"The Great Gatsby" and Gluttony

Paper Summary:

This paper compares and contrasts Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan to determine the theme. It explains how Gatsby struggles to earn money, even succumbing to illegal activities, to impress Daisy. Even through Gatsby labored for Daisy, she refuses to devote all her love to him because he cannot join her aristocratic social class, even with money. It explains that Buchanan keeps her despite his lack of love only because he resides among the social elite. Gatsby's failure demonstrates the futility of the American Dream and that society is still controlled by a sheathed class cast system which prevents even the hardest working Americans from joining.

From the Paper:

"In feudal Europe, wealthy lords and ladies thrived off the labor of unfortunate peasants because of their possession of land. This rigid social system depended upon the cooperation of the lower classes with the higher class and the preservation of a high ratio of laborers to noblemen. Because the noblemen dictated the social and economical lives of the peasants, peasants rarely became nobles. America's government was drafted to eliminate these social barriers by promising the possible attainment of the American Dream to all citizens, wealthy or poor. In the 1920's, wealth and property became easily attainable, and the American Dream seemed like a prospect for all Americans. However, the feudal system survived; cloaked under the accessible flow of cash, distinct social classes still divided the population. Even if a lower-class man becomes as wealthy as the noble aristocracy, the established lords and ladies need to preserve their status and the high laborer to noble ratio, so they exclude the newly rich from their inner society. This conflict is especially distinct in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, which explores the lives of Jay Gatsby, a young, gauche social climber, and Tom Buchanan, an arrogant, conservative aristocrat. Both Gatsby and Tom pursue their versions of the American Dream throughout the novel, revealing the decline of American Dream to social feudality in the 1920's as a central theme to the novel."

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