Class Structure in The Great Gatsby Essay - 1937 Words

Class structure in the 1920s was synonymous to prejudice. The 1920s was known as a period of wild excess and great parties with excitement arising from the ashes of the wars in America’s history. It was a period in history where rapid materialism and narcissistic ideals grew uncontrollably, and it was the days where Jay Gatsby, illegally, rose to success. Having social classes was the same as segregation, except it was through economic standings, the two both instil injustice within social standards. Class structure was used to describe the difference between the new money and old money. The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, written during the 1920s, emphasizes the division between the social classes and the reasons behind why they†¦show more content†¦Installment plans were easy to get and people got into debt without thinking or planning for their future. In the 1920s, if people wanted something then they were able to purchase it, easily. Buying something h ad a major economic impact, the merchandise that were bought had to be made by somebody. This was the era before robot technology emerges and most work was labour intensive—people did the work. The person who made the product would get paid and instead of saving it, he will spend it somewhere else; he, too, will spend some of it and someone somewhere else will have to make more products, so he will then get paid —therefore, the cycle continued. The rich will get richer due to the mass consumption of their products and the poor will get poorer due to them purchasing the products without having enough money for it. â€Å"Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby is an example of the poor. Myrtle is Tom’s lover who is desperately trying to change her life as the lower class. Myrtle is not found with the class she was born into. She insists that she married beneath her, and tries to talk about the lower orders— as if she is not one of them: â€Å"‘I told that boy about the ice.’ Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. ‘These people! You have to keep after them all the time’. Unfortunately for her, she chooses to be Tom’s lover who treats her as a merely object.Show MoreRelatedEssay about The Effects of Class Structure in the 1920s1544 Words   |  7 PagesClass Structures in the 1920’s The emerging inequitable class systems and antagonisms of the nineteen twenties saw the traditional order and moral values challenged, as well as the creation of great wealth for few and poverty for many. The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, explores the causes and effects of the unbalanced class structures. 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