Interview with Jay Gatsby

Jay Gatsby is a man who has struggled with class distinctions his entire life. He has worked at becoming a member of the upper class and has achieved this status, only to find that has not turned out to be all he had dreamed it to be.

Here's an interview with Mr. Gatsby to get his perspective.

Interviewer: How did it feel growing up in a lower class family?

Gatsby: Well, old sport, I never felt like I belonged in that class. I always wanted more. I would look at other kids at my school and think, "Wow, they are going to acheive so much and they've had this opportunity handed to them."


Interviewer: When did you decide that you would try to become apart of the upper class?

Gatsby: At first, I thought it would be nice, but I never believed in the potential to actually switch social classes. At the time, there was no "striking success". You had your social marker, and you knew it well.


Interviewer: What made it possible for you to "strike success"?

Gatsby: WWI happened. America came home to discover a treasure trove of entrepreneurial opportunites. That's when we all thought maybe we could finally meet our American Dream. But with that new cover of optimism came this new sense of pessimism. We all lived through something traumatic, and it changed the world. The way our parents and grandparents lived no longer felt real. We needed to live for ourselves because life can change pretty quick.


Interviewer: Would you say America's values changed for the better or for the worse?

Gatsby: The worse. At first, we were selfish. We made money any way we can. I made my riches through dishonesty, and I regret it. I saw an opportunity and I thought that there was no reason to avoid it. It's the American Dream! Finally we had equal opportunities! But we didn't.


Interviewer: What was the greatest force in motivating you to change social classes?

Gatsby: Many things. I wanted to achieve success, I wanted to be well thought of.... But the greatest desire was to impress Daisy. She was so elegant and she had so many opportunities. I thought that I could make her happy if I was part of the same social class as her, but I was never really part of the upper class.


Interviewer: Looking back, how hard was it to cope with the discrimination you may have faced?

Gatsby: I definitely had a hard time coping with the feeling of being less than I felt. Especially as a young man. There was so much pressure on me to be all that I could be and I knew it couldn't happen if I stayed where I was. That's when I moved out East, and met Wolfsheim. He presented me with an opportunity to no longer be discriminated. It felt like the easy ticket to being part of the upper class. Now, I wish I had just been happy with whatever I had done. But I wish I hadn't been dishonest about gaining money, but a lot of people were doing things like that back then.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time.

Gatsby No problem, old sport.

Cliques, Class and Society: Can I Force My Way In?

Cliques. Class. Society. All titles we give to the way we function and interact with one another. Cliques often imply a small group of people who share a common interest or set of values. Class is a way of determining the status or "quality" of a person dependent on their background. Society at large is how all we operate and interact and the relationships we have with other people.

In the Great Gatsby however, society holds the meaning of rich, upper class members. Characters are seen to have a need to attain and uphold this status in high society, as in the case of Jay Gatsby. He works to attain wealth to become part of this society and maintains this status by holding lavish parties.

So the question is, can I force my way into these divisions amongst us? Well, would you really want to?

Often we can find a clique that suits us to a degree, but since we are all unique, individuals, there is really no way of finding the perfect "clique". One of the best things about knowing a multitude of people is the diversity it presents. No two people are alike, so why would we categorize ourselves into society based upon common traits and values? Class is another way of limiting our individualism. Based upon inherent upbringing, education, wealth or appearances, we place people in a certain social status that is hard to escape. Jay Gatsby came from a lower class and tried his whole life to attain a higher class level, never accepting who he was as an individual because he wanted to impress other people, particularly Daisy. Since Daisy was so preconditioned to this system of discrimination, she never loved him for his true self. Class and cliques are simply a way to forget individualism.

Cliques, class and society distinctions have a way of making us feel like we're on the outside looking in.


But can you force your way in? It may seem better in another class or higher society to some, promoting ideals of better lifestyles and opportunities. However, The Great Gatsby highlights the pitfalls of forcing your way in. Gatsby finally achieves all he had dreamed of financially and becomes considered as part of the upper class. But at his own parties, he keeps to himself and limits interactions with upper members of the upper class, because he does not feel like he truly belongs there. Why would he try so hard to fit in with a class of people that could not accept him for all the hard work and success he had achieved throughout his lifetime?

Jay Gatsby often felt like an outsider to the upper class.

The feeling of not belonging is shared by the narrator of the story, Nick Carraway. He observes Gatsby knowing the true story and honestly accepts Gatsby for who he is, respecting him. In the novel, Nick is considered upper class because of his new wealth, but has not yet become distinctively known as part of the higher society of Long Island because he is a newcomer, leaving him unattached to social distictions. His outsider view shows the importance of being an individual, because he acts as a true friend to Gatsby.

