There are always two sides: the good ones and the bad ones. Obviously it is not possible to define each one because there are different ways of setting a preference for who is the good or the bad. The Socs are the privileged kids from the Westside that as the word Soc means society, they have nice cars, they are rich and they live for bluffing. The Greasers are the unprivileged ones who live in the poor side and have to put up with the Soc’s attacks, in both moral and physical ways. A special detail to look at are the changes the protagonist undergoes during the novel which I think is one of the main purposes the author wants us to pay special attention to, since the entire plot is based on Pony’s feelings and expectation for his life.
They tend to do this by talking like others, buy knock off brand versions of what the rich buy, and go to places where the rich go. People often overlook the lesser things of life because a small part of the human mind doesn’t want to see the bad things that hide in the dark to live a happy, blissful, ignorant life. Poverty-stricken Americans do not hide away; they can be seen but because of consignment stores and places like Walmart, they don’t overly stand out and can be ignored easily enough. In the story, “Dumpster Diving,” Lars Eighner tends to be ignored by others as he scavenges through dumpsters searching
While both the men are exceptionally wealthy they came into money very differently. Gatsby had to lie and cheat for his money in his later years of his life and Tom was born into prosperity. Tom makes it very clear to Gatsby in the novel that wealth is “in his blood,” causing Gatsby to work even harder to win back Daisy. Gatsby is a very friendly and
It is believed that society is made up of many parts to work together to make it function as a whole. Emile Durkheim believed that each person in society as a whole had their own part to contribute to make society function. Furthermore it was deteremined that when everyone did their part society functioned “normal” versus “abnormal” when certain parts were not in synch with the whole. Conflict Theory is the belief that society consists of groups that are competing for resources that are scarce. In this theory, there is almost always a struggle for power with the wealthy usually winning while the poor loose and therefore have less resources.
Cherry Valance points out the differences between a Soc and a Greaser to Ponyboy. Curtis has always thought it was the wealth and lifestyle that separated them into two different social groups. Valance disagrees and tells him, ‘It’s not just the money. Part of it I, but not all. You
He is even more upset when he finds out that Harry sent him to Bruges as his “one last joyful memory” before dying (58). Ray doesn’t pitch as much of a fit over being killed as he does about spending his last days in Bruges. Ray selfishly questions Harry’s actions by asking why not “the Bahamas” or “Fiji”, why did it have to be Bruges (58)? Ray can’t imagine why Harry would have sent him here. As Harry explains to Ken, he used to spend his childhood in Bruges and finds it a very magical place.
An example of indecency was Gatsby’s memories and moments with Daisy. Back then, as he remembered and as Nick recalled, Gatsby was poor, working hard but drafted into the army for World War I; but as the departure prolonged, their love dissipated due to financial crisises. Naturally, Daisy married a rich man, Tom Buchanan but began to regret such marriage when Gatsby returned with popularity and wealth beyond anyone’s dreams. Daisy’s quick exchange between the two men was only because of order, who saw who first, and wealth, who was richer. Gatsby fulfilled both those choices and more; thus, Daisy logically would regret her “love” for him.
The only reason Daisy stays is for Tom's money. The only thing that brought the two together was “their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together.”(Fitzgerald 180) Due to being wealthy, Daisy gains the rich title. Although she never had the same feelings she did for Tom that she had for Gatsby. The letter that Gatsby wrote made her “change' her mine.”(Fitzgerald 74) But due to her desire for money, Daisy changed her decision and marries Tom “Next day at five o'clock”(Fitzgerald 75) Money was the essential item that helped Daisy change her decision due to Gatsby not having what Tom had at the time. During one of Gatsby's parties, Daisy connects with Nick, and she makes a statement saying how “These things excite me”(Fitzgerald 105) explicitly stating how she loves events such as parties.
This differentiates from the characters Linda and Willy in ‘Death of a Salesman” where they are living in a “small, fragile-seeming home” and the in detail yet minimal use of furniture. Perhaps because it is a stage and not everything can be described as explicitly as a novel but nonetheless, the overall mood shows the lack of money keeping them happy. Here you can see the happiness of having money to spend in comparison of having no money at all. Both Miller and Fitzgerald show their life in a chapter almost to do with wealth. Fitzgerald had a very wealthy lifestyle compared to most Americans and Miller was the
These different social rifts come from a result of greed from the destruction of the American Dream. West Egg represents the “new rich”, where people have made their wealth in a short period of time. West egg has more morals of the two eggs, yet West Egg is still very superficial with their gaudy housing and spending. Nick and Gatsby are both from West Egg, which gives an idea of what “type” of people live in what areas. At the beginning of the book Nick says he lived in West Egg “…the less fashionable of the two…” (10).