Nicolaou | 3
Giorgia Nicolaou
Mrs.Bonnell
AP ELC, Period: 1
1 September 2017
The Social Similarities of the Great Gatsby and Our Current Society
The Great Gatsby may have been written in 1925, however there are many social aspects presented throughout the lives of the characters that are very similar in American society today. Our society’s nature has said to have evolved from the past decade with more freedom and technological advances, yet our convictions and mindsets haven’t really changed from that of the 19th century. From the perspective of a teenager, there are so many ideas pressured on young students in order for them to become the most acceptable version of themselves, many of which are similar to fitting in in the society of Gatsby. Gatsby reflected the ideal man: a rich, well liked, important person who provided more enjoyment for people than he did for himself. He was very socially liked for reasons people would be socially liked in today’s society, wealth and extravagance being a major component in his attraction. In the Great Gatsby, the importance of wealth, alcoholism, and social rank found in the lives of the characters are things still found in today’s society, demonstrating a stagnation of social thinking.
For a long time, a person’s social position was defined by their affluence, a concept that still defines people today. People are constantly compared by the clothes that they wear to the car that they drive. Sometimes, even relationships are created on the basis of economic status. In the era of Gatsby, wealth was the sole figure in determining how successful one would turn out socially. As seen in the story, Daisy needed a man that had wealth in order to provide for her, therefore she ended up with a man like Tom. She might’ve ended up with Gatsby in the beginning had he had his wealth when they met. Just like Daisy, Myrtle based her love life on money as well. Her husband that worked as the owner of an auto shop couldn’t give her what she felt she needed, resulting in an unhappy marri...
