Satire In The Great Gatsby

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Pages: 5

The Great Gatsby is written by Fitzgerald and is a modern narrative that comments on various

themes in modern society such as power, betrayal, justice and the American dream. With the multiple

themes in the story, none is more developed than the overt class warfare developed the polarity between

the poor, the rich and also new money, old money. Published in 1922, it takes place in a period which

some historians regard as the end of the industrial revolution and the start of postwar economic growth. In

this paper, I will compare the social satire of the book with the satirical approach of the Grand Theft Auto

5 game.

The book’s most obvious derision is of the rich and their lifestyle, however Fitzgerald does not

place all of the rich characters in one group
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Only Gatsby, the man who gives

his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I

have an unaffected scorn. (1.4)” Nick sees the good in Gatsby, Gatsby being lower-class has some

decencies that are heard in the rich"offering to take coats" but not seen.

In GTA V the character Michael Desantos lives in Los Santos, an askew representation and

parody of Los Angeles. Michael, who is a retired bank robber in witness protection creates a possibility to

discuss the banal California lifestyle concerned with the economy, and celebrates, and personal fitness

among other things. Michael provides a cynical view of the socioeconomic world saying things like: “Go

to college, get an education, rip people off and get paid for it, it's called capitalism”, although Michael

reels against capitalism he doesn’t do anything to change the social order. His smug observations and

criticism are rendered moot because he also tries to capture the Californian dream, owning a