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. |
