Throughout Fitzgerald's The Great
Gatsby, we see numerous examples of the tension between people from different
social classes--more specifically the rich (or "old money") vs. the poor (or "new
money").
But, one difference between these classes is that
the rich possess a resilence despite any circumstance. The rich in Fitzgerald's world
(Tom and Daisy) can afford to be silly, reckless, and in this story, even murderous and
get away with it. However, when anyone from a lower class participates in these
shenanigans, they pay for it with their reputation, money (or in Gatsby's case, his
life). The rich in this story walk around with a safety net, and they are exempt in many
ways, from consequences.
After Gatsby's death, Nick runs
into Tom on the street where they have a short argument about what happened. When Nick
realizes it's useless, he says to himself
readability="10">They were careless people, Tom and Daisy — they
smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast
carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up
the mess they had made. . . . (chapter
9)Nick understands that
people like Daisy and Tom don't care, because nothing can touch them. Nick also realizes
that Gatsby, and others like him, will always be vulnerable because of their place on
the socio-economic ladder.
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