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The economic aspect of living is a major influence upon The Great Gatsby. Economics decided the social classes between the west egg, east egg, and valley of ashes. Such separate distributions of money led to many influential decisions and factors within the book. For instance, Myrtle had an affair going with Tom as he had much wealth and Myrtle loved that about him because then she could get out of the Valley of Ashes. This love interest she had with Tom led her to become so caught up with him that she ran into the road when his car came down the road just for it to be Daisy driving and led to her death. This had a domino effect as Myrtle died and George though Gatsby was driving so he went and shot Gatsby leading to his death. This caused the end of his dream as it never came true as him and Daisy were cut short. This all leads back to money (economics) as Myrtle was consumed with the idea of wealth. In addition, Tom and Daisy's relationship was effected by money as Tom believed he had the right to do anything he wanted to do because he was the one with the wealth. So, he had affairs without consequence but when Daisy begun her love with Gatsby, he freaked and didn't like it at all despite him doing the same thing. This demonstrates the power money has and the major influence it has on not only love and relationships, but life and death scenarios.

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The economic influence on society was intense. It caused the social classes and the devision between the east and west egg society. There was a mass amount of wealth causing the upper class to be soar above the other classes while using the poorer classes labor for money at the same time. An example of this in the novel is Myrtle and her strive for the American Dream of being a member of the upperclass. Although this dream is unachievable for most due to the economic inequalities faced in society. The economic influence also caused discrimination among the classes, the level of acceptance was slim in the matter of upperclassman’s approval and snobby behavior. While during this era there was a strive to get rid of social class structure, the economic inequalities and the american dream prohibited this movement.

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Myrtle's dislike for her low social class (as many people in the lower class felt during this time) motivated her to have the affair with Tom Buchanan in an attempt to both escape and forget that she was a part of the lower class. Tom being a prat of the upper class motivated him to have the affair with myrtle because he knew he would not have to deal with the consequences. Nick Carraway being new to the upper class way of living changed his perspective on the upper class. If he had been part of the upper class his whole life, he would see them as being wonderful and lively people, but because he was not, he saw them as avoiding consequences and the problems the country was facing by hiding behind their immense wealth. Gatsby was also affected by social class because he thought that now that he was rich, Daisy would want to be with him again.

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The economy influenced every single character in The Great Gatsby. Struggling socially with wealth, struggling to get wealth, struggling to keep wealth, struggling to live with the wealth- all of it. Tom and Daisy seemed to be the most well off when it came to wealth but fell short socially. Daisy was greedy and Tom was stubborn. Tom believed that money is only respected if it was earned correctly. Daisy believed that her money and reputation was more important than any social relationships. Gatsby only gained his wealth to be "good enough" but had gone to not respected lengths to get it which destroyed his reputation in the end. His social and personal relations knocked him down, his love for Daisy blinded him and regardless of all of that money- he was remembered as a bad person. Myrtle wanted nothing but to be a part of the class that Tom and Daisy were in, despite the fact that she was in the lower class with her husband George. Economy is the sole motivator or piece of the puzzle that every character needed. For Nick, it didn't really seem to be a pressing issue but the economy and the wealth around him influenced his relationships and his life. Jordan Baker was independent and enjoyed her fame but didn't really care how she got it. Everyone in this novel is affected by the economic part of life- whether they craved it, had it, lost it, or were influenced by it.

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Economics in the novel and in real-life during the time the novel was made play a huge role in the plot. Wealth created status for many of the characters and poverty created status for the rest. Having "old" money from ancestors in the East Egg gave those the highest status a the time. Those in the West Egg with "new" money were looked down upon by those in East Egg, yet looked up to by those in the Valley of Ashes. Even if those in the East and West Egg had the same amount of money, those in the West Egg would never be accepted due to the principle of it. America at the time was described as the biggest growing economy and extremely "rich", yet this was a time period when many were struggling with poverty and finding jobs. This is seen in the novel through the Valley of Ashes where majority of people in New York lived and worked since they could not afford much of anything. They were making the economy grow since they were the ones producing what the rich needed to live, yet they had nothing left for themselves. The distinction between rich and poor had influence on relationships and social status in the novel.

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The Great Gatsby embodies the entirety of the American Dream and the strive for someone to reinvent themselves into something new or different. The era on its own was determined to be different or new. Women could become flappers and create a new environment where they felt safe being themselves, they had affairs and discovered new sexual representation of themselves. Like Myrtle they felt like they could take charge within their households which was considerably uncommon at the time. There were bew inventions being madr by innovaters that came into play like if you had the newest car you would be be put up to a higher status then someone lower than you. People were becoming celebrities and got introduced to new money because a had some kind of talent or even the latest gossip. Gossiping come into play more and more as the times progress like at Gatsby’s parties everyone would discuss how he got his money but never said anything directly to his face. Now in time with adaptation of social media there are easier ways to get your gossip out there whether it be anonymously or not.

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The influence of the developing social classes as well as the views of women during this period had a great impact on Fitzgerald’s development of the plot and characters during this period. As the social classes became more distinct, many people tried to escape poverty, which is where most people fell in terms of social class. Wealth became desirable during this period. This is best seen through the actions of Myrtle Wilson, who wanted so desperately to be rid of her life in the lower class. She often pretended to be a much higher class than she was and her main motivation for her affair with Tom Buchanan was her desire and hope that one day Tom would help her get to a wealthier and more glamorous lifestyle. Also, women during this period began to be seen as much less “ladylike”. With the development of flappers during this period, women were often more careless. They drank and smoked more and were more open to affairs. This is best seen through the portrayal of women throughout the novel. They often had affairs, as Myrtle did and were described in a very care-free manor. Daisy was portrayed as very complicated with her love life and would drink and smoke often, along with Jordan. Jordan also became a more independent and free woman who did not need a man, which was a different idea of women which developed during this period.

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In the Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald's imaginative description of Gatsby's grandiose parties and extreme wealth is not only self-reflective but has an in-depth influence on each of the character's actions. Nick and Gatsby, both from the West, are trying to increase their wealth, Gatsby of course through the illegal selling of alcohol, and Nick trying to abandon his writing career and do stocks, both wanting something fast and new the East could offer. This consistent battle between the East and West egg where the East looked down upon the West for their new ways of proctoring wealth, mostly through the distribution of alcohol when Tom himself had a "bottle of whiskey" and only wanted to feel a sense of genetic superiority (pg. 126). This is also seen with Myrtle's desperate attempt to grasp onto Tom and go into the city and buy dogs and clothes and whatever she liked to feel a sense of belonging and importance, trying to separate herself from the ashen wasteland of her home. Without this fake consumerism and the need to have a higher standard of living even without the funds to do so, there was a desire to be seen by the rest of the world as economically superb.

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When looking at both the lifestyles lived in the Great Gatsby and the activity we did with social class representation, it is clear to see that the lower class was a vast majority of the American population at this point and there was good reason for it. While the rich (the very very few that there were) lived high and mighty with a flourishing economic base in their lives, the basically non existent middle class and large lower class sought to live by those standards as well. The difference is, the rich could and the poor couldn't. Yet they tried. They spent their money fairly frivolously on things such as alcohol and drugs and just on impulsive, care free activities instead of thinking more logically and saving. And since this was a societal norm, society did what society does best, conformed to that norm. No one wanted to be the odd ball out so the poor acted like the rich despite being nowhere near as financially stable as the rich. This made the lower class grow because everyone did this, and did this repeatedly. And, when they finally had access to those high quality items they jumped at the opportunities thus leading to the stock market crash of the Great Depression. Basically, their carefree and impulsive lifestyle snowballed into a corrupt and failed economic system. The economy failed because they couldn't manage their own economic decisions responsibly.

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economics has a major influence on the great Gatsby in many different aspects. one way was the parties Gatsby would have every week and how he wastes away the endless amounts of money. Hoping one day Daisy will come and see him and decides she wants to be with him instead of Tom. Gatsby would've utilized all of his wealth if he knew Daisy would come back to him. Another Example of how Economics is utilized how the narrator describes the differences of The West Egg vs The East Egg and then a brief description of The valley of ashes. Depicting how a majority of the people in this time period had been living in poverty and struggling to provide for themselves and then how there was just these two side the people had new money and then old money.

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Economics has a large influence on the novel as seen through west egg and east egg as well as the vally of ashes. The those three places represent the new money, old money, and the poor. The poor in the valley of ashes are really represented by this grey slow moving area that the rich just use to get to and from the city. The rich people from both west and east egg also had a major influence from economics. The rich people were judged based on how they earned there money. The old rich from east egg truley did not like the new rich from west egg especially gatsby because they believed that the the people from west egg didnt work for there money or that they earned there money illegally, while the old rich worked for there money. Economics played a major role in real life at this time, the amount of people who were poor greatly out numbered the number of rich people and the number of the "middle class"

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There is a social disconnect between extremely wealthy and that difference is having money ever since you were born vs attaining that wealth through methods in the roaring 20's. Tom Buchanan knows about Gatsby's lies and is disgusted by the means of which Gatsby attained his wealth, he looks down on him because he was not raised into 'superior' household. However, the most distinct difference is between the 1% and the majority of people in poverty. They live in the slums and are treated with little respect or care because they are only items for the wealthy.

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Nick Carraway is representative of Fitzgerald on multiple levels. Most prominent being how Fitzgerald writes all these novels as almost a coping mechanism. While Nick is also "writing" the Great Gatsby so he can make sense of all that has happened to him in the short time he was involved with this upper-class lifestyle. This really influences the way that Fitzgerald writes, he wants to be truthful about what the wealthy do. However, he is also sure to try his best and paint them in a good light. Such as Gatsby being highly generous with his money and hosting enormous parties to have people from "old money" finally like him. No matter how he obtained his money.

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Fitzgerald influenced the novel by how he put himself in the two main characters, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway. Fitzgerald was not of high class and always struggled with money, and would have these extravagant parties, when his background was not up to that higher class. Fitzgerald was an honest man in relation to liars surrounding him. His mid-western values to not be judgmental makes him a perfect observer, but also a perfect outsider, which is how Fitzgerald felt in the company of rich people. This mirrors nick and also how he was an observer and was his own individual person who didn't like conflict, which makes his character stand out in a way like in the background having his own opinions about the other characters. Nick is a mirror of having been in the military as well. When he created Gatsby, he made him like himself as someone who was driven by his love for a woman who symbolized everything he wanted, even as she led him to everything he despised. This was the main plot of the book.

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Fitzgerald's personality is shown in the book in many ways. Like Gatsby and Daisy, Fitzgerald lost the love of his life while in college. Gatsby lost Daisy because he was forced to attend a college/university after the war and was unable to go back to Daisy before she was married. Fitzgerald, like Gatsby, threw massive parties in his big house, spending mass amounts of wealth very often. Fitzgerald threw parties in France in a large villa on the water, Gatsby threw parties in New York in a large mansion on the water.

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An example of an economic influence in the novel would be Tom Buchanan being wealthy, influencing Daisy to remain attached to him. Then, Gatsby becoming wealthy to try and get Daisy back so things can be how they used to be in the past. Daisy was influenced by the wealthy class. During this time period, individuals strived to be wealthy. This can also be seen when Myrtle had an affair with with Tom because she was from the valley of ashes and she was tired of being poor so she wanted to become wealthy with Tom.