Wealth and social class permeate a lot of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’. Set throughout the roaring twenties when many individuals had newly gathered wealth after the conflict, each texts search to discover and satirise the complexities of wealth and social class. They significantly concentrate on how far individuals could go to suit right into a social class or shield their fortune. Regardless of ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’ being set throughout the fantasy style, components of Fitzgerald’s personal life run as undercurrents all through each texts.
Fitzgerald’s life options closely within the texts, be it via the characterisation of Nick and Gatsby or the underlying references to his private experiences. The experiences of the principle protagonists’ kind parallels with Fitzgerald’s interactions with the rich, each at Princeton and Great Neck and in his relationship with Zelda. ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’ satirises the exuberant wealth skilled by Fitzgerald when visiting a Princeton classmate. ‘The Great Gatsby’ however, is extra reliant on elements of Fitzgerald’s personal life which kinds the emotional basis of the novel.
Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy mirrors Fitzgerald’s turbulent relationship with Zelda who very similar to Daisy, was considered being extremely materialistic. Gatsby can due to this fact be seen as a representing Fitzgerald’s pursuit of ample wealth to help an aristocratic love curiosity. He does this to the detriment of his inventive integrity which he compromised by writing quick tales to fund Zelda’s opulent life-style. That is mirrored by Gatsby compromising his integrity and private price by bootlegging and mendacity about being the ‘son of some rich individuals within the Center-West’, with the intention to please Daisy and hopefully achieve acceptance.
He fails in each these areas. In integrating components of his private life, Fitzgerald could also be implying that loving somebody of a unique social class comes with compromises and that one could lose sight of who they’re within the course of. ‘The Great Gatsby’ by advantage of its representations of wealth and sophistication may be seen as a working criticism of the American Dream and America’s obsession with wealth amidst the hedonistic tradition of the 1920’s. The American Dream had initially been based on the notion that anybody, no matter their background may obtain something within the ‘land of alternative’ in the event that they labored onerous sufficient.
Fitzgerald nonetheless, believed that the American Dream was simply an ‘phantasm’ and that it had been corrupted by the of pursuit wealth. He persistently challenged the concept of the achievability of the American Dream in ‘The Great Gatsby’. The geographical motifs of East and West Egg embody simply how unachievable the American Dream is. This geographical separation could symbolise the hypothetical and literal divides between the nouveau riche who reside in West Egg and aristocrats of East egg, consequently highlighting how they are going to without end lead separate existences.
This gives the look of the American Dream being extremely flawed, as having acquired nice wealth doesn’t translate into acceptance for the individuals of West Egg, who’re seen because the social subordinates of the aristocrats of East Egg. That is additional established by the behaviour of the company at Gatsby’s social gathering. The individuals of West Egg lack the refinement, grace and manners of their aristocratic counterparts for whom these traits kind the rudiments of their social class. This consequently demonstrates how East and West Egg are separated by greater than geographical distance but in addition by easy issues resembling social etiquette and vogue selections.
Jordan’s social gathering (who include fellow East Eggers) are ‘unfold round a desk on the skin of the backyard’ ‘rigorously on guard’, emphasising that even throughout the intimate confines of the social gathering the divide continues to be obvious and the individuals of East Egg are reluctant to combine. The corruption of the American Dream is additional explored via the principle protagonists’ preliminary amazement and delight (early on within the textual content) on the nice wealth they encounter. Fitzgerald employs a myriad of symbolisms, metaphors and similes to depict the sheer luxurious and over exuberance of the aristocrats inside each texts.
Via these gadgets he is ready to satirise the materialistic world the aristocrats inhabit, making it seem outlandish. In ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’ John Unger, a boy from Hades with ‘meager requirements of dwelling’ is ‘amused and delighted’, by the luxurious life-style Percy and his household lead. When he arrives with Percy they’re pushed in what Percy dismissively calls a ‘buggy’. Nonetheless, the reader can extrapolate from John’s response on the ‘thousand minute tapestries of silk, woven with jewels’ that the car is much from an outdated buggy.
On this occasion John’s amazement could have been employed to paradox Percy’s dismissive perspective in direction of wealth as he refers back to the luxurious automobile as ‘outdated junk’. Fitzgerald could have used this paradox spotlight the hole nature of the rich, whose lives are fueled by consumerism to the extent that they place little worth to the possessions everybody else would deem as extraordinary. In ‘The Great Gatsby’, Nick can be amazed by the wealth he experiences on the Buchanan residence. His first interplay with Daisy and Jordon has a dream like high quality to it.
When he meets the ladies they’re wearing white, ‘their clothes rippling and fluttering … a brief flight round the home’ this provides the ladies an angelic high quality which hints at how Nick is initially drawn in by their nice wealth. This surreal and dream like high quality of wealth can be mirrored in ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’ with the depiction of the lady who’s dressed like ‘Titania’. Within the play, A Midsummer Night time’s Dream, Titania is the queen of the fairies which Fitzgerald could have used to allude to the magical and mystifying qualities of wealth current inside each texts.
Conversely, the amazement the principle protagonists’ initially showcased quickly dissipates after they uncover the corruptive nature of wealth and the rich. Regardless of the individuals of East Egg possessing an abundance of grace, magnificence and style (that comes with adhering to the norms of aristocratic society) they lack compassion. The East Eggers are offered as little greater than bullies who use their cash to alleviate any considerations they’ve, no matter who they damage within the course of.
This morally corrupt nature of the wealthy is explored via the Buchanan’s in ‘The Great Gatsby’ and the Washingtons’ in ‘The Diamond as Huge because the Ritz’. The Buchanans’ are offered as ‘careless individuals’ who ‘smash[ed] issues up’ solely to retreat again into ‘their huge carelessness’. Their lack of ethical fiber is additional emphasised when as a substitute of attending Gatsby’s funeral they transfer right into a home far-off. Fitzgerald could have used the Buchanans’ as an ethical didactic for the readers as an example how wealth can corrupt when one permits themself to change into consumed by it.
Alternatively, it may signify the unfair nature of capitalist societies whereby the rich upper-class can afford to pay for peace of thoughts. This conflicts with Gatsby whom regardless of accumulating his wealth via criminality is sort and loving, preserving watch outdoors Daisy’s window to insure Tom doesn’t damage her, consequently illustrating that wealth alone doesn’t corrupt however when coupled with excessive social standing it may have disastrous results. Furthermore, in each texts faith (which is meant to strengthen ones ethical compass) has been changed by consumerism.
Atrocious issues are carried out within the title of wealth within the texts, together with homicide and imprisonment. This stuff are written off as a pure pre-requisite of success and enlargement. Right here Fitzgerald argues that wealth may be its personal jail blinding its pursuers, dehumanizing them to the extent that they devalue human life and assume that everybody may be purchased. Fitzgerald satirizes the absurd nature of the wealthy when Mr. Washington tries ‘providing a bribe to God’ with a voice immersed in ‘inextinguishable delight’.
Ross Posnock, a Marxist author, praised Fitzgerald in his essay ‘A New World, Materials With out Being actual’ for his presentation of the capitalist society in ‘The Great Gatsby’1. Posnock believed that Fitzgerald had captured the capitalist society’s obsession with materials wealth and the way it results in individuals being considered little greater than object that may be acquired together with capital with the intention to enhance ones social standing. Gatsby’s huge wardrobe is a ‘heavy defensive wall’ consisting of ‘thick silk’ and ‘costly dye’ which help the Marxist view of fabric possessions offering a barrier in opposition to hardship which the wealthy can conceal behind.
For Gatsby, and lots of others, materials possessions Help to guard their standing in the identical means the ‘invisible cloak’ of Gatsby’s military uniform had hidden his decrease class standing when he first met Daisy. Typically, the destructive portrayal of consumerism in his work has made him extremely popular with Marxist writers. In conclusion, Fitzgerald makes use of ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Diamond as Huge as Ritz’ to focus on the destructive components of wealth and sophistication, while significantly emphasising that class roles won’t ever be crossed.
Each texts spotlight the potential hazards of capitalist societies when one turns into consumed by materialism, inserting better significance on financial fortune and standing than the implications of their actions. Though Fitzgerald presents each wealth and sophistication in destructive lights he reminds the reader that wealth alone doesn’t give method to ethical corruption hinting that it’s wealth along with excessive social class that results in the decaying of 1’s ethical compass.
