Rasa Theory

 

Assignment 

Name : Latta J. Baraiya 

Roll no : 11

Paper : Literary Theory & Criticism and Indian Aesthetics 

Semester : M.A sem 2

Topic : Rasa Theory 

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English MKBU 

Introduction 

Aesthetics is concerned with the concept of beauty. Hence it is known as Saundarya Shastra (સોંદર્યશાસ્ત્ર) or Lavanya Shastra (લાવણ્યશાસ્ત્ર). Rasanubhava or disinterested contemplation of beauty is the basic characteristic of all aesthetic experiences. The real perception of beauty is what distinguishes an aesthetic experience from all other experiences. Poetics is one of the three main branches of knowledge including grammar and philosophy in which Indian scholarship has presented valuable and relevant findings during ancient and medieval periods. Indian Poetics, especially classical Sanskrit poetics, holds an old and rich tradition starting from Bharta"s Natyashatra and extending up to Panditraja Jagan Natha"s Rasgangadhara. It continued for thousands of years, presenting various logical, philosophical, linguistic and semantic approaches to study the literary texts. 

Bharata says, 

“Nahi rasardṛte kascidārta pravartate” 

(Without rasa no meaning gets 

established).

In this world, human life is rare. In human life, education is rare. Among the educated, poeticity is rare. Among poets, power (talent/genius) is rare. Even if one is talented, scholarship (vyutpatti) will be rare. Wisdom is even rarer. Wisdom is nothing but Tyajagrahya Vivechana in poetry. In other words, poeticity is unavailable for those who haven’t mastered all the sastras. 

Indian poetics likens the poet to a creator and god. As the saying goes, 

“Apare kavyasamsare 

kavireva prajapati/ Yathasamay rocate viswam tatedam parivartate” 

(“In the infinite world of poetry the poet is the only creator. He transforms the world as it pleases him”). A girl may flaunt many ornaments but if she is immodest she won’t be attractive. Likewise, even if a poem has numerous figures of speech, if it lacks the sweetness of suggestion, it won’t ravish the heart.

The three basic principles that underlie all aesthetic formulations are:

1. Rasa theory is temporal. It lasts only so long as we are in the world of art.

2. Aesthetic experiences are unselfish, they are not tied to the ego. A man becomes totally unconscious of his private self when he is in the world of art. 

3. No emotion can be called rasa unless it is artistically excited. Thus when a young man falls in love and his entire frame is shaken, we cannot speak of him as being the subject of shringara rasa. Rasa is strictly an emotion excited by artistic circumstances. 

•Bharata’s Rasasutra :-

The theory of Rasa is the cornerstone of Indian aesthetics. The Sanskrit word rasa has several meanings including sap, juice, essence, water, flavour, taste, relish and sentiments. The Upanishads have used it to mean Brahman. The term rasa refers to the creative experiences of the poet, the aesthetic relish of the reader and the complex of emotional states present in the poem. In poetics, the term covers the subjective experiences of the poet and the reader and the objective structural focus of the poem.

Rajshekhar said that the founder of Rasa Sampraday was Nandikeshwar. But there is no Grantha found of him. The first scientific philosophy of interest is found in Bharata's Natyashastra. 

The principle of rasa is the most ancient and eternal principle in Indian poetry.  Natyaras were founded by Adya Kavyacharya and Natyacharya Bharatmuni.  Since then no principal has been able to disregard Rasa Shastra and Rasa Vichar. Rasa resides in one form or another.  Other theories are often formed with interest at the center.  Bharat's successors Acharya Bhatt, Lolat, Shankuk, Bhattanayak and Abhinav Gupta wrote commentaries and commentaries on Bharat's Rasa Sutra.  As a result, various opinions arose. Phonological principles like Anandvardhan also called the rasa sound excellent and discussed it in the context of Rasa's poetry.  Alankar shastris like Bhamah, Dandi, Rudrat etc. also accepted rasa through rasa  Attire.  The qualities of a formalist dwarf are also rasasadhaka.  The ironic Kuntak also shows the way to the doctrine.  Abhinav Gupta's Rasavichar is the pinnacle of Indian poetry. 

Rasa is also considered to be the "soul of the poet" in the metaphor of "poet" in Indian poetry. 

