Examples Of Social Stratification In The Great Gatsby

Social Justification In the Great Gatsby

During the time period of the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald the U.S was in the midst of the famous Jazz Age in which the economy was expanding vastly, but also, shifting social attitudes. The lower class dreamed of living the American Dream that their eyes could see, but were oblivious to the true lives behind the elegant parties, and opulent components that made up the upper class. The rich were covered by a vast blanket of illusion that the poor desperately wanted to be warmed with. Class in The Great Gatsby is a double edged sword. On one side are hard working people trying to inch closer to the American Dream, but on the other side, wealthy men and women who believe they are living
He acknowledges the workers and servants who have to clean up the messes that are made after Gatsby’s parties. Nick subtly shows that although he is a man of some class, he still has the respect and decency to realize who has to clean up the mess, possibly because he ends up being someone who has to clean up a mess. As stated in “Critical Essays Social Stratification: The Great Gatsby as Social Commentary’’, even though Nick doesn’t have the capital of people such as Gatsby and Mr. Buchanan, he proves to be more observant than Tom and Gatsby, giving him the ability, as previously mentioned, to see the true identity of the characters in the novel. “ They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money and vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made” ( Carraway 136-137
Tom symbolizes everything wrong with the upper class in The Great Gatsby. His American Dream was solely based around “entitlement and excluding those not entitled’’ ( Hacht 264-276 ). This explains his constant pursuit for finding where Gatsby gained his wealth and ridiculing him whenever the time arose. The problem with Tom lies in the irony of it all though. He stands as a moral judge even though he is committing adultery with Myrtle. Because of this not even Tom is living the American Dream. In the article “The Great Gatsby and the American Dream’’ the author states the following about Tom: “He displays a false sophistication based on pretense. He has little genuine affection for Myrtle: It is her husband who mourns her death. Tom did not achieve the American Dream, he was born to wealth and proved unworthy of it’’. This gives evidence to the fact that although Tom was born to wealth, he has no right to judge people such as Gatsby on morality considering that he cheated on his wife, and didn’t have the decency to mourn Myrtle's death. He maintains self morale by sleeping with women that aspire to be like him so he feels a sense of superiority. This superiority in turn allows him to “maintain the illusion that he is a good and important man”( “Critical Essays,’’2011 ). Tom believes he is living the American Dream but is nothing more than a corrupt man who was born