Preview

Examples Of Pomposity In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
323 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Pomposity In The Great Gatsby
Having lived a lower middle-class life, I found that the materialism and superciliousness of the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby quite shocking. I have never had the opportunity to throw money around and to see these people act so callously was very unnerving. Although I do not agree completely with Fitzgerald’s broad outlook on the upper class I can certainly understand the reasoning behind it. Tom and Daisy Buchannan’s pomposity is something quite unlike anything I have ever seen in another human and the pettiness of their problems often times came off as humorous because of how absurd it was. The representation of middle-class people was very inadequate; William Wilson, for example, was described by Tom as being “..so

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    F Scott. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby follows narrator Nick Carraway's life after meeting Jay Gatsby, an extravagant man with an unknown past. By comparing and contrasting Nick Carraway’s interactions with people of different wealth, social class, and background, Fitzgerald explores the differences between those with different backgrounds and current wealth along with the role that it play in their social interactions and marriages.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Fitzgerald’s the Great Gatsby, the only thing that matters in the 1920’s is how lavish the parties are, and how having so much money is not enough. Gatsby has all the money in the world, has lavish parties all in hope that, Daisy will come back. Money is used as a lure in the novel, to try and bring Daisy back. Money destroys the characters, money destroys their lives, and the novel shows how wealth corrupts them in the end. Fitzgerald shows through the characters relationships, how greed was demonstrated in the 1920’s.…

    • 240 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s magnum opus, The Great Gatsby, the theme of the attractive masks of unpleasant realities is present in the first chapter. Nick Carraway, the persona of this great American novel, introduces his relative Daisy Buchanan and her husband Tom in this chapter as people everyone would desire to be as the two are not only wealthy but aristocratic (Fitzgerald 9-11). Despite seeming to lead completely flawless lives due to how privileged they are, Daisy and Tom really do not, for their marriage is in name only. This is so because, like many women from old money families, she married Tom since he is her equal financially and socially, not because they are in love with each other. Daisy’s constant need to maintain her lavish lifestyle is what forces her to stay with Tom even though he is not exactly the man he appears to be as he is neither a committed husband nor father in actuality.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, has some wonderful and extravagant lifestyles portrayed between the pages. The are examples of the many forms of life; the rich, high class: Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby; The middle class: Nick; and the Lower, blue collar, working class: George, and Myrtle. They all have their stories of what they came from and what they have become. Some have moved down; others have moved up. This movement may be large, it may be petite, but in either way they have accomplished something for themselves.…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The mystery behind Jay Gatsby allows for him to become one of the most intriguing members of the upper class. As Gatsby’s background unravels, it becomes clear that Fitzgerald chose Jay Gatsby as the main character because he defies every social normality in the 1920’s. By Fitzgerald’s writing, the reader realizes that Gatsby’s mindset separates him from others. Everything Gatsby has accomplished in the past five years is because of his dedication, ambition, and integrity in following in his dreams which Fitzgerald greatly admires. The social class one is born into is the one they belong to their entire life, unless you are Jay Gatsby. Although Gatsby attempts to convince people that his entire life has consisted of lavish and wealthy things,…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fitzgerald portrays through Jay Gatsby’s illusion that building a life on a fantasy will only lead to an utter disappointment. Gatsby’s blind faith in his ability to “repeat the past” that he’s been dwelling on for “five years” that tribute to his romantic and idealistic nature and a clear indication that he just might be a completely delusional fantasist. So far in his life, everything that he's fantasizing about when he first imagining himself as Jay Gatsby has come true. But in that transformation, Gatsby now feels like he has lost a fundamental piece of himself, and “wanted to recover” from the past. Gatsby is telling Nick about his love for Daisy and how it all begins. For some time Gatsby has been in love with Daisy, and when this moment…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby delves into “the most expensive orgy in history” (Pruitt), exploring the jazz age from an insider’s point of view. An innate dissimilarity between old and new money is explored through Fitzgerald’s characters, a point emphasized at the end of the novel. Fitzgerald showcases the distinct behavior and carelessness of generational wealth breeds, ultimately deepening the novel’s theme of Old vs. New money. In the novel, Fitzgerald emphasizes that how money is acquired does matter. This is because there’s a difference in the behaviors and mannerisms of old and new money, allocating them into different social classes regardless of wealth.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Gatsby lived in disillusionment about the kind of person he was he wanted to have the wealth and grace of the old money to impress Daisy. “An Oxford man!" He was incredulous. "Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit." "Nevertheless he’s an Oxford man" (Fitzgerald 122). Although Gatsby sees himself as part of the wealthy he lacks the class that the rich see themselves as having, because he cannot buy class. The West and east egg are examples of the difference between the old and new money. “My god i believe the man’s coming’” said Tom. “doesn't he know she doesn't want him”(Fitzgerald 179). Gatsby created a god like persona for himself but although he does have the money to blend into the wealthy East eggers he lacks the knowledge about the snobbish attitudes of the rich.Tom and Daisy grew up with the lifestyles of the rich, they viewed themself as decent people although that was not the case. “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back to their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...”(fitzgerald, 179) Tom and Daisy went around life having the ability to throw money at all there problems which in consequence turned them into carless shallow…

    • 1249 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a representation of American society of Roaring Twenties having three social class divisions amid the pursuit of American Dream and presenting the changing trend of social, economic and relationship freedom of females relating to gender, race, ethnicity, sex and sexuality within the class framework found in the portrayal of the characters. Divided people into the old money upper-class, the Buchanans and Jordan Baker; the new money upper-class, Gatsby; the middle class, Nick; and the working class, the Wilsons and minor ones based on wealth and family background are prevailed in the ways of their differences regarding education, residence, earning source, life style, reputation and attitudes.…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the time period of the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald the U.S was in the midst of the famous Jazz Age in which the economy was expanding vastly, but also, shifting social attitudes. The lower class dreamed of living the American Dream that their eyes could see, but were oblivious to the true lives behind the elegant parties, and opulent components that made up the upper class. The rich were covered by a vast blanket of illusion that the poor desperately wanted to be warmed with. Class in The Great Gatsby is a double edged sword. On one side are hard working people trying to inch closer to the American Dream, but on the other side, wealthy men and women who believe they are living…

    • 2335 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Correspondingly, Fitzgerald, like all authors, wrote The Great Gatsby for a reason more than just the 1920s life in its splendor. In the book, The Great Gatsby, characters are wealthy seemingly beyond measure. For example, they have cars to take them to the fanciest party in East Egg, and the women can afford to stay home. East Egg stands out in contrast to West Egg with its glamour and excess, but much of that glamour comes with a price. Jewels replaced morality, and money replaced relationships. “My own house was an eyesore, but it was a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor’s lawn, and the consoling proximity of millionaires-all for eighty dollars a month. Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable…

    • 1811 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald focuses on the wealthy class that live in New York, and takes place during the “Roaring Twenties”, and era of economic prosper and recklessness after World War I. Fitzgerald highlights the irresponsibility and lack of morality that derives from wealth. Throughout the novel, there are a number of characters that abuse their wealth or power in a way to excuse their moral irresponsibility. Through Gatsby’s disputed accumulation of wealth and Tom’s unceasing trysts, Fitzgerald paints a vivid picture of two men who choose to use their wealth and objectives as an excuse for their immoral habits.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many people believe there are two sides of Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. One side with great, but gaudy, and the other side is a fraud that is dishonest. The more dominant side of the two is Gatsby’s gaudy side. Robert Ornstein is a critic of The Great Gatsby, who believes that Gatsby has great intentions while misguiding his lifestyle. Gatsby misguides his life because instead of trying to pursue wealth for a better lifestyle he pursues wealth for Daisy. Jordan Baker tells Nick Caraway, “Gatsby bought that house so Daisy would be just across the bay.” Jordan’s statement provides the fact that Gatsby is using his money on Daisy.…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1920’s marked a time of great post-war economic growth and F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the frenzy of society during this time by setting up three distinct social classes which are old money, new money, and no money. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald introduces three main characters, each from a different class, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson. These characters each have many imperfections that they must contend. Wealthy or not, each character wants to appear as the greatest. And so, throughout the novel they each find a way to put on a ‘mask’ to cover up their many flaws.…

    • 1397 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the years, people have associated colors with ideas. These color connotations help us to better understand an author’s point or message. One author who used color imagery in his descriptive writing was F. Scott Fitzgerald, uses a variety of colors symbolically for effect. Throughout his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses the color white to represent the power, Godliness and immorality of the 1920’s upper class..…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays