The Great Gatsby and How It Portrays the Division of Social Class

SS130

April 23, 2016

The Great Gatsby and How It Portrays the Division of Social Class

Society has always been developed by social class with wealth and power dividing the social classes. Members of different social classes, most generally, judge the other social classes that they do not belong to. The 2013 movie, The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann is a tragic love story that portrays the different social classes in America during the 1920’s and the struggles that the characters face within them. It is the division of the social classes, and the conflicts that occur because of this, that help to form the plot line of the movie.

While watching the movie, it is easy to see the division of the social classes because of the separation of the three neighborhoods, The East and West Egg and the Valley of the Ashes. The East Egg represents “Old Money” and is where Thomas and Daisy Buchanan live. They belong to the Capitalist Class and acquired their wealth from intergenerational mobility. They have always been wealthy, received their education from the best institutes, have acquired a large amount of property and constantly flaunt their wealth and power. Daisy is very materialistic and lives life without any real morals. She is very selfish and surrounds herself with only the best things. Tom is very arrogant and feels everyone else is inferior to him. He is dishonest and is living a lie by having an affair with Myrtle Wilson, but feels no remorse in doing so. Tom uses his social status to control others, which explains the reason his mistress is from a lower class than him. The “Old Money” causes them to feel more superior to anyone outside of their social group. The West Egg represents “New Money” and is where Jay Gatsby lives. This is where the newly rich live and where Jay Gatsby has moved to try and win over his love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby is very wealthy, but he has had to obtain his wealth from working for it. He has obtained his...