Social class dictates the upbringings into maturity and holds bearings over expectations. The pauper and the prince were alike in appearance, but their distinct backgrounds subjected them to realize the disparities in social norm. Laws did not constitute obedience, but rather the social constraints and hereditary traditions held sovereign over the underlings. The divine rights of the monarchy justified political legitimacy and power to rule over others. Wealth alone could not buy such status as hierarchy was built upon customary rules that govern sophistication and elitism. Petronius’ satyricon depicts disparity in social class as to how wealth and pretenses of knowledge fails to satisfy the normality of the refined. He pokes fun at such pretensions and vulgar scenes in the party as to which he satirizes and mocks upon trimalichio’s superficiality and hypocrisy. Petronius describes him as a self-invented senator wannabe and a pauper disguised as the prince acting out his part to be acknowledged by the audience. Scott Fitzgerald depicts Trimalchio as a fantasy that everyone wishes to fulfill through extravagant illusions and facade. Both assert that the values of refinement, happiness and love cannot be restricted to a price. Wealth begets nothing without a price. Trimalchio’s dinner party clearly exemplifies the distinction in a social divergence and how externalities fail to abridge those gaps. The feast itself is delineates a listing of the disparities in the values upheld by those so called sophisticated and those who aspire to be one. Trimalchio’s intention in hosting such parties was ill-sought in how the guests were invited as a mere audience to flaunt his prizes. He blatantly boasts of his wall paintings from the poems of ... ... middle of paper ... ...l disparity described through a series of events in Trimalchio’s feast exemplifies the limitations and conformity to the social norm.. Trimalchio’s foolish undertakings to prove of his worth backfired. The superficiality and Pretentiousness derived scorn from the very people he wished to impress. His endless longing to prove his realize his fantasy into reality utterly failed in the process. Wealth did not abridge the gaps between the social classes, nor did it actualize their fantasies. Jay Gatsby’s demise represents how the divergence between the fantasy and reality can never converge to perfection. Petronius bickers on such likes as Trimalchio, but in reality even the most refined would be vulnerable of being a poseur and a hypocrite. What truly matters in this social hierarchy is the freedom to challenge against the conformity of social customs and superiority.
This fairy-tale like story not only entertains the readers, it also educates them about the distinctions of the social class system in this era. The author of this poem successfully introduces his audience to a royal king and queen, a prestigious bishop, and a brave and honorable knight. Furthermore, the writer cleverly uses these characters to enlighten his readers to the inner workings of this “pyramid of power” and demonstrates how this social class system effects social interactions in the fourteenth century. While the author of this poem is unknown, there is no questioning the quality of this wonderful work of literature and the value it possess in regard to understanding the social class distinctions of the fourteenth century.
Trimalchio hosts’ a farewell dinner which is a dinner given to gladiators who were about to face wild beasts in the arena. Trimalchio is a Semitic name based on the word for “prince” and he is a high living individual. However, a well-born Roman reader would not approve of his attitudes and behavior. You get a good sense of what Trimalchio is like early on in the story when he is in the middle of talking to Menelaus and snaps his fingers for a slave to bring him a pot. When the slave brings the pot to Trimalchio he peed in it, asked for water and then used the slave’s hair to dry his hands. (19) Trimalchio had many slaves, some of their jobs were miniscule(petty) that it consisted of them standing near the dining room door and saying “right feet first!” as people enter. Not only do his slaves have (silly) jobs, they are repremended for the littlest of things. When a slave dropped a cup by mistake at dinner Trimalchio responded by saying “go kill yourself, you useless piece of trash.” (37) A well-born Roman wouldn’t appreciate how Trimalchio treats people, it is puzzling he treats them so poorly since he was once a slave himself.
Gatsby’s goal of obtaining value, love and happiness in life from materialistic items is seen as naïve and fallacious for his ‘dream’ has become corrupted and influenced by the wealth of society and the cynical outlooks of those within his circle
The unchanged splendor of their toilettes and the opulence of their flesh signified the social status and the monetary power of their fathers, husbands, or lovers, who amassed wealth but did not exhibit it.”
...class. This play also reflects the beginning class structure of the early modern European society. The European society was based sex and classes (Fiero, 2011).
Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” is pervaded by the idea that relationships between classes are highly influenced negatively by society. Connie is having this very sexual and passionate relationship with her gamekeeper Oliver Mellors who is of a lower status to her. To many reader’s surprise, Mellors is a man who, as one critic quotes, “remains impervious to the pettiness and conventional society” suggesting this to be a reason for Connie and Mellors relationship to be so strong compared to that of, for instance, Othello and Desdemona and Daisy, Tom and Gatsby’s relationships. In Shakespeare’s “Othello”, Desdemona and Othello’s relationships are highly influenced by others and the people around them. This influence eventually leads to death with society still intact. In “The Great Gatsby”, Fitzgerald uses the strong symbolic image of money and American society to show how people can get carried away and lose touch with the reality of relationships. Daisy is surrounded by a society she doesn’t like living with Tom and she is unable to get away from it, while Tom has another women that he is hiding. The idea of hiding is also suggesting that the society doesn’t see it as a correct thing to do, yet Fitzgerald appears to go against this. Another theme of “The Great Gatsby” is the idea of new and old money and how that affects who society thinks you should be with. Society in all...
