Gatsby Social Class

In The Great Gatsby, it is argued by Scott Fitzgerald that social class in the 1920s played a large role in shaping the American Dream through his use of the fantasized West and East Egg. West Egg in particular, is identified in his novel to be more of a setting of promise and greatness, in comparison to the actuality that East Egg has to offer: aristocracy. To be specific, Fitzgerald places the characters Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom in such a setting to emphasize that anything may happen in this “dreamscape”, and that all events lead up to an escape from the hollow shell that is East Egg. East Egg on the other hand, is merely identified as the place of the past, or in other words, the land of only the wealthy-born. Furthermore, in this
John Fisher College. Now that each Egg has been properly addressed, it can be further interpreted that each one not only define different social classes, but also different American Dreams as well. Snyder adds on by stating how “West Egg was for the dreamers like Gatsby who often dreamt of being with Daisy, and for Nick Carraway who wanted to be a successful businessman because that’s all he could be even though he came from wealth”. In regards to the present-future America that was discussed, Snyder feels as if West Egg is the modern side of America, the side that is allegedly what America should be. However, this dreamscape is of course, only a dream for Fitzgerald for neither character of West Egg accomplishes the goals set out for them. Gatsby meets a tragic end, for he does not get his dream that is Daisy. Nick also does not accomplish his goals of becoming a successful business man for he remains poor in the end. Although this American Dream should be the foundation of what the country stands for, it is deemed to be overshadowed by the old values of East Egg. On the other hand, Snyder describes how East Egg was for “the superficial materialistic lovers such as Tom and Daisy Buchanan who flaunted the money they had and what they were able to do with it”. Discussed beforehand, Snyder also believes that East
It is made clear now, that although America has set upon itself a list of key values such as hard work, determination, and hope in order to lead the way to the success of the individual, it denies the fact that such values are seemingly lost in the seas of morality. By exploring the differences between the two sides of America: old and new, through Fitzgerald’s interpretations of them as West and East Egg, we now understand the rift in our social hierarchy. Not only are we prohibited from moving forward as a nation into our new sets of values and beliefs because of our flawed society but also because of our very own corruption and greed. As the characters in The Great Gatsby had demonstrated, it is due to our own materialistic desires for the cause of nothing but our own American Dream itself that leads to our own demise. According to Fitzgerald’s point of view, our moral principles are of that of ashes for we set ourselves in a position that is willingly vulnerable to faults and failure. Due to the existence of two different sides of America, we can only infer that an American Dream is not possible for all. Rather, the dream is ultimately a figment of reality to those who are not born into its grasp. Those who are fortunate enough, in this case Tom and Daisy, are not imprinted with the burden