A Marxist Critique of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby
When we feel we have nothing out of the ordinary, when everything we have is viewed in our society as a commodity, we raise the bar of our expectations and want something more. But even then, it isn’t enough to merely have it. We want to have it and rub it in the face of those around us at the same time. We buy our furs, our fancy cars, and our large houses telling ourselves it is because we need them, they are a commodity, but in reality it is all for show. Fitzgerald approached the idea of conspicuous consumption in his novel “The Great Gatsby”; it wasn’t enough to live in the richest part of the richest city in the richest country of the entire world, but his characters had to “look” the part as well.
But any time the bar is raised, and our expectations progress, any attempt to lower the bar or even leave it the same is viewed as regression. These are not our innate feelings, but they are what we learn. We learn if we are better dressed, drive better cars and live in better houses, we are better too. The problem is, who has decided what is “better”? An author who wishes to criticize capitalism merely needs to paint a capitalistic society in this light. Something deeper flows within our veins than the norms our culture has placed upon us, and it can be stirred if we see blatant greed and self-centered behavior in others.
In spite of what our culture has taught us about our rights to consume, we also believe there are limits, even if it takes some time to recall that belief. So when we see the characters in Gatsby with their conspicuous consumption we know they are wrong in being that way. Unfortunately, it probably takes an example this extreme to make the point. If we were to face a more subtle example, possibly the greed of people in the middle or lower socioeconomic classes, it might go unnoticed. Because of the way we have been trained, we often view the efforts of our middle and lower classes to “better” themselves as noble. We say they are hardworking and God fearing individuals if they aspire toward wealth and rampant consumerism. If a novel were to suggest these hardworking souls were less than ideal, it would probably be rejected, possibly dismissed as communist propaganda.
That said, Fitzgerald set up the perfect setting and story to convey the conspicuous consumption of our modern era. Perhaps it is clouded in our judgment because we would rather call it a love story. The case against capitalism might have been more powerful if it had been set among those of our middle and lower classes. It might have been a more probing treatment. But at the same time, it might have hit a little too close to home for the majority of his readers, and Fitzgerald did the best he could to paint a picture of our society’s excesses. But in keeping the issue at arms length, he may have kept its understanding at a similar distance.
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That is really a good thought, Terry, that by placing the critique of capitalism in the laps of the wealthy, the novel somehow distances “Average Joes” like us from it. That might soothe the conscience, helping us to feel that we’ve escaped the criticism of consumerism that is evident throughout the novel.
I like it al ot. I tmakes al ot of sens ebut it shard to understa ndbecause of thegramm ar. I lov ethe way yo uanalyze the book.
I think because fitzgerald didn’t get to be rich when he was younger he expresses that in alot of his writing and his confusion, for example like The Great Gatsby.