F. Scott Fitzgerald offers up commentary on a wide array of themes — justice, greed, power, the American dream, and so on. Of all the themes, perhaps one of the most well developed is that of class structure. The Great Gatsby is considered an excellent piece of social commentary, giving an enlightening view of American life in the 1920s. Fitzgerald illustrates the differences between characters from different social backgrounds, but ultimately each group must face problems of their own, thus leaving a reminder of what a threatening place the world really is. By highlighting distinct social groups, Fitzgerald addresses the elitism found in every class in society.
The first group addressed by Fitzgerald is the rich. Associating the rich all in one group together would be a misconception. For many people in the lower class, the rich seem to be unified by their money. However, Fitzgerald indicates that this is not the case. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents two distinctive categories of wealthy people. First, there are people like Tom and Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker who inherited their wealth. Money has been passed down in their families for generations. People in this category tend to not have to work, and they instead spend their time enjoying the luxuries they have acquired. Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and the social class they represent are the elitist group in the story, establishing differences between themselves and other people of wealth based not only on how much money they have, but also how and when that money was acquired. For these people, the fact that Gatsby and others like him have only just recently acquired their money is reason enough to dislike him. In their minds, he cannot possibly have the same elegance and refinement they have. Not only does he work for a living, but he comes from a modest background which, to them, means he is not truly one of them.
In many ways, the social elite are right. Those who had recently acquired wealth cannot be like them. Those in the highest position of society are not friendly at all. They are judgmental and superficial, failing to understand the reality of themselves and the people around them. Instead, they live their lives as if they are superior to everyone else. The people with newly acquired wealth, though, aren’t necessarily much better. The guests at Gatsby’s parties, without being invited, attend to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves, but never once take the time to even meet their host. When Gatsby dies, all the people who regularly visited his house suddenly became busy elsewhere, abandoning Gatsby when he was no longer able to entertain them . Some would think the newly wealthy would be more understanding of the world around them, since it was only recently they too were of the lower classes. As Fitzgerald shows, however, their interests are more of living for the moment, immersed in partying and lavishness.
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Just as he did with those with wealth, Fitzgerald uses the people without money to convey a compelling message. Nick, although he comes from a family with a bit of wealth, does not have nearly the luxury of Gatsby or Tom. In the end, though, he shows himself to be a man of principle. Myrtle, however, is a different case. She comes from the middle or lower class and is trapped, like so many others, in the valley of ashes. She spends her days trying to make it out, and her desire to move up the social ladder leads to her affair with Tom.
Because of the misery within her life, Myrtle has no qualms with cheating on her husband when it means that she gets to live lavishly. What she does not realize, however, is that Tom and his circle will never accept her as one of them. For Tom, having affairs with lower class women only accentuates his own position, making him feel that much more superior. In a way, being with women who desire to his status makes him feel like he is an important man.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald presents a bitter view of the world he sees around him. The 1920s was a time of post-war economic growth, and Fitzgerald captures the turmoil of the society well. The world he presents in The Great Gatsby seems to be headed straight towards disaster. They have assumed skewed worldviews, mistakenly believing their survival depends on reinforcing social boundaries. They falsely put their faith in superficial means, such as money and materialism, while neglecting to develop the sensitivity and compassion that separates humans from animals.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925
