How does money shape destiny in the glittering, frantic world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby?
The novel dissects America’s Jazz Age, revealing a society rigidly stratified by social class.
Fitzgerald masterfully contrasts the inherited privilege of ‘old money’ East Egg with the striving ambition of ‘new money’ West Egg. He shows how deeply status dictates perception, morality, and the possibility of achieving the American Dream.
These 18 defining Great Gatsby quotes about social class, with verified page numbers (Scribner 2020 ed.), expose the heart of this biting social commentary.
Old Money vs. New Money: The Unbridgeable Divide
The geography of Long Island Sound mirrors the social landscape. Fitzgerald draws a sharp line between East Egg’s inherited aristocracy and West Egg’s dazzling, self-made fortunes, exposing a cultural chasm built on more than just wealth.
“I lived at West Egg, the – well, the least fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator, Chapter 1, Page 5)
Nick immediately recognizes West Egg’s lower social standing (“least fashionable”), despite its clear affluence. This distinction isn’t merely superficial; it hints at a “sinister contrast,” revealing the power dynamics where established status overshadows new wealth.
“His family were enormously wealthy — even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach — but now he’d left Chicago and come East in a fashion that rather took your breath away: for instance, he’d brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway about Tom Buchanan, Chapter 1, Page 6)
Tom Buchanan embodies the effortless power of “enormously wealthy” old money. Casual displays like owning a “string of polo ponies” signify inherited privilege and access to a world of leisure unavailable to those striving for fortune, setting him apart.
“I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited – they went there.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator, Chapter 3, Page 41)
The social dynamic at Gatsby’s parties—where guests simply arrive—contrasts with the implied exclusivity of East Egg. This lack of formal invitation suggests West Egg’s social scene lacks the rigid structure and inherent boundaries prized by the established aristocracy.
“I’ll tell you God’s truth.’ His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by. ‘I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West all dead now. I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition.”
(Speaker: Jay Gatsby to Nick Carraway, Chapter 4, Page 65)
Facing Nick, Gatsby feels compelled to invent a pedigree mirroring old money. Claiming inherited wealth and an “Oxford” background reveals his understanding that his new fortune alone is insufficient for acceptance in Daisy’s established social sphere. Explore more quotes that reveal Gatsby’s constructed persona.
“I suppose he’d had the name ready for a long time, even then. His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people – his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway about Jay Gatsby, Chapter 6, Page 98)
Nick exposes the humble truth Gatsby works so hard to conceal. Gatsby’s complete mental severance from his “shiftless” parents underscores the depth of his ambition to transcend his lower-class origins and fully embody his wealthy creation.
“She was appalled by West Egg…by its raw vigor that chafed…and by the too obtrusive fate that herded its inhabitants along a short-cut from nothing to nothing. She saw something awful in the very simplicity she failed to understand.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway about Daisy Buchanan, Chapter 6, Page 107)
Daisy’s negative reaction reveals the old money elite’s deep-seated aversion to West Egg’s overt ambition. The “raw vigor” and perceived lack of subtlety appear “awful” to her, signifying the profound cultural and class divide she cannot comprehend or bridge. See Daisy Buchanan’s perspective through her defining quotes.
Characters’ words and thoughts constantly betray their positions within the social hierarchy, revealing prejudices, aspirations, and anxieties shaped by class.
Attitudes and Prejudices: Voices of the Classes
From Nick’s nuanced awareness of privilege to Tom’s aggressive elitism and Myrtle’s desperate social climbing, the novel uses dialogue and narration to expose the pervasive influence of class consciousness.
“I am still a little afraid of missing something if I forget that, as my father snobbishly suggested, and I snobbishly repeat, a sense of the fundamental decencies is parcelled out unequally at birth.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator, Chapter 1, Page 2)
Nick opens his narration by acknowledging the “snobbish” notion that morality (“fundamental decencies”) is tied to one’s birth class. This establishes his awareness of privilege and sets the stage for observing how class shapes character throughout the novel.
“In my younger . . . years my father gave me some advice . . . “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway quoting his father, Chapter 1, Page 1)
This core advice explicitly grounds judgment in an awareness of social class (“advantages”). Nick is reminded to consider the unequal playing field, influencing his perspective as he navigates the complex social dynamics of West Egg and East Egg.
“You make me feel uncivilized, Daisy,’ I confessed on my second glass of corky but rather impressive claret. ‘Can’t you talk about crops or something?’
(Speaker: Nick Carraway to Daisy Buchanan, Chapter 1, Page 12)
Feeling out of place amidst the sophisticated banter, Nick humorously highlights the perceived cultural gap between his practical background and Daisy’s world. His jest reveals the subtle discomfort and barriers created by class differences.
“Civilization’s going to pieces. I’ve gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things…The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be – will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved…It’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things.”
(Speaker: Tom Buchanan, Chapter 1, Page 13)
Tom’s embrace of racist pseudoscience reveals the anxieties of the established elite. His fear of the “dominant race” being “submerged” explicitly links his sense of social supremacy to racial prejudice, showcasing the era’s intertwined class and racial tensions.
“Well, it’s a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don’t look out the white race will be — will be utterly submerged. It’s all scientific stuff; it’s been proved.”
(Speaker: Tom Buchanan, Chapter 1, Page 13)
Tom uses dubious “scientific stuff” to rationalize his belief in a threatened racial and social hierarchy. His pronouncements demonstrate the entitled confidence of his class, using supposed intellectualism to justify deep-seated prejudice.
“I told that boy about the ice.” Myrtle raised her eyebrows in despair at the shiftlessness of the lower orders. “These people! You have to keep after them all the time.”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson, Chapter 2, Page 32)
Myrtle performs disdain for the “lower orders” to elevate her own perceived status. Her exaggerated frustration, mimicking upper-class condescension, reveals her desperate attempt to distance herself from her working-class reality through affectation.
“I married [George] because I thought he was a gentleman,” she said finally. “I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe.”
(Speaker: Myrtle Wilson), Chapter 2, Page 34)
Myrtle explicitly defines her marital disappointment through class distinctions (“gentleman,” “breeding”). Her cruel assessment of George shows how social aspiration shapes her view of personal relationships and fuels her deep resentment.
“An Oxford man!” He was incredulous. “Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit.”
(Speaker: Tom Buchanan about Jay Gatsby), Chapter 7, Page 114)
Tom seizes on Gatsby’s suit—a superficial marker of taste—to discredit his claim to an elite background. This reveals the gatekeeping mechanisms of old money, where aesthetic judgment becomes a tool to exclude the newly wealthy.
“I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that’s the idea you can count me out….Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.”
(Speaker: Tom Buchanan about Jay Gatsby), Chapter 7, Page 130)
Tom’s furious rant links Gatsby’s ambiguous origins (“Mr. Nobody from Nowhere”) to a perceived breakdown of societal order, encompassing class, family, and race. His panic exposes the deep anxieties of the established elite facing challenges to their dominance.
Fitzgerald critically examines the moral landscape shaped by wealth, suggesting that immense privilege can lead to a profound and destructive carelessness.
Wealth, Carelessness, and Moral Hollowness
The novel contrasts the vibrant striving of some with the insulated indifference of the very rich, portraying how established wealth can foster a dangerous detachment from consequences.
“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction—Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator, Chapter 1, Page 2)
Nick’s initial disillusionment arises from the moral lapses observed during “privileged glimpses” into the lives of the wealthy. His desire for a world at “moral attention” directly opposes the carelessness he witnessed, setting a critical tone.
“The instant her voice broke off, ceasing to compel my attention, my belief, I felt the basic insincerity of what she had said. It made me uneasy, as though the whole evening had been a trick of some sort to exact a contributory emotion from me. I waited, and sure enough, in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway about Daisy Buchanan, Chapter 1, Page 17)
Nick sees through Daisy’s performance to a “basic insincerity.” Her knowing “smirk” confirms her alliance with Tom within a privileged “secret society,” suggesting a shared detachment and moral hollowness beneath their polished exteriors.
“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”
(Speaker: Nick Carraway as narrator about Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Chapter 9, Page 179)
This powerful indictment defines the moral failure of the novel’s wealthiest characters. Nick identifies their “vast carelessness” as a destructive force, enabled by money, that allows them to inflict pain and evade responsibility, leaving others to manage the aftermath.
Conclusion: The Price of Privilege
In The Great Gatsby, social class is more than just money; it’s a complex web of inherited assumptions, deep-seated prejudices, and profound moral consequences. Fitzgerald masterfully dissects the American Dream’s promise against the stark realities of a rigidly stratified Jazz Age society.
These key quotes capture the characters’ struggles and pronouncements and reveal a world where status dictates worth, and pursuing acceptance often leads to tragedy. Fitzgerald’s critique of class remains potent, questioning the foundations of a dream built on unequal ground.
Uncover the intricate social tapestry Fitzgerald weaves: explore our complete collection of 79 illuminating quotes from The Great Gatsby.
A Note on Page Numbers & Edition:
Just as class lines divide West Egg from East Egg, page numbers for The Great Gatsby can differ across editions! We referenced these page numbers from the authoritative The Great Gatsby: The Only Authorized Edition (Scribner, November 17, 2020), ISBN-13: 978-1982149482. Always consult your specific copy to ensure accuracy.
Jeremy Mortis, founder of Ageless Investing, applies a rigorous analytical approach (the AAM framework) to distill timeless wisdom and contextualized quotes from classic literature, saving you time while deepening understanding. Learn more about Jeremy’s unique background and methodology on his author bio page.