In chapter three, the author uses a great example of immorality through Gatsby's party. The author goes in depth about Gatsby's party so he can help the reader understand Gatsby's character and the purpose of his assembly. At Gatsby's party, most of the guests that are present have not been formally invited to the party but have been brought by others or just to drop in. The uninvited guests drink Gatsby's liquor and eat his food without even attempting to meet Gatsby's or give their appreciation, this shows their unethical manners. The women purposely dress in silvers and gold's to show their wealth and only pretend to have fun. The only reason the uninvited guests come to the party to show off their riches with their clothes or appearance. The guests do not realize that they are only pretending to be happy. At these parti...
The desire for high status in the 1920’s has a volatile impact on humanity. The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of a few American literature novels to draw distinct lines between socio-economic classes. The novel accurately depicts the people of this time period and displays their troubling actions. The high society class lives life with a disregard of the law and exhibits their ignorance. The people in the Valley of Ashes, or the lower class of humanity, are driven to despair. Meanwhile the middle class is portrayed as fair-minded with more fundamental decencies. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby presents the opulence of the higher class, the anguish of the lower class… and somewhere in the middle lies the truth.
In the novel The Great Gatsby, the 1920’s was a “throwaway culture, in which things (and people) are used and then abandoned” (Evans). This is true of the lives of the wealthy elite who ruled the East and West Eggs, causing the domination of materialistic thought. The substitution of money for integrity ultimately provided a way for corruption to take deep roots in the characters. The frivolous lives and relationships described by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby depict the emptiness of the shallow 1920’s era.
The late Irish poet Oscar Wilde once stated, "In the world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” This quote accurately describes human nature to the extent that man is never fully satisfied with his current possessions. In fact, most people who rely on materialistic items for happiness are typically desolated and miserable. This story is based on an archaic view on women, where women have no caste or hierarchy. The people grade women based off their looks and beauty. Money “practically makes nobility” (Shmoop). It “enables the user to pay for the high life” (Shmoop) and confine the person with luxurious items known to man. Money controls the life of people, rather than vise versa, causing greed. Malthide, who is the wife of a minor clerk, has immense greed to live a sumptuous life. Malthide’s greed led to her destruction and turmoil, however her grief is what taught her an everlasting lesson.
...purity and frivolity represent how adults in the novel committed to mature acts with childish motives behind them. The contrast between Tom and Gatsby’s personas and meanings behind the same action reinforce the idea of subjective innocence relative to the situation, though the actions may be virtually the same. The moral and attitude differences between the new and old rich embody the real sense of perverted innocence related to the decline in morality of the 1920s. Fitzgerald’s belief in the irony of innocence and purity during the time period exemplifies itself in the presentation and interpretation of “The Sheik of Araby” in The Great Gatsby.
...rom the elite rich, who possess old money. Tom also claims that Gatsby “threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s”, (142) and can be said to be using his false wealth to mislead and confuse Daisy and Nick into thinking he is someone of their standards, which shows that Gatsby is not recognised as one of their class. This undercuts the glamorous wealth associated with Gatsby, and the ideal of equality in the American Dream.
In a society, social classes are always present – whether it was five hundred years ago or in present time. Social classes have always existed and will probably always exist. The question is whether social classes have an impact on the society of a little Italian town called Verona in the fifteenth century. Because one thing is for sure, compared to today norms, social classes and gender rolls in the story about Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet differs a lot.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, reveals thin threads woven between himself and the novel, revealing the truth about a corrupted society filled with discontentment and superficiality. From marriages to women to an impossible dream, all these aspects of Fitzgerald’s life influences his work, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s novel quite closely resembles his own circumstances through his portrayal of the characters and the society of the 1920’s. Though Fitzgerald himself lived in a society of shallowness, he was able to portray that the emptiness in society would not bring anyone happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses the characters in The Great Gatsby to represent the people in his own life and to show that wealth causes corruption.
Fitzgerald illuminates the ostentation of society through his portrayal of a high class person such as Gatsby. For example, as a party guest commentates on her previous visit to one of Gatsby’s many parties, she states, “When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me my name and address- inside of a week I got a package from Croirier’s with a new gown in it. (43)” To Gatsby, money is not an issue as he tends to the troubles of strangers. Rather than a problem, wealth is something to be displayed in order to achieve a certain image, which is precisely what Gatsby is attempting to accomplish. By proving his wealth and his superiority, Fitzgerald succeeds in painting a superficial image of Gatsby. Furthermore, as Gatsby finally reveals his face to the guests, he begins to collaborate with Nick. Nick, in response, thinks that “His Elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd. Some time before he introduced himself id got a strong impression that he was picking his words with care(48)” Fitzgerald demonstrates...