The author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald shares a cynical approach to cliques, class and society by casting a shallow view upon these distinctions. At the end of the novel, the only people that remained truly loyal to Gatsby are the people that know of his true background and accept him for it. He had pretended to be something he was not to force his way in, and never truly gained anything. He never actually forced his way in because he didn't belong.

The best way to operate in society is to be yourself. Individuality is far more important than fitting into a clique, class or society.

American Dream and Other Lessons From The Great Gatsby

The American Dream. A chance for every American to experience equal opportunities to prosperity and accomplishment. Throughout its history, Americans have dreamed and worked towards this glamorous ideal of the perfect America. But this dream has not gone without criticism from many Americans who see the imperfections in this ideal.

Lady Liberty has been used as a symbol of America and the American Dream.

In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the American Dream and the imperfections he saw in the dream. He represents this by creating fictitious characters living as successful, wealthy American citizens in the 1920's.
The American Dream is first represented in the novel by the main character, Jay Gatsby. He began life as a poor man named James Gatz, coming from a poor family in western America. He changes his name to seem like he is originally from the upper class, and he begins to work odd jobs that he is very dissatisfied with. During his time spent fighting in WWI, he falls in love with an upper class woman, Daisy Buchanan. In the novel, she is a way of representing the American Dream. He constantly yearns to impress her, which he feels like he can do by creating a wealthy status for himself. This is reflected by the green light at the end of her dock. The green light is a way of portraying wealth because the color green often implies money. Gatsby reaches out in the novel to this green light for "his American Dream" (Daisy), much like Americans reached out for their American Dream by searching endlessly for wealth.

Materialism and the pursuit of pleasure rather that happiness lost the true intent of the American Dream.

Gatsby would often yearn for the green light at the end of Daisy's dock, representing his yearning for wealth to achieve the American Dream.

However, Gatsby's means of coming into wealth are dishonest and corrupt, largely reflecting on how Americans lost all original values and morals after the war. Society was beginning to crumble and the pursuit of pleasure began to outweigh the pursuit of happiness, America's original goal in the American Dream. This shallow pursuit of pleasure is paralleled by the excessive materialism seen in the upper class characters throughout the novel. Particularly, this theme is highlighted by Gatsby's elaborate parties, which represent losing sight of the American Dream. When Daisy finally attends one of his parties, she tells Gatsby that she doesn't like it. Daisy represents the American Dream frowning upon this new trend of pleasure and material excess which leaves the American Dream devoid of its original intent.

This famous American painting has been edited to reflect the ongoing materialistic pursuits of America.

Finally, the American Dream, much like Daisy, does not meet expectations. Gatsby once loved Daisy and desperately yearned to become wealthy. When he finally reached his envisioned success, he still felt empty because he had lost sight of the true meaning of the American Dream, the pursuit of happiness. When he reconnects with Daisy years after he has worked towards material prosperity, he finds that Daisy is no longer the person he once knew, reflecting how the American Dream has been altered and corrupted by Americans loosing sight of the meaning.

Has America lost sight of its American Dream?

Is the American Dream really over?

Social Class in The Great Gatsby

     The novel The Great Gatsby explores in great depth the theme of social class. It is centered around upper class and lower class divisions in America. The characters in this novel live along Long Island outside of New York in affluent neighborhoods, West Egg(new wealth) and East Egg (old wealth).
     The main character, Jay Gatsby is revealed as a lower class man who pretends to be upper class after he gains large sums of money. He holds lavish parties at his mansion in West Egg, where people of the upper class often show up uninvited to attend these glamorous social gatherings. Gatsby is a mystery to everyone as he is seen as not really fitting in among the upper class. The fact that he holds these parties shows his intense desire to impress Daisy (upper class), but also his longing to feel part of the upper class. But at his parties, he often does not get involved with guests and keeps to himself. This acknowledges that Gatsby does not truly feel part of this social class, despite his efforts to get in.  He is also shown to have become wealthy through dishonest actions with Meyer Wolfsheim and the World Series, hinting at the dishonesty that may have been practiced by members of the upper class to attain their status.

Jay Gatsby felt out of place, as he never truly felt that he belonged to the upper class.

