The Great Gatsby: Social Difficulties

On the basic social differences and difficulties faced by Gatsby and Daisy in The Great Gatsby.

The Great Gatsby is a detailed story which accurately describes the social society of North East America during the 1920’s and the difficulties classes have with integrating with each other.  In the story, Fitzgerald writes about a man named Gatsby and a woman named Daisy and the romantic relationship between the two. Complicating the relationship is the fact that both of them are viewed by society as being of two social classes despite both of them being from the wealth upper class. The relationship is also classified as an affair due to the fact that Daisy is married to another man and despite the fact that the man is cheating on Daisy.

The social classes that Gatsby and Daisy belong to also present difficulties by influencing the personalities of both of them. Gatsby, a “new” rich man, can easily be contrasted from Daisy. Several contrasting differences between Gatsby and Daisy are their different homes, with Daisy’s home being an old mansion while Gatsby’s is a new mansion, their diction, with Gatsby adopting the statement “old sport”, their acquaintances, and their backgrounds; Daisy comes from a wealthy background while Gatsby grew up from a poor background. With these several differences, it can be hinted that Fitzgerald is trying to show that although two people from different social classes may love each other, they cannot easily have relationships because of the borders between classes. This is also reinforced in the story’s climatic ending, where Gatsby is shot dead and Daisy is forced to move away from the area. The Great Gatsby is an interesting story which shows the strong and solid borders between social classes in 1920 America.

Image by irina slutsky via Flickr

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