Defining drama, Bharatamuni says, 

“Natya is trailokyanukaraṇa” (Drama is an imitation of 

the three worlds). 

It is an imitation (anukarana) and narration (anukirtana) of the states and actions of the world. The basic texts that deal with rasa theory are Bharata’s Natyasastra and Abhinavagupta’s commentary on it titled Abhinavabharati. Bharata’s formula for the evocation of rasa can be stated thus:

Vibhavanubhava vyabhicari saṃyogad rasaniapattih

(Vibhava + Anubhava + Vyabhicaribhava + Sthayibhava = Rasa)

Rasa is realised by the fusion of vibhava, anubhava and vyabhicaribhava with sthayibhava, the permanent emotion (which does not find a place in the cryptic definition).

•Bhava:-

Drama represents all the bhavas of the world. Bhava means things existing including mental states. In poetics, bhavas refer to those elements of poetry which make rasa pervade the heart of the reader. Bhāvas bring into being (bhavayanti) rasa which is the end/meaning of a poem (Kavyartha). Bhava also refers to the creative experience of the poet (kaverantargatam 

bhavam).

Bharata names 49 bhavas as capable of manifesting rasa: 8 sthayi bhavas, 33 vyabhicaribhavas and 8 sattvika bhavas. This list includes sleep, dream and death which cannot be considered as emotional states. However, we cannot deny the intimate relationship these states have with emotions.

•Vibhava:-

Vibhavas are the characters and situations in a play that cause the emergence of rasa, that is, they are the objective conditions producing an emotion. Vibhavas are of two types: 

1. Alambana Vibhavas

2. Uddipana Vibhavas

Alambana vibhavas refer to a person or persons with reference to whom rasa gets manifested. Uddipana vibhavas are the excitants, the circumstances that excite the emotion. A young man may feel attracted towards a girl if the circumstances are cooperating with it. It is highly likely that a young man may fall in love with a woman of young age if they are thrown alone, there is beautiful scenery before them, the moon peeping through the clouds, the fragrant breeze blowing, there is a slight drizzle, the birds twittering and the like. Any one of such circumstances may be regarded as an uddipana vibhava and the man and the woman are Alambana vibhavas to each other.

Vibhavas may be likened to what TS Eliot calls 

“the objective correlative”. 

Eliot defines objective correlative as a set of objects, a situation, a chain of events which shall be the formula for the evocation of a particular emotion. 

•Anubhava:-

Anubhavas are those effects which are felt by the characters when they are under the influence of an emotion. These are the bodily expressions by means of which an emotion is expressed. Thus the arch glances of a lady and her inviting smile may be regarded as anubhavas. At times anubhavas are voluntary deliberate actions. Sometimes these could be purely involuntary like blushing, trembling, sweating etc. Such involuntary actions are known as Sattvika Bhavas.

•Vyabhicaribhava:-

These are the transitory moods depending on and reinforcing the sthayibhava. If the sthayibhava is considered to be the king, the vyabhicaribhavas are its servants. Or, if the sthayibhava can be considered as a chaste wife (pativrata), then the vyabhicaribhava is a prostitute. Vividhamabhimukhyena rasesu caranti: iti vyabhicarinah (That which moves towards rasa in diverse ways is vyabhichari). They do not attain the intensity of emotions, nor do they last long. They do not even have an independent status. They rise and subside with the corresponding sthayibhava. They are fragile, dependent and temporary.

However, the sthayibhavas cannot be expressed in poetry without the help of these vyabhicaribhavas. A woman in love anxiously waiting for her lover at the rendezvous may feel disappointed (vishada) that he is not coming, may be anxious (chinta) that something might have happened to him, may be jealous (asuya) that he may have been courted by another woman, may feel delight (harsa) in remembering the sweet words he whispered into her ears and so on. Each one of these transitory moods may be considered as the vyabhicaribhava reinforcing rati (love).

