The Theme of Social Class in Huck Finn

In modern civilization, social class is fundamental. It may influence one's social circle,
educational background, and, most importantly, level of success in the world. Parents work to
inspire their kids to strive for excellence in life and to rise beyond the socioeconomic class they
were raised in. Fitzgerald delivers criticism in The Great Gatsby on several subjects, including
power, greed, betrayal, the American ideal, etcetera. None of the concepts is explored as
thoroughly as social stratification. The Great Gatsby is hailed as a masterful work of social
criticism that provides a vivid glimpse into early 20th-century American society. Fitzgerald
meticulously divides his book into various groups. Still, in the end, each group must deal with its
respective issues, serving as a stark reminder of how unstable the world is. by establishing three
different social classes: those with money and those without it. In the novel, Fitzgerald employs
the theme of social class to vividly explain the elitisms in the earliest 20 th century in the
American community.

The author depicts the elite class as the richest in the novel. Despite their education, they
are illogical. They are involved in an ongoing conflict whose causes are unclear. “A man has a
dispute with another man and murders him; the other man's brother then kills him; additional
brothers on both sides then go after one another; then the cousins join in; until eventually
everyone is killed out and there is no longer a feud (Twain 107). This contradicts his childhood

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background in "an elegant mansion" (Twain 99). Even though Huck has some education, he does
not learn it at school. He has spent much of his life studying on his own. He has a sharp mind.
Huck forgets his claimed name while staying with the Grangerfords. Huck shows off his cunning
by saying, "I bet you cannot spell my name" (Twain 99) to get Buck to tell him his name. Every
member of a social class learns something, but the information each individual acquires and how
they use it depends on their position in the social hierarchy.

The social elite is correct in many respects. The fact that the "new money" people cannot
be like them benefits them in many ways since the most influential members of society are not at
all