Tom and Daisy live in East Egg, and they represent shallowness, greed and superficiality. East eggers lack the most morals because they are corrupted by the American Dream. Fitzgerald did this on purpose to express his criticism of the American Dream, by showing how it negatively affected people. Finally, The Valley of Ashes which stretched between West Egg and New York City. This represented the lower class, but on a broader view it symbolized where society was headed from an unchecked pursuit of wealth.
28) In this confrontation the difference between the social classes are shown. It shows how Tom looks down on gorge just because he is poor, and how Tom thinks that because he has a higher social status and because he is rich has the power to treat him badly. Tom’s self center and prepotent attitude is shown in the dialogue, and thus representing the moral and social decay that the wealthy people had due to their excesses. In conclusion Fitzgerald exclude the middle class as a critique to the extremes in the social classes, because he wanted to show the contrast between them and the repercussions the social class had on the characters. Through the novel the duality between the rich and the poor is always present, and the effects of the extremes and the insatiable aim of wealth is represented by the valley of ashes.
Following the recent Cold War, capitalist America’s controlling nature typically victimised plebeians on the basis of their political perspective. Through the employment of mise-en-scene where the campfire is placed in the middleground of the dark Atacama Desert, Salles creates a salient point which emphasises the disassociation of the Chilean miners from society. Ernesto’s authorial voiceover ‘tragic and haunting faces’ in conjunction with a close-up shot of their dirt-stained faces, the mining couple are presented as politically dispossessed. This draws sympathy from the audience towards the couple as they are victimised and oppressed due to American capitalism. Moreover, when being chosen by the mining company, the unsteady camerawork and constant switching of perspectives highlights the controversial nature of the conversation and presents Ernesto as an authoritative figure fighting the inhumane treatment of the impoverished in South America.
Daisy and Tom haven't been to Gatsby's parties, because they dislike the "new money" types, and so do their East Egg friends. Wilson has blended into his social and geographical background so much that he has become almost ghost-like. Nick scurries back across America to avoid death or the feeling of restlessness that has come upon those others that have stepped outside their
A common trait of the character's in "As You Like It" is how their sense of belonging is weakened by the man-made court. In this sense, the setting of the court is occupied with corruption and therefore enhance how harmonious Arden is. In the court, Orlando sees himself being abandoned by his kingdom. Oliver neglects his upbringing for selfish reasons is portrayed when Orlando complains to his brother, "I know you are my brother as...you should know me." The mournful and discouraged tone of the dialogues between the two of them depicts a hidden barrier towards each other.
So yes, Neil sees some flaw’s in the upper class but is not thinking one bit about going back home to live with his Aunt and Uncle. He wants to stay for as long as he can and being with Brenda is the perfect way to do it. Philip Roth’s Goodbye Columbus follows directly from the difference in achieved social status. There are many implications in this book of different social class roles and how the characters deal with it. Neil and Brenda are always trying to see beyond this social difference but can never reach a comfortable
On one level The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period in which it was set. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby's parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby's involvement in crime all identify the period and the American setting. But as a piece of social commentary The Great Gatsby also describes the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideals conflict with the actual social conditions that exist. For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome.
The great depression and the dust bowl brought a new myth to the 1930’s which was the misconception of self-blame and personal responsibility which evolved from the earlier self-made man myth. “Most Americans were taught to believe that every individual was responsible for his or her own fate, that unemployment and poverty were signs of personal failure” (CD; B, 662). Many men were ashamed and blamed themselves for their loss, some even pretended to still go to work during the day because they were too ashamed to let down their family. (CD; B, 663) Some Americans also blamed the president himself and named their poor crumbling neighborhoods. “Many Americans held the president personally to blame for the crisis and began calling the shantytowns that unemployed people established on the outskirts of cities “Hoovervilles” (B, 676; CD) The 1930’s also show examples of our continuing inequality in America.
Nobody came” (165). Nick assumes that Gatsby’s generosity in entertaining would result in a respectable number of mourners at his funeral. Nick assumes that Gatsby’s life has impacted many, Daisy in particular. However, not only does Daisy fail to pay her respects, but Nick himself quickly loses sight of Gatsby. “I tried to think about Gatsby then for a moment, but he was already too far away” (Fitzgerald 165).
Social class inequalities are one of the central themes revealed in both Oliver Twist and Slumdog Millionaire. Discrimination towards the lower classes was common in Victorian England, and is thus displayed constantly through Oliver Twist. The poor were seen as inferior to the upper classes, to be considered and treated as little more than the lowliest of animals. Poverty is described as ‘loathsome’ and ‘repulsive.’ The use of emotive language in quotes by Mr Bumble, with words such as ‘wickedness’ and ‘frightful’ tells the responder that to people of Bumble’s status, the poor were corrupt and to be distrusted. When Oliver is first taken to see a deceased woman of the underclass, her mourning family is described as being ‘so like the rats he had seen outside.’ Dickens’s use of this simile had a dehumanising effect, and shows that the upper classes believed the poor deserved good will as much as rodents did.