•Sthayibhava:-

Sthayibhavas are permanent emotions that lie embedded in the human organism. They are sthayi because (i) they remain embedded in the human system forever and (ii) they unify and dominate an entire work of art (Shanta is the angirasa of Mahabharata; Karuna that of Ramayana). Bharata speaks of eight sthayibhavas. A ninth one (Nirveda) was added by later commentators on Natyasastra. The nine rasas and their corresponding sthayibhavas are listed below:

No	Rasa	Sthayi Bhava	Colour	Deity
1.	Sringara	Rati (Love)	Green	Vishnu
2.	Hasya	Hasa (Humour)	White	Rama
3.	Karuna	Soka (Sorrow)	Grey	Varuna
4.	Raudra	Krodha (Anger)	Red	Indra
5.	Vira	Utsaha (Energy)	Golden	Rudra
6.	Bhayanaka	Bhaya (Fear)	Black	Yama
7.	Bibhatsa	Jugupsa (Disgust)	Blue	Shiva / Mahakala
8.	Adbhuta	Vismaya (Wonder)	Yellow	Brahma
9.	Shanta	Vairagya / sama (Detachment)

The sthayibhavas are of the nature of vasanas or samskaras. Every single action that we perform not just produces the intended result, but also establishes in us a habit favourable to the repetition of the same deed in the future (M Hiriyanna). These habits are termed samskaras. Vasanas on the other hand, are innate samskāras not acquired in this life. In other words, vasanas refer to the samskaras of the past lives which mostly lie dormant in the mind. 

Long Day's Journey into the Night : Tragedy or Modern Tragedy

Assignment 

Name : Latta J. Baraiya 

Roll no : 11

Paper : The American Literature

Semester : M.A sem 2

Topic : Long Day's Journey into Night as Tragedy or Modern Tragedy

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English MKBU 

Introduction 

Long Day’s Journey into Night is a semi - autobiographical play by Eugene O’Neill, centered around a family dealing with addiction and their own downfalls. Eugene O'Neill's Long Day’s Journey into Night won him brilliance and glory. This tragedy has neither grand scenes nor noble characters, nor complicated and touching plot in it. But it has won the recognition and celebration of the drama circle as well as world literature. The important reason is that O’Neil shows the audience and the reader a tragic story of an ordinary family which reveals the difficult living circumstances of every modern man. For O’Neil, it is a,

“play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood,” 

as he described when dedicating it to his wife, Carlotta. The tragedy moves or even shocks greatly the modern people of the whole world. Why ? I think the tragic fate which possesses both Greek tradition and O’Neil’s own modern explanation is a significant point of this play. The Nobel prize commission addressed he won the prize 

“for the 

power, honesty and deep-felt emotions of his dramatic works, which embody an original concept of 

tragedy” (2006, 188).

Many critics have argued whether Long Day’s Journey into Night is a tragedy or not. While it has arguments for both. But before understanding the play is tragedy or not we have to understand what is tragedy ?

Tragedy, branch of drama that treats in a serious and dignified style the sorrowful or terrible events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. By extension the term may be applied to other literary works, such as the novel and play. Here are the definitions of tragedy,

"an event causing great suffering, destruction, and distress, such as a serious accident, crime, or natural catastrophe."

•For example : "a tragedy that killed 95 people"

"a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character."

•For example : "Shakespeare's tragedies" 

But here the tragedy is not referring to this definition and characteristics, but it defines the elements of Aristotelian Tragedy.  According to Aristotle,

“Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious complete, and of a certain magnitude; in the language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear affecting the proper purgation-catharsis of these and similar emotion”

Aristotle defines tragedy according to seven characteristics : 

• It is mimetic,  

• It is serious, 

• It tells a full story of an appropriate length, 

• It contains rhythm and harmony, 

• Rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy, 

• It is performed rather than narrated, and  

• It arouses feelings of pity and fear and then purges these feelings through catharsis. 

A tragedy consists of six component parts, which are listed here in order from most important to least important: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

Now we can understand what tragedy is. And What is a Modern Tragedy ? So, let's see if there is tragedy in this play or not.  Modern drama refers to tragedies that were written and performed from the twentieth century, it is modern tragedy. So the basic idea is clear now in our mind. So let's talk about the play and discuss from where O'Neil got Inspiration for the characters of the play. 

∆ Inspirations for the Characters of Long Day’s Journey into Night :-

O’Neill had an unhappy childhood and unsatisfying relationships with his parents and older brother. His family, the inspirations for the characters of Long Day’s Journey into Night, had their own demons that persisted through their lives. Not only is O’Neill writing about the characters in a tragic family situation, he lived in one. Another theme that O’Neill frequently featured in his plays was the idea that the characters are wearing masks. The masks are the guard that the characters put up in order to hide their true emotions or motivations from the other characters. In his thesis, scholar Roger Curtiss Rasco writes that although the theme of masks dwindled later in O’Neill’s career, the influence shows in Long Day’s Journey into Night because, 

“the mask was and is an effective method of indicating the presence of both truth and falsehood at the same time” (Rasco, 104). 

