Literature Study

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the basis of race and class through Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and Johnson's "Autobiography of an Ex-coloured Man". These literary works highlight the barriers that define the American Dream as a myth reserved for the greater white population to at least attain a middle class or, in the rare event of Jay Gatsby, a temporary reprieve as a brief member of the older ruling elites. It explains that Gatsby's death resoundingly defines the lack of care that the rich have for those outside of their social circles and reiterates the lack of reality in the American Dream.

From the Paper:

"In this literary study, the basis of race and class status between African Americans and the nouveau rich will be examined in relation to two literary works: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Autobiography of an Ex-coloured Man by James Weldon Johnson. By understanding Jay Gatsby's rise to fame and fortune by being a smuggler during the Great Depression, one can realize that he would be driven to achieve any kind of wealth in pursuing the American dream of wealth and prosperity in rising to a higher class status. In relation to this, but not necessarily on the same level, James Weldon Johnson's own experiences as an African American intellectual is also presented, which reveals how he also partook in the American Dream in raising ..."

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