Wealth, Class and Privilege: The Great Gatsby
Makayla Teschner
Mrs. Pierce
English 5-6
15 December 2013
Wealth, Class and Privilege Flashy parties, wild behavior, and endless amounts of bootlegged alcohol; sounds like a great time, huh? In the glamorous era of the 1920’s this was more than just a party, it was a lifestyle. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the roaring twenties is a time of carelessness for some that comes as a result of wealth, class, and privilege. Characters such as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby use their money and materialistic items to win over women’s hearts and to fabricate themselves as high class to the rest of society. Wealth class and privilege is not always defined as a positive concept, it brings many negative effects to the characters in Fitzgerald’s novel as well as the outcome of the story. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of a materialistic man who is living a life of fantasy to present himself as a wealthy gentleman. For example, when in the midst of a conversation with Meyer Wolfsheim and Nick, Meyer Wolfsheim says “[Gatsby] went to Oggsford College in England. You know Oggsford College?...It’s one of the most famous colleges in the world” (72). Gatsby informs everyone that he went to Oxford only because it sounds as amazing and spectacular as he is. However, Gatsby never actually attended Oxford College. He was only stationed there in the army for a couple months. Gatsby bends the truth just to make his glamorous life seem even more glamorous. Gatsby uses this technique a lot throughout the novel to give the effect that he’s something more phenomenal then he really is. At his parties he has “buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spice baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold” (40). By using his elegant parties and fancy food, he draws people into his home and ravishing lifestyle. Gatsby believes this is the only way to promote relationships. Though, his grand parties never
Mrs. Pierce
English 5-6
15 December 2013
Wealth, Class and Privilege Flashy parties, wild behavior, and endless amounts of bootlegged alcohol; sounds like a great time, huh? In the glamorous era of the 1920’s this was more than just a party, it was a lifestyle. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the roaring twenties is a time of carelessness for some that comes as a result of wealth, class, and privilege. Characters such as Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby use their money and materialistic items to win over women’s hearts and to fabricate themselves as high class to the rest of society. Wealth class and privilege is not always defined as a positive concept, it brings many negative effects to the characters in Fitzgerald’s novel as well as the outcome of the story. Jay Gatsby is the epitome of a materialistic man who is living a life of fantasy to present himself as a wealthy gentleman. For example, when in the midst of a conversation with Meyer Wolfsheim and Nick, Meyer Wolfsheim says “[Gatsby] went to Oggsford College in England. You know Oggsford College?...It’s one of the most famous colleges in the world” (72). Gatsby informs everyone that he went to Oxford only because it sounds as amazing and spectacular as he is. However, Gatsby never actually attended Oxford College. He was only stationed there in the army for a couple months. Gatsby bends the truth just to make his glamorous life seem even more glamorous. Gatsby uses this technique a lot throughout the novel to give the effect that he’s something more phenomenal then he really is. At his parties he has “buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors d’oeuvre, spice baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold” (40). By using his elegant parties and fancy food, he draws people into his home and ravishing lifestyle. Gatsby believes this is the only way to promote relationships. Though, his grand parties never