Social Stratification In The Great Gatsby Analysis

Social Stratification in the Oh-So Great Gatsby Among numerous themes, including; the ‘American dream’, isolation, hope, love and various others, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby, the allure of social stratification is the most significant element. Social stratification is a concept that refers to the way in which a society groups different people into stratas, or layers, based on wealth, power, and social status. The Great Gatsby is an accomplished piece of social commentary, showing American life in the Roaring Twenties. The strong economy that arose in the 1920s created an environment for many influential changes in the day-to-day social life of Americans, reflected in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald organized†¦show more content†¦The narrator, Nick Carraway tells the reader from the outset of the book that he is done with the way society, and in particular the upper class behaves. When he came back from visiting in the East Egg, he says he â€Å"wanted the world to be in uni form (Fitzgerald, 2)†. It is apparent, from the beginning that class difference will play a large role in how the book transpires, and so it does. Daisy, Tom, and a friend of theirs, Jordan Baker, are at the top of the novel’s social empire. Their families have had money for years, and for that reason, they are the Old Money. As exposed in the novel, they spend their ‘old money’ very freely and tend to entertain themselves with parties, etc. With high class, they choose their acquaintances based upon that as well. The social differentiation shown here is that they did not care how much money people in the 1920s (like Gatsby) had in their pockets. It was where and how they got the money, that mattered to these elites. Throughout the novel, Jay Gatsby strives to reassure Daisy that he has more wealth than when they first fell in love. Moving next to Nick, Daisy’s cousin, Gatsby invests in his house to make it magnificent, all for her welcoming. Gatsby’s hope to win Daisy’s love had changed course when Daisy figured out that he had not been born into money. Figuring out that James Gatz did not attend Oxford and had to work (bootlegging) for his money, was enough for Daisy and Tom to not attend Gatsby’s funeral in theShow MoreRelatedsparknotes vs cliffnotes830 Words   |  4 Pagesranging from overall plot summaries and character analysis, but Sparknotes goes more into the literary aspect of the book, while cliffnotes focuses more on the character and his motives. In analyzing Jay Gatsby, Cliffnotes focuses much more on Gatsby himself and his underlying motives to his character, like â€Å"In assessing Gatsby, one must examine his blind pursuit of Daisy.† (Cliffnotes). Sparknotes focuses not only on the overall character of Jay Gatsby, but also analyzes how his character compares withRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Great Gatsby1787 Words   |  8 PagesThe Great Gatsby, published in 1925, is hailed as masterpiece of American fictions of its time. It is noted for the remarkable way its author captures a cross-section of American society during the 1920 s. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald offers up a commentary on the American society of which he was a part. He successfully encapsulates the mood of a generation during a politically and socially crucial and chaotic period of American history. In fact, The Great Gatsby is a brilliant piece of EnglishRead MoreExploring The Destruction Of True Love2134 Words   |  9 Pagescapitalist society: A Marxist Approach to â€Å"The Great Gatsby† Love can be defined as honesty, trust and respect; it occurs when two people touch each other s soul. Every series, every story and every movie speaks about how two people fall in love and live happily ever after. All stories come to that same conclusion but what happens when two people don’t belong to the same social class. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a story about Jay Gatsby, a man who is part of the working class that