The Prominence of Wealth

I wanted to expand on our Socratic Circle discussion on The Diamond as Big as the Ritz and wealth.

Standards of wealth are still very similar from the 1920's to 2016. People still enjoy expensive fashion, pricey entertainment, and overall just spending too much. The value of

The introduction of wealth and it's value in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz started with the name of the city John lives in, Hades. Associating Hell with poorness established the importance of being wealthy. Comparing Hades with Heaven or the diamond mountain, also shows the prominence of wealth.

Fitzgerald says in his novella, "St. Midas' School is half an hour from Boston in a Rolls-Pierce motorcar. The actual distance will never be known, for no one, except John T. Unger, had ever arrived there save in a Rolls-Pierce and probably no one ever will again. St. Midas's is the most expensive and most exclusive boys' preparatory school in the world."

In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, wealth was present through all location names. The name of St. Midas suggests how toxic wealth is, and how it is a rare gift, one which is gifted to few. Where you attend school is an indicator of wealth as is the cars you drive.

In the 1920's there was a huge wealth surge, but this wealth was disproportionately distributed. "The nations's total realized income rose from $74.3 billion in 1923 to $89 billion in 1929 (reference.com)." The wealthy were extremely wealthy, and the poor were excessively so, the middle class had dissolved to almost nothingness.

Fitzgerald wrote In The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, "He must be very rich," said John simply. "I'm glad. I like very rich people. The richer a fella is, the better I like him." Appearance was valued over all, and the monetary value a person had determined their worth as a person. Even in Troy High, every sport, club and event you want to do is a pricey one. It's hard to afford much of what is to offered, even if your family is still considered middle class. Social circles are largely surrounded around materialism and wealth, what someone has to offer you. We see this theme again when John goes to visit rich families in the summer instead of going home to Hades. Personally, I am unable to attend the school I've wanted to go to since I was a child due to price. I can't afford the tuition, or the location, and based on my projections, I wouldn't even be able to sleep because I'd be working too much to have as minimal debt as possible. Wealth determines ability.

More recently, wealth distribution still wasn't equal, but ideas about it were changing. President Obama said "I actually believe in redistribution [of wealth] (Context)." This quote sparked quite a dilemma, one that lead a president with more conservative views to be elected next. Wealth will always be unbalanced, but perhaps not again to an extent of the near eradication of the middle class.

The Unwraveling of Gatsby’s Demeanor

(I way really looking forward to writing this weeks blog because I can put Gatsby memes in it. Yassss.)

If I had to write an essay on any passage in The Great Gatsby, it would have to be this one. Fitzgerald's portrayal of Gatsby shines through with “He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.”

I feel that Gatsby is most accurately portrayed not with the undoing of his love for Daisy, but by his warm and complex personality which is emphasized in this passage. It is easy to summarize Gatsby as the jilted lover of Daisy who hung onto her every gold dripping word. It is harder to appreciate his complicated, deeply poetic and ingenious person. A man who throws glorious parties can just  be seen as a rich and boring socialite, not as the man who actually reads his books. Gatsby's emotional depth is portrayed by by Nicks observation and that is he is deeply "understanding" in the ways of people. We can see his personal complexity through how he doesn't drink while everyone at his parties drink lavishly. 

Even though Gatsby understands others, only few understand him. Nick is one of these few, including Gatsby's best friend and mentor who ended up not attending the funeral. Gatsby is summarized by his lavishness and strange personality, that he is misunderstood, which is why his funeral was largely unattended. No one actually cares about knowing Gatsby, and I believe this is a reflection of the Modernism period when commercialism, objectification and lavishness was prominent. It was encouraged to use instead of to appreciate, and this was the difference between Gatsby and the majority of society (excluding Nick). Gatsby, at first in the novel is unpredictable, but as the story progresses we realize that Gatsby is driven by the complexity and desire for love. 

Nick portrays Gatsby as having an intense charisma, which would make sense based on his bootlegging. We don't see his charisma in the introduction of the book, because his intense oddness is seen as his loneliness and longing is expressed through him outstretching and disappearing in the direction of Daisy and Tom's house. Nick is the one who helps us realize Gatsby's true nature and personality, as he cares about Gatsby and feels a connection to him.