The Role Of Social Class In The Great Gatsby

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Could someone could actually change their social class? Parents tell children that they can be whatever or whoever they want to be, but is this actually the best option for their children? Social class is determined at a young age, and trying to change social class usually alters a person’s character. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is born and raised in a lower class family. As he fell in love with Daisy, who was an upper class lady, he strived to have the “American dream.” Gatsby believed that changing social class was possible, but it was not entirely. The Great Gatsby presented social classes in the 1920’s throughout the lives a of people in a variety of classes. In a way, the social classes could mix, but would never be accepted. Nick Carraway was only accepted into Daisy’s life because he was her cousin. “Daisy was my second cousin once removed, and I’d known Tom in college” (Fitzgerald 5). He was also only accepted by Jay Gatsby because he was used in a way for Gatsby to initiate a closer relationship with Daisy. Gatsby strived to have enough money to win Daisy over her husband, but no matter how much Daisy loved him, he was “new money.” The fact that she only desired someone who would fit into her division defines the upperclassmen. …show more content…
Once one leaves a division, one may not completely fit into another. Although Jay Gatsby left the lower class and gained a tremendous amount of money, he never truly fits into the upper class. “His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people- his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all” (Fitzgerald 98). The same goes for someone who had a larger amount of money and lost it. The lowerclassmen would never accept them. They would perceive them as someone higher than them, just because of where they came from. Where someone comes from plays a larger part in society than
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