The Great Gatsby

The relationship between the wealthy and the less fortunate, or the poor, has always been a very interesting affair, and it is one that has captivated my interest. Throughout history, this relationship has been the cause of many revolutions, political issues, and civil unrest. When I read the novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it really got me thinking about this relationship. I mean, what other book portrays this issue so thoroughly. In the novel, which is based in the Long Island Sound, East Egg represents the wealthy, the aristocracy. West Egg, on the other hand, represents the middle and lower classes. In the novel, Fitzgerald portrays the wealthy people of East Egg as pompous individuals who seem to only care about money and appearance. At Gatsby's extraordinary parties, only the rich attend, and during some of the conversations at the parties, these wealthy people are portrayed as being completely oblivious to West Egg and its struggles. Fitzgerald is exposing the ignorance of the wealthy to us as readers, that they do not care about others in society. The rich do not care about the poor. They care only about themselves, and as long as they are living comfortably, everything is fine. This really struck me as I read this novel, because it occurred to me that I, yes I, was a part of this wealthy society. Do I not care about those who are less fortunate than I am? Do I not pay attention to their struggles? Am I similar to those people attending Gatsby's parties? After reading this novel, I realized that I too was ignorant to the difficulties of the people less fortunate than I am. Yes, I was IGNORANT. I realized that as a part of this wealthy society, it is my job, no, my duty, to help those in need. Attending a school with the majority of the people being very rich, it is easy to forget that many people struggle to even afford an apartment, people who live paycheck by paycheck. This narrow-mindedness of the upper class as a whole, I realized, is prevalent throughout every community, every country. Just look at politics. The numbers of the middle class are slowly diminishing, the poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer, all due to government policy. Is that OK? To me, it is not. How can people stand around and let millions of citizens struggle to even live in a house, let alone a small apartment? The power is in the rich, right? Giving the rich what they want seems to be the dominant theme in society, because it is in the best interest of individuals. That, to me, is unacceptable. The poor deserve help from the wealthy. Most of the laboring workers in the middle and lower classes work more hours than the upper class, struggling in difficult day jobs. And for What? To get taxed outrageously and have their money given to the government, and the rich. Their piece of the pie is getting smaller, while that of the rich is getting bigger. WOW. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that. Yes, it is easy to forget about the struggles of the poor when you live and are around the upper class for the majority of the time. I understand that fully. But, what Fitzgerald, and this novel, taught me was that this unknowledgeable way of thinking is not OK. In fact, I believe that Fitzgerald, when he wrote the novel, wanted to expose this issue in order to get the wealthy to change their ways, to fix this problem. After reading the novel, I started to do more community service, to at least do something to help the poor. No, I didn't stop world poverty, or save the world from unemployment, but at least I did something. I did something, and I cared, which is all that truly matters. That, in the end, is Fitzgerald's true purpose in using the contrast between West and East Egg, to get people to care about this problem in our community, our society, our country. Caring, and knowing, are the first steps toward fixing something, which is what Fitzgerald wanted his readers to realize. We can make a difference. That is what he was trying to explain. And, if you take his word, and my word, maybe we can start turning our society into a better place.