From the beginning of time the creatures that have inhabited our planet have had a hierarchical society: T. Rexes ruled the dinosaurs, monarchs ruled over Europe, the Pope rules over the Catholic Church, kings rule over a deck of cards, the human body itself is even a hierarchy with organs, such as the brain and heart, ruling over cells. Nowadays most people see this system as unfair and try to put an end to this prejudiced way of social structure. However, in America hierarchy prevails. Many Americans choose to overlook the hierarchical tendencies of our society, however this theme emerges in classic American literature.
The book The Great Gatsby has been referred to over and over again as "the great American novel." One of the major themes in the book is the hierarchy of social classes. In the story, Tom and Daisy descend from rich and powerful families while Jay Gatsby came from a poor family, so he became rich by himself. Tom and Daisy are married, but Daisy is having an affair with Gatsby. When Tom finds out he is astonished, and states that he can't just "sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to [his] wife," (130). By stating this he is saying that he is astonished not by the fact that his wife is cheating on him, but by the fact that she cheats with someone who came from a much lower class. By calling Gatsby "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere" he is saying that even though Gatsby was able to bring himself to the same standard as them, the people at the top of the hierarchy can't intermingle with him since he wasn't born at the top.
While having money does put a person in a the upper class of America, to join a higher rank in the hierarchy of America, they need to behave a certain way. In The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy live in East Egg while Gatsby and Nick live in West Egg. Both are rich suburbs of New York, however the book makes it clear that there is a difference between the hierarchical ranks of the two. When Daisy goes to one of Gatsby's parties at his house in West Egg she is "appalled by [West Egg's] raw vigor that chafed under old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing," (107). This quote shows Daisy's distaste for West Egg since it contains only new money people. By saying that these people have a "raw vigor" she is saying that only new money people spend their money and party, while old money people save their money for their "inhabitants." She believes that these people will go from "nothing to nothing", showing that she has doesn't think the people of West Egg can ever join her rank in the hierarchy of America, they will always be "nothing" to her, even when they have money. This shows that even though some may have the money to be labeled as rich, in the hierarchy of America they need to act the part in order to join the highest rank. When someone is less than the highest, the highest will always judge the lifestyle choices of the lesser.
While wealth and behavior are huge contributors to where people are placed within the hierarchy of America, race also solidifies peoples place in society. White Americans put in a higher rank in the hierarchy, while African-Americans are automatically put lower. In the book Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates explains to his son that being black is being "cast into a race in which the wind is always at your face," (107). Using the word "cast" expresses that black people are assigned into a lower status by just the way they look, no any other factors. A word derived from "cast" is caste. Caste is the system of dividing society into inherited classes. Therefore people are divided into classes by what they are inherited, like race or wealth. "Wind" is a metaphor for the obstacles black people have to face since they are lower in the hierarchy. The obstacles show that they are at a lower rank than white people and they can never get higher in the hierarchy since it is "always" coming at them.
The short story The Rich Brother shows two brothers, Pete and Donald, who, despite being raised together, both end up in different ranks in the hierarchy of America. Pete is higher than Donald regardless of his horrible personality. Pete is higher than Donald because of his--compared to Donald's-- well paying job. Donald spends a hundred dollars that Pete gave him. When Pete gets mad about Donald spending the money he states, "I worked for that money," (88). Pete is trying to prove he is better than Donald by emphasizing "worked". This shows that Pete believes he is higher in the hierarchy than Donald because he has a job and Donald doesn't, therefore Pete believes can boss Donald around since he is a higher rank than Donald in American society.
American society not only divides people into social classes, but it creates a hierarchy in which peoples status is based off wealth, race, their job, and acting a certain way. While Americans may think their society is not just a hierarchy, American literature shows that hierarchy is the main contributing factor of what divides Americans in the society based off of a hierarchical system.
The book The Great Gatsby has been referred to over and over again as "the great American novel." One of the major themes in the book is the hierarchy of social classes. In the story, Tom and Daisy descend from rich and powerful families while Jay Gatsby came from a poor family, so he became rich by himself. Tom and Daisy are married, but Daisy is having an affair with Gatsby. When Tom finds out he is astonished, and states that he can't just "sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to [his] wife," (130). By stating this he is saying that he is astonished not by the fact that his wife is cheating on him, but by the fact that she cheats with someone who came from a much lower class. By calling Gatsby "Mr. Nobody from Nowhere" he is saying that even though Gatsby was able to bring himself to the same standard as them, the people at the top of the hierarchy can't intermingle with him since he wasn't born at the top.
While having money does put a person in a the upper class of America, to join a higher rank in the hierarchy of America, they need to behave a certain way. In The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy live in East Egg while Gatsby and Nick live in West Egg. Both are rich suburbs of New York, however the book makes it clear that there is a difference between the hierarchical ranks of the two. When Daisy goes to one of Gatsby's parties at his house in West Egg she is "appalled by [West Egg's] raw vigor that chafed under old euphemisms and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing," (107). This quote shows Daisy's distaste for West Egg since it contains only new money people. By saying that these people have a "raw vigor" she is saying that only new money people spend their money and party, while old money people save their money for their "inhabitants." She believes that these people will go from "nothing to nothing", showing that she has doesn't think the people of West Egg can ever join her rank in the hierarchy of America, they will always be "nothing" to her, even when they have money. This shows that even though some may have the money to be labeled as rich, in the hierarchy of America they need to act the part in order to join the highest rank. When someone is less than the highest, the highest will always judge the lifestyle choices of the lesser.
While wealth and behavior are huge contributors to where people are placed within the hierarchy of America, race also solidifies peoples place in society. White Americans put in a higher rank in the hierarchy, while African-Americans are automatically put lower. In the book Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates explains to his son that being black is being "cast into a race in which the wind is always at your face," (107). Using the word "cast" expresses that black people are assigned into a lower status by just the way they look, no any other factors. A word derived from "cast" is caste. Caste is the system of dividing society into inherited classes. Therefore people are divided into classes by what they are inherited, like race or wealth. "Wind" is a metaphor for the obstacles black people have to face since they are lower in the hierarchy. The obstacles show that they are at a lower rank than white people and they can never get higher in the hierarchy since it is "always" coming at them.
The short story The Rich Brother shows two brothers, Pete and Donald, who, despite being raised together, both end up in different ranks in the hierarchy of America. Pete is higher than Donald regardless of his horrible personality. Pete is higher than Donald because of his--compared to Donald's-- well paying job. Donald spends a hundred dollars that Pete gave him. When Pete gets mad about Donald spending the money he states, "I worked for that money," (88). Pete is trying to prove he is better than Donald by emphasizing "worked". This shows that Pete believes he is higher in the hierarchy than Donald because he has a job and Donald doesn't, therefore Pete believes can boss Donald around since he is a higher rank than Donald in American society.
American society not only divides people into social classes, but it creates a hierarchy in which peoples status is based off wealth, race, their job, and acting a certain way. While Americans may think their society is not just a hierarchy, American literature shows that hierarchy is the main contributing factor of what divides Americans in the society based off of a hierarchical system.
Delaney, your central ideas are good here. I especially like your analysis of Gatsby, Coates, and Wolff. The intro, however, distracts a bit and undermines your argument (if hierarchical tendencies are so ubiquitous, how can you claim this is a uniquely American trait?). Also, the word caste is not derived from the word cast. But your point in general about Coates' quote is right on target. Overall I like your thinking here and the examples you cite. Good work, overall!
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