Social Class The Great Gatsby, Conflicts And Relationships

Social Class is Everything In today’s society, social class plays a large role in who is with who. Celebrity couples and weddings are very commonplace, but the rich and famous rarely marry those who are of the middle, or lower class. If it does happen though, it is usually a rich, older man marrying a young, beautiful woman. This would usually not happen unless the older man was rich, and these relationships do not usually last very long. Along with this, some people in foreign countries still practice the tradition of arranged marriages, which are usually based solely on wealth. As well as romantic relationships, friendships are also affected by social class. It is very unlikely that a rich person like Kim Kardashian would be friends†¦show more content†¦When Tom and Gatsby are arguing in the New York apartment, Tom says, â€Å"I’ll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door.† (Fitzgerald 131), calls Gatsby a â€Å"commo n swindler† (Fitzgerald 133), and then says, â€Å"You’re one of that bunch that hangs around with Meyer Wolfsheim†(Fitzgerald 133). All of these examples show that Tom not only hates Gatsby for loving Daisy, but also for how he acquires his money and his social class. Although Tom still would not like Gatsby when he discovers he was seeing Daisy, the fact that Gatsby is from the West Egg, a different social class, means he dislikes him anyway. This doubling of Tom’s hate likely leads to him giving Gatsby up to Mr. Wilson in the end. Besides the surface reasons, there is a deeper, more complex way in which difference in class caused and intensified a conflict. Towards the beginning of the book we learn of Tom and Myrtle Wilson’s affair. This affair has a deeper impact than most realize though. During the party in Myrtle’s sister’s apartment, Myrtle’s sister says, â€Å"Can’t stand them† when referring to how Tom and Myrtle feel about their spouses (Fitzgerald 33). She then goes on to say the reason Myrtle and Tom don’t divorce their current spouses and get married is because Daisy is Catholic and doesn’t believe in divorce. According to Nick however, â€Å"Daisy was not Catholic†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Fitzgerald 33). The real reason Tom and Myrtle do not get married is because of theirShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby And The Roaring Twenties1131 Words   |  5 Pagesdecade that roared with social amends† it was often referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Two famous literature pieces are very similar connecting key events and issues from this time period. F. 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