Great Gatsby ESSAY
Savannah Zvarik
Lance
English
Due:3/4/15
The Fire of Reality vs. The Cloak of Money
Living in America, it seems the matter of poverty and social class is something we are well aware of, but we pretend like it does not affect us as humans. During the Great Depression people would refuse to get relief in fear that they would be seen as poor or needy, even today the word “poverty” is said many times but no one seems to find a solution to this ongoing problem.
After reading
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, it appears that the solution upper class has found is to act as if poverty is nothing but a word in the dictionary, and that the upper class have allowed themselves to be so disconnected with anything but being upper class that they suffer from carelessness and denial, using their wealth as a cloak to hide from the harsh reality that is burning against them. In the end of his novel, Fitzgerald uses the quote “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness”(187) to portray his theme of how the old aristocracy is so used to relying on money and being the dominant class of society that they completely disregard others feelings and remain careless, living in a world of gilded reality.
Tom Buchanan’s actions throughout the novel portray the ideal man who has been corrupted by his aristocratic wealth and contributes greatly to Fitzgerald’s theme of what effect old money has. In the beginning, Fitzgerald has Nick describe Tom as a symbol for what old aristocracy looks like: “
His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people
Lance
English
Due:3/4/15
The Fire of Reality vs. The Cloak of Money
Living in America, it seems the matter of poverty and social class is something we are well aware of, but we pretend like it does not affect us as humans. During the Great Depression people would refuse to get relief in fear that they would be seen as poor or needy, even today the word “poverty” is said many times but no one seems to find a solution to this ongoing problem.
After reading
The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, it appears that the solution upper class has found is to act as if poverty is nothing but a word in the dictionary, and that the upper class have allowed themselves to be so disconnected with anything but being upper class that they suffer from carelessness and denial, using their wealth as a cloak to hide from the harsh reality that is burning against them. In the end of his novel, Fitzgerald uses the quote “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness”(187) to portray his theme of how the old aristocracy is so used to relying on money and being the dominant class of society that they completely disregard others feelings and remain careless, living in a world of gilded reality.
Tom Buchanan’s actions throughout the novel portray the ideal man who has been corrupted by his aristocratic wealth and contributes greatly to Fitzgerald’s theme of what effect old money has. In the beginning, Fitzgerald has Nick describe Tom as a symbol for what old aristocracy looks like: “
His speaking voice, a gruff husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed. There was a touch of paternal contempt in it, even toward people