Assignment
Name : Latta J. Baraiya
Roll no : 11
Paper : The Twentieth Century Literature : 1900 to World War ||
Semester : M.A sem 2
Topic : Social Class Distinction in The Great Gatsby
Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English MKBU
Introduction
“The Great Gatsby”, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published in 1975. Francis Scott KeyFitrzgerald, widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, was born on September 24, 1896 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A renowned American author of novels and short stories, Fitzgerald completed “The Great Gatsby” in 1924 as a rough draft. The novel is set in the Jazz Era of the 1900's in Long Island, New York. The novel recounts the appalling story of Jay Gatsby, an independent mogul, and his quest for Daisy Buchanan, a well off young lady whom he adored in his childhood. Unsuccessful when it was published, the book is currently viewed as an example of American fiction and has frequently been known as the Great American Novel.
>>Narrative style of novel<<
The Great Gatsby is undoubtedly a repercussion of a miracle in manners that its underlying readers couldn't have envisioned. Very nearly 90 years after the fact, Gatsby is routinely named probably the best novel at any point written in English, and has yearly sold a huge number of duplicates worldwide. This thin novel of less than 50,000 words, an account of mystery dreamsand grandiose revels, of unexpected viciousness and steady jealousy, sparkles with a wizardry that readers have since a long time ago perceived. In any case, in the course of recent years,both The Great Gatsby and it’s author have been seeing a checked resurgence of interest.The book was also a defining moment in Fitzgerald literary profession since it was to improve his past works: he tried new strategies and demanded the curiosity of his endeavor:
'I need to compose something new, something phenomenal and lovely and basic and 'complicatedly designed'
(letter to Perkins, specialist at Scribner’s). To be sure, Fitzgerald committed a ton of care and thoughtfulness regarding pruning pointless sections and attempted to present altering strategies (actually like a producer) to re-mastermind his story in film arrangements. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald's primary advancement was to present a first person narrator and protagonist whose awareness channels the story's occasions.
•Social Class Distinction in The Great Gatsby•
After World War I was over, many American writers began to write about the allure of modern life, as well as the great criticism towards materialism, Americans’ hypocrisy, public unconsciousness, and lack of appreciation for art. 1920s writers showed their talent in this widespread literary tradition, in which new sounds and rhythms emerged as well as innovations in style and form. Writers felt the need to respond to the evils and disappointments they saw in their environment and felt in their own world through art and literature. Fitzgerald is one of the writers who reflect the situation of America as well as he reflects love and human relationships. Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby portrays America after the first world war in the 1920s and sums up a critical portrait of class struggles and the disappointment in the American dream. It disintegrates society and its ideals then a gap develops between the poor and the rich as a result. Fitzgerald's work was based on social realism and The Great Gatsby is a novel that illuminates American culture in the 1920s and the values, beliefs and dreams of America at that time. The American dream can be interpreted differently for everyone. For some, the American dream is about freedom of class,race, or religion, and for others, choosing clothing, food, or what they want to be.
“There is a general understanding by readers of The Great Gatsby that it is a commentary on the American Dream and not simply a documentary on the Jazz Age. It is a criticism of American experience not only of our manners, but of our basic historic attitude toward life. The theme of Gatsby is the withering of the American Dream. The dream is essentially anti-puritanical(to go from rags to riches and therefore from rejection to acceptance)” (Pidgeon 179).
F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 tragic novel The Great Gatsby, represents differences between social classes clearly illustrated and are embodied by characters, each representing a different social class.
•Story of the novel•
The novel takes place on Long Island during the prohibition period when alcohol was illegal. The Great Gatsby is narrated from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a member of the middle class and cousin of Daisy Buchanan. When Nick decides to move to West Egg, LongIsland to learn about his business, he comes across Jay Gatsby. Gatsby fell in love with Daisy Buchanan but began to love her platonically because Gatsby belonged to the lower class and felt that he could not afford Daisy’s financial desires. This love caused him to change his destiny, he wanted to gain socioeconomic status and wealth in order to gain acceptance from the upper class. Gatsby became a millionaire in an illegal way, Gatsby's only desire in life is to be with Daisy Buchanan. But Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan. The life of the mysterious millionaire Gatsby, who in the foreground dares to mingle into the glamorous parties and glamorous realms for the woman he loves and the tragic events that happened to Gatsby are depicted, In the background, the fake lives of a small and wealthy minority of the 1920s, far from moral and sincerity are depicted.
•Social Class Distinction in the Novel•
Now I will talk about the social class distinction seen in the novel, the social and material differences between the classes are clearly stated in The Great Gatsby and differences are embodied by characters who each represent a different social class. When the relationship between the upper class and the lower class is demonstrated in the novel, the distinction between classes becomes noticeable. The 1920s were a difficult period due to the inequality of Americans’ income, increasing immigration and unemployment in the United States, and the events that took place. Besides, the recovery process of people started after World War I. Many people came to America in search of freedom, wealth and building a life of prosperity.
The Great Gatsby depicts in detail the cultural and class based changes that took place inAmerica during the 1920s and show us differences between both the imagined American dream and the real American dream by referring to the class distinction. Fitzgerald reveals how people ignore ethical and moral value when it comes to achieving rich status.
Throughout The novel, the feeling of greed and the need for materialist substances were expressed. Each character degenerates with the desire to achieve the status they desire and give up values they believe in in the hope of being accepted by the classes. Fitzgerald accomplishes the American Dream but problematizes the American Dream by adding the illegal side to Gatsby's success. Gatsby's success depends on his failure to comply with society's rules.
“In stressing the corruption at the heart of Gatsby’s dream, as well as exposing, in the revelation of Daisy’s character, the tawdriness of what the dream aspires to, Fitzgerald clearly intended fundamental criticism of the ‘American Dream’..”( Millgate 76).
Although Gatsby pretends to be a gentleman and has a wealthy status, he does not have the same social status as the Buchanan. The difference is not how they behave like a gentleman or lady, but where they come from and their family background.
“He went to her house, at first with other officers from Camp Taylor, then alone. It amazed him he had never been in such a beautiful house before” (Fitzgerald 139).
Gatsby was shocked when on his first visit to Daisy’s home, Fitzgerald emphasized the difference in social class between them. Gatsby hides his past to be accepted from upper-class society and lies to be part of this class. “I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition.” He looked at me sideways – and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford” or swallowed it or choked on it as though it had bothered him before (Fitzgerald 65). Gatsby's narratives are actually a lie, and by telling these lies he confirms the social distinction between him and the Buchanan family.
•Social Class Distinction in Today’s Time•
If we talk about class distinction in the 21st century, we see in many places, where people are insulted by their class and caste. If we talk about ancient India the classes were divided into four parts,
Brahmin
Kshatriya
Vaishya
Shudra
In this class; Brahmin and Kshtriya are considered upper class and Vaishya and Shudra are considered lower class. They all have their sub caste also. But they can’t transaction with other castes. In their sub caste there are also upper and lower classes. If we think in today’s time there were also class distinction in our country. In some villages there is also some rules for lower class people. Like, Dalit; theycalled as “ASPRUSHYA”, people even can’t touch them. People can’t transaction with them. There were also some places where people couldn't support inter-caste marriages, because of caste. They see caste each and every point. We see casteism in many organizations also. We see in many movies that there are parents who can not marry their daughters and sons in some class who are lower than their caste. Using that type of example the filmmaker wanted to change the mentality of people. But some people still can't understand it. We see some examples of fighting which is caused by caste. People kill somebody for caste and the issues of class. We find many examples of casteism in and around us. If i talk about my caste, in our caste there are two parts. Both are not used to transaction with each others. They do not allow to marry in each other. We see the class deviation as,
Upper class
Middle class
Lower class
There were big numbers of groups of lower class people in India. The upper class people have conflict with lower class people. They can not have transactions with lower and middle class people.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Gatsby Fitzgerald shows the differences between the middle class and the upper class in the view of society in 1920s America by demonstrating the distinction between classes through characters. The Great Gatsby was written to express the hopes and dreams of the desired lifestyle of that era, as well as the cultural elements that led to the collapse of community. Throughout the book, concepts such as morality, love,relationships, and materialism are discussed in order to accurately reflect people's thoughts.Although the American dream sounds ambitious, Fitzgerald revealed the truth behind it and revealed that it was only about clashes between wealth and social classes. In this novel hypocrisy was exposed, the noble class was accused of falsehood. The hedonistic perspective of the Jazz Age was criticized. The Great Gatsby, where American myths were destroyed, and materialism was denigrated; It describes a nightmare rather than the American dream. Although the Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, Fitzgerald portrays the class diversity of that period as a satire and critique of the American dream. The conclusion that we readers draw is that one's achievement of his ideals and a respectable place cannot be achieved by material wealth. Honesty and dignity cannot be bought with money.
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