewers were positive; for example, Edwin Clark wrote in the New York Times Book Review that The Great Gatsby was a “curious book, a mystical, glamorous story of today” (Pelzer 80). Fitzgerald’s friend, H.L. Mencken, wrote in Baltimore
Among the first indicators of Nick’s unreliability as a narrator is shown through his extreme misunderstanding of his father’s advice. When Nick’s father told him that “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had” (1) he most likely meant not all people have the same opportunities in life. However, Nick perverted his father’s meaning and understood it as “a sense of the fundamental decencies us parceled out unequally at birth” (2). Nick’s interpretation of his father’s advice provides insight into his conceited, somewhat supercilious attitude, as he believes that not all people are born with the same sense of manners and morality.
Nick started by telling about something his father said, “Just remember that all the people in the world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had. ”(5) Right away the author is establishing the pride of the narrator.
Nick's neighbor Gatsby is a wealthy person, who spends a lot of money giving parties for strangers only to meet Daisy, the dream of his life. He is seen as representing "new money" because he has no good education and no family background over several generations, he is self-made, invented by himself. For this reason, he is not accepted as being dignified enough to enter the exclusive "old money" upper class.
4). Nick’s assessment and criticism toward Jordan, Tom, and Daisy also show his skeptical and logical outlook on others around him. This tone shows Nick’s struggle between being like the emotionless and careless people around him (like Tom) or to be his own hopeful and romantic man (following
He gets on his feet just because of his father's money. These people are not equal, when it comes to society, they may have the same rights, but when it comes to what they can and can not do, there is a line drawn. Yes, you can't put all your value on money but, the lack of money can create a stopper in society. So yes, Nick was taught not to judge, that not all people have the things you do but, as he goes through the story he sees a change that he wants everyone to be in uniform because he can't stand the empowerment of money anymore. Nick states, “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart”(Fitzgerald 178).
A meaningful quote in this chapter is, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1). This quote is significant because after Nick’s father tells him this, it changed his outlook on other people. Nick says, “In consequence, I’m inclined to res...
simple bid for happiness, yet Gatsby was corrupted by money. He wanted money, and he
In this day and age, money is a very important asset to have. One needs to have at least enough to live on, though great amounts are preferable. In The Great Gatsby, by Thomas F. Fitzgerald, having a large amount of money is not enough. It is also the way you acquire the money that matters. Gatsby and Tom both have a lot of money yet Daisey picks one over the other, not because of the difference in the amount they have, but because of the manner in which it is attained.
No one truly knows the true story behind Gatsby and his wealth. This adds an intriguing aspect to the life of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby lies in order to uphold his image. For example, Gatsby states that he is an Oxford man, however the reader finds that this is not entirely true. The social class that Gatsby strive to be a part of is well educated and proper. Gatsby creates an omission lie, that he is an oxford man. This is because Gatsby refrained from telling the whole truth, Gatsby leaves out certain information to hide the full truth. This deceives characters making them believe that he is well educated and fits in with the high society. In addition Gatsby lied to Nick about how he acquired his money. At first, Gatsby told the tale that he inherited his money, in order to fit in with the old money social class. Gatsby did not want to tarnish his his already vague image by letting it know that he was part of the mob. Gatsby wanted to be viewed as a gentleman not a
Nick begins the novel with wise advice his father once told him, “‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one...just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”’(1). Nick starts off by reminding himself and informing that throughout the story, save your judgements to yourself and try to put yourself in his or her position. His words are also a reminder that in society today, people tend to judge too quickly and we need to remember that everyone is not in the same position as we are. There will always be someone more or less fortunate than us, and we must be grateful for what we are given.
It is commonly believed that all those who are wealthy adhere to a similar set of values, characteristics and have similar lifestyles. Fitzgerald provides the reader a clear view through the eyes of Nick Caraway of the differences and similarities that can be found between wealthy people in the roaring Twenties. Two characters that are very important to the story are Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan. Fitzgerald created two purposefully different characters- one that is easily despised, the other that although not perfect, is likeable- and united them in their love for money, the power that comes with it , and their haunt for the ultimate prize – Daisy. In this essay, we will compare Tom and Gatsby in several areas, including personality, loyalty, and life style so we can come to the conclusion whether or not they are perfect foils of each other or not. Tom and Gatsby bare little similarities and their differences are evident.
Tom Buchanan’s moral character can be quesitoned due to his dispicable and patheic nature when it comes to his actions throughout the novel. Even though he was born into a wealthy family and thus inherited the wealth he has in the novel, no signs of moral teachings by his family were evident. The actions he took in the book were due to him being a conceited and ignorant man. His ignorance was a result of the easy access he had to power and wealth. He feels that because he has wealth and power in society, he is given the acquiescence to be as arrogant and immoral as he so chooses and society cannot do anything about it. Because of this he looks down upon people that he feels are lower in the social and financial ladder.
Gatsby’s money does not “smell” right- however explicitly tacitly condoned by the denizens of Gatsby’s world illegal...