     Daisy Buchanan is the woman that Gatsby loves. She is also part of the upper class and is married to Tom Buchanan. The relationship between he husband and herself is struggled and she is portrayed in many instances as being uncaring, unloving, and dishonest. This reflects the stereotypes often surrounding the upper class. Daisy is seen in this light when she begins to have an affair with Gatsby, and again when she breaks Gatsby's heart to return to her husband when the relationship doesn't work out. She is portrayed as selfish, and this is exemplified when she murders Myrtle Wilson, the woman her husband is having an affair with, while driving. Fleeing the scene, she runs away with her husband on vacation to escape suspicions of her guilt in the accident. She is also unloving when her relationship with her daughter is shown to be shallow, only occurring when it is convenient for her. An instance this happened is when all of Daisy's friends met her daughter. She saw her daughter for a few minutes and then returned her to the maid.
     The stereotype of upper class individuals is carried out through Tom Buchanan's character. He also has an affair, but visits his mistresses' husband and acts without guilt. At one point, he goes to visit George at his shop to ask Myrtle to come away with him for awhile. His shameless actions make him also appear unloving, uncaring and selfish. Dishonesty is often seen in his character as he admits to Nick Carraway that he lead Wilson to believe that Gatsby was responsible for Myrtle's death.
     The last character that reflects upper class stereotypes is Jordan Baker, whom Nick courts throughout the novel. He is attracted to her upper class elegance, but admits to being not attracted to her dishonesty. Nick thinks to himself while driving with her that "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known". Though Nick is accepted as upper class, he has recently moved to West Egg, which gives him an outsider's perspective on the characters. He also sees that she is careless, and confronts her about it when she recklessly drives with him in the car. She in return claims, "I hate careless people", reflecting her own hypocrisy.
      Jay Gatsby reveals the themes of a lower class member trying to move up class levels. It is revealed that he was never truly happy when he attained a false belonging to this class because he could never really be accepted into it. The stereotypes of the upper class seen throughout the novel reflect the superficiality and hypocrisy of Americans as they strive towards living the American Dream.

Dishonesty is reflected as a trait of the upper classes in The Great Gatsby.

Does Social Class Matter?

      Sitting in my grade 12 English class, we watched a documentary called People Like Us: Social Class in America. This film really made me take a step back and question how our modern society operates. Here's a link to read more about the film: http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/

     The film highlighted the heavy stereotyping we all do in our daily lives. We make preconceived judgements on a person the moment we meet them based on their appearance, family, background, education, and financial situation, whether we are conscious of this or not. And this way of "sizing someone up" is embedded in our culture as we try to be the very best we can be. But if our North American dream is to have equal and fair rights to opportunities, aren't we holding ourselves back with these social class divisions?

      Particularly in this documentary, financial status was emphasized as an indicator of class. A women, Tammy, is shown in the film to be of a lower class because of her financial and living situation. She lives in a small trailer with her family and walks miles every day to work at a fast food restaurant because she does not own a vehicle. Immediately, she is placed in the lower class of society, regardless of her strenuous efforts to make things better for herself. Even more considerable in the effects social class play on us is the story of her son, Matt, who dreams of becoming a lawyer. Because of this distinction of lower class his family has received, he fears he won't be able to reach his goals and is ashamed of his background. Clearly, we are lacking equal opportunities for all.

     Another example of social class touching our daily lives is the story of a member of an elite social class entitled the White Anglo Saxon Protestants, who gives extensive lessons on what it is like to be a WASP member. They attest to be simply "better", and hold themselves in high esteem. This status as a member cannot easily be attained either. It is inherited through family, making an equal opportunity at being in the prestigious and haute society of America impossible. Why does this class even exist? It unquestionably contradicts the principles of the "American Dream".

There are clear distinctions between haute society and bourgeois, which we continue to uphold in society.

     So does social class really matter to us today? More than we know. It predetermines our opportunities in life and separates us all into social cliques and niches with similar backgrounds. An example I've even noticed in my high school is a division in academic levels of study. One stream prepares you for future studies in college, while the other is tailored to university. I have taken classes at both levels and have noticed a general trend. College level classes and the students in these classes are looked down upon, seen as underachieving and put in a lower regard than university stream level students, who are held in high esteem to be very bright and have good, numerous opportunities in life. This is an unfair and untrue statement, but we hold these judgements because of our developed notions of class. Students may simply be in a lower level class because it is not an area of study that is of great interest to them or they simply do not want to spend the amount of time in post-secondary education that university requires. Why should we judge? We shouldn't, but we do.

     Regardless of our idolized "North American Dream", we do have certain barriers in society that will judge us and determine who we are before ever even knowing us.

Haven't we all felt trapped in this system of social class?