Classism In The Great Gatsby

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What a Name Can Mean. In many short stories and novels, the topic of social class and wealth have been the driving force of plot and conflict. F. Scott Fitzgerald however, presents a unique take on classism and how it divides culture in his short story “Winter Dreams”. In this short story, Fitzgerald displays through the life of Dexter Green that the social circle of the upper class cannot be bought into. Fitzgerald begins to portray his argument by displaying the presence of a distinct social order, even in Dexter’s early years. We see this when Fitzgerald describes the caddies as “poor as sin and lived in one room houses.”, however, “Dexter caddied only for pocket money” (185.) with this we can see what exactly Dexter’s status is. It is shown that he is not poor and that his reason for working is strictly for money to enjoy himself, rather than to help support his family as the primary income. However, we …show more content…
However, we can dispel this when we see Dexter playing golf with some members of the upper class. Fitzgerald describes this game of golf as a “curious day, slashed abruptly with fleeting, familiar impressions. One minute he had the sense of being a trespasser.” (189). With this we can see Dexter’s insecurities about his new status. Although he is being in some ways accepted into the upper class lifestyle, he knows that he does not belong. Another argument that could be made is that the fact that he has a relationship with Judy Jones, who is a prominent member of the upper class. However, we see that she is using him along with a string of other guys. Her reasoning behind using Dexter is most likely because he can afford to keep up with her lavish lifestyle, yet she still has a sense of superiority over Dexter and can lead him
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