In this New York society, there are two main wealthy classes. The people from the East Egg come from a background of “old money.” These families have a long line of wealth and education. The people from the West Egg, also where Gatsby lives, are known as the “nouveau riche.” Their wealth has been accumulated in recent years. The people from the East Egg look down upon the West Egg society because of what little knowledge they have about class and money. Since Gatsby has gained his wealth by bootlegging, most people don’t know how to judge him.
In the 1920’s the American Dream was something that everyone struggled to have. A spouse, children, money, a big house and a car meant that someone had succeeded in life. A very important aspect was money, and that’s what greatly determined success. This was not true in all cases however. Jay Gatsby was a poor boy that turned into a very wealthy man, but did he live the American Dream?
Research Project Why We Should Educate Children of Illegal Immigrants There are many people in the United States who disagree against the law to educate children of illegal immigrants due to the high expenses spend annually and while it is coming from the taxes paid by the citizens. I concede that it may cost a fortune to educate those children of illegal immigrants by using our tax payments. However, I would argue that those children should have a right to be educated due to many reasons; they can contribute to the society, keep peace within the community, and increase growth of the economy. One of the points how children of illegal immigrants can be supportive for the society is by staying away from gangs’ organization when they are kept in school. As Clark Kirby, a Texas State Director in “Educating Illegal Aliens in Texas” points out, there are many arguments between those Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court if children of illegal immigrants should have educational rights because it would cost up to $5,000 per year per student.
After reading and getting a sense or idea of what wilding is, things made more sense. I do believe that the idea of wilding can make people go crazy or obsess about their greed and the only thing stopping us all from wilding is not understanding what wilding is. I also believe that people would rather take shortcuts to being wealthy other than working hard and earning it. Like what Derber said, “Many signs point to a corruption of the American Dream in out time. Most Americans do not become killers to make it up the ladder or to hold on to what hey have, but the traditional restraints on naked self-aggrandizement seem weaker-and the insatiability greater” (Derber, p. 14).
They don’t live lavish lifestyles. They are willingly to pay for quality items but certainly not as an image booster. Most people that live next door to these types of millionaires are oblivious to that fact. These types of millionaires may very well be perceived as boring and as not having a very happy life or lifestyle. Usually this is not the case though and these millionaires are indeed very happy.
The obsession with social hierarchy drives people to be selfish and greedy- never happy with what they have. At the same time, there are many people like Gatsby today who feel they have to cheat their way to the top to be happy, like so many corporate giants who have schemed for years and stole billions of dollars from innocent, but maybe slightly naïve taxpayers. Both kinds of people have lost the sense of the American dream. Originally people just wanted a perfect but humble life: a loving, close-knit family, a steady paying job, and ultimately pure happiness. But once people see that it is possible to have much more than that, they begin to get covetous and only want more.
Money is very important this day in age and using steroids will make you better than everyone and you will be rich and successful. Another is to win and acquire personal fame (III 1). Money is a very large reason for professional athletes to use steroids. But it has plenty incentives for someone who is trying to make it into the major leagues and need that extra “push” to get there so they can stop working hard boring jobs and get paid to do what they love. It could be the difference of working two jobs seventy hours a week or being rich and famous and retire middle aged in a tropical part of the world.
Social classes in America are often very overlooked in the eyes of many Americans and people throughout the world. Contrary to what many people believe, the wealth of a child’s parents has much to do with how successful that child is later in life. Wealth in America has a great deal of say in determining a child's future; for example, a child from a wealthy family is able to afford high quality pre-school before mandatory schooling begins. On the other end, a child coming from a poor family, that is not able to afford this extra schooling, will already be at a disadvantage when compared to that of a wealthy family. In an article by the New York Times titled, “A Great Nation If You’re Born Rich” author Miles Clark talks as if he were to come from poor parents in America and says: “If my parents lived in the U.S I would have a 1 in 5 chance of being stuck in the bottom 10% of the earnings distribution”(Clark).
The local economy and the global forces and economic pressures have affected people’s prospects in achieving a rich lifestyle and rely heavily on government entitlements and programs which so many criticize as going in the wrong direction. But in reality, entitlements like Medicaid, food assistance (SNAP), Medicare and Social Security have helped so many Americans survive through these hard times, although many of these programs do not form part of the American Dream in many minds. In the past many Americans depended on manufacturing jobs for their livelihood. When they got a job, there was a great amount of certainty that they could rely on it to progress and sustain a healthy lifestyle for their family to buy a home, car and everything that came with it. Today those jobs have gone to other developing nations who can afford to hire employees at low wage.
After reading some of the tutorials in this article I wondered how many of these people gave it all they had. I think what made the middle class so great in its day was the fact that most of the folks in this income bracket made donations to the rest of society. Without a strong and healthy middle class we are just left with the rich and the poor. The rich try to convince the rest of us that if you work hard enough you too can be a CEO. And the poor know better.