So, let's talk about the play; as a tragedy or modern tragedy. 

To understand any tragedy we have to understand their elements also. Hamartia and error of judgement are very important elements of tragedies. So let's see what hamartia is.

∆ Hamartia in Long Day's Journey into Night :-

Aristotle used this concept of hamartia to describe tragedy. Aristotle said that hamartia is the fall of a nobleman caused by some excess or mistake in behavior, not because of a willful violation of God's laws. He also says that the protagonist should fall through some "error or frailty." From this statement is derived the notion of the protagonist's culpability. Though the concept of fate may play a significant role in the life of the tragic protagonist, he himself must ultimately accept the responsibility for his fall. Citing Agamemnon as a victim of Clytemnestra and Othello as being "undone by his own will," Oscar Mandel further develops 

Aristotle's theory by maintaining that tragic protagonists should come to defeat not simply as victims but partly through their own doing, presumably because of some hamartia. 

James's hamartia is his miserliness. As a young man he has the potential to become one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his day. Because of his poverty-stricken childhood, however, he cannot resist the opportunity to guarantee himself a steady income. Thus he purchases the production rights to a certain romantic melodrama, an action which ruins his career. The public continues to identify him with that one role, and his talent diminishes, until the reader sees him as he is in 1912 a broken man trying to earn a living with real estate investments that somehow never works out the way he plans. A more complete discussion of other manifestations of James's hamartia and of their effects on the Tyrones' lives will appear later. 

Linked to the hamartia is the concept of the recognition scene, the change "from ignorance to knowledge," and the effects wrought by this change. Maxwell Anderson, using many elements from Aristotle's theory, says that 

"the essence of a tragedy is the spiritual awakening, or regeneration of his [the playwright's] hero"

Krock expands this theory by adding that if self-knowledge on the part of the tragic protagonist is not present, it is the audience who receives the knowledge. James's hamartia arises from the fattern of ambivalence which is present in the drama. Though James sees the ambivalences in the others, he does not at first realize that he, too, shares in the pattern. Because of this lack of recognition, he also fails to realize the extent to which the others suffer. Throughout the day on which the play occurs, James is repeatedly bombarded with the proof of his errors in judgment. These events - Mary's increasing drug use, Jamie's alcoholism, Edmund's consumption  - inevitably force James, during his recognition scene, to realize that his miserliness has caused the others' ambivalences. 

∆"Long Day's Journey into Night" is Tragedy or Not ?

'Long Day's Journey into Night' would have to be considered a tragedy because of the characters and the ending. Those two aspects of the play make it a tragedy. However, it cannot be considered a tragedy in the classic sense of the word. Taking into consideration the characteristics of tragedy, this play features many elements that would be typical of a tragedy; a family that has a lot to lose, tragic characters with fatal flaws, moments of realization, and a tragic ending. One could argue that Long Day’s Journey into Night is missing a crucial element of any theatrical or literary work; a protagonist. The entire Tyrone family could be considered protagonists, if the only criteria was that the protagonist be the main character or characters. However, a protagonist also needs to be a champion for change. None of the characters in this play fit that standard. In the end, all of the characters have an emotional breakdown but none of them seem to be heading for any change in their lifestyle. 

The one element lacking is a genuine "tragic ending." In fact, the ending is ambiguous in that we don't know what will eventually become of Edmund and the others. The climax is his announcement to his mother that he has consumption, but we're left to wonder what the consequences of it will be for him. The real-life Edmund Eugene O'Neill himself recovered from the illness. But the ending shows the family still submerged in hopelessness, with Tyrone saying "Pass me that bottle," continuing to drown himself in liquor because he sees no way out for the wreckage his family has become.

∆ Long Day’s Journey into Night is a Modern Tragedy or Not ?

Long Day’s Journey into Night is a modern tragedy because it has four tragic characters struggling with their fatal flaw, which will ultimately be their downfall, and the ending does not give a hint as to what the resolution for the characters might be.

The play is "modern" in the sense that it is a "middle-class" drama in which a domestic dynamic is laid bare and honestly examined, following in the direct line of nineteenth-century dramas by the European playwrights Hebbel, Ibsen, Strindberg and others. But the substance-abuse theme is especially contemporary and even shocking in the manner in which it is portrayed. Altogether, as with O'Neill's work as a whole, the play was a seminal achievement in modern drama. 

Belief breaking is the realistic cultural context of his tragic consciousness. God has passed away, so belief breaking becomes a mental dilemma of the epoch. Each member of the play has his own ideal, but modern psychology and despair over the human situation lead the ideal to betray man, that’s also an inevitable tragic fate of modern human beings. 

∆Tragic Flaw in the Characters :-

1.Mary is one of the characters of the play. She couldn’t face the reality; she always exaggerates two dreams in her girlhood to become a pianist or a nun. Concerning the first dream, O’Neil depicted her crippled hand, her discordant piano playing at the end of the play. We know that she is incapable of becoming a pianist. As for the second dream, she betrays religion and it is the cause of her lifelong anguish and misery. First, she gives up her devotion to God, in her word, to become a nun to marry the handsome actor James Tyrone. Her spiritual faith in God gives way to her pursuit of happiness in marriage life which eventually leads to her loss of faith in God and life. For Mary, God had been dead from her marriage. When she lost her second child Eugene and injected drugs, it marked the total break with religion. Louis Sheaffer comments that “Mary evidently shuns idea of another child serious of bought on abortions Did this mark beginning of break with religion which was to leave her eventually entirely without solace?” Mary’s tragic fate is led by loss of religious belief as well as the inner core of existence. 

2. Jamie, the first son of the family is not regarded as an addiction by the family but only as a factor of his lifestyle. Jamie started drinking very early in his life, he got rejected from school and obviously his drinking was one of the reasons: 

“Even after he had begun to drink and they had to expel him, they wrote to us how sorry they were, because he was so likable and such a brilliant student”. 

Although Jamie seems to take the news of his mother’s relapse quite well, he definitely tries to forget about the family’s problems by driving to town and getting drunk. Throughout the play, Jamie, unlike the other characters, does not give a reason for his drinking. Jamie could be using his alcoholism to take away the attention from his mother’s addiction and to take away the burden of being in the center of refusal from her. 

3. The son Edmund’s escape from life is seeking solace from his sea experiences. Lying down on deck at night under moonlight, listening to the sound of the water and looking up at the white sails, he felt he was completely in harmony with nature. More than that, he seemed to lose himself altogether. He 

“dissolved in the sea, became white sails and flying spray, became beauty and rhythm, became moonlight and the ship and the high dim starred sky!” 

The experience was of peace, unity and joy, as if there were no past and no future; he was living in the eternal moment of now. Edmund also says that he experienced this spiritual ecstasy again, also when he was at sea. He describes it as “the end of the quest, the last harbor,” so far beyond the pettiness of all the usual human hopes, fears and dreams. The same experience had come to him several other times in his life, when he was swimming or lying on a beach. It came only when he was in the presence of nature, and always when he was alone, with nobody in sight.

4. James Tyrone, the father of the family, used to be a very famous actor who was often touring through the country. Out of Mary’s memories one learns that Tyrone always used to drink: 

“Always a bottle on the bureau in the cheap hotel rooms!” 

It is evident that with Tyrone, drinking had at the time of his young actor life, when he was just married to Mary, a social function. He used to go out with his “barroom friends” as Mary calls them and to return drunk to find his way to the “ugly hotel rooms” by himself.

The play is all the more tragic because it leaves little hope for the future; indeed, the future for the Tyrones can only be seen as one long cycle of a repeated past bound in by alcohol and morphine.

The four characters' tragedies are caused by loss of faith, artistic faith, meaning of life and psychological pillar. They resorted to different means to alleviate pains, but their attempts are futile efforts. 

Conclusion 

From the above analysis, we can see O’Neil makes much use of the excellent Greek tragedies and also inserted the current problems of his days into the inner world of the characters. In this way, he fully represented the spiritual crisis and predicament of human beings through fine description of psychology and sufferings.

Social Class Distinction in The Great Gatsby

  

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,

1. Brahmin

2. Kshatriya

3. Vaishya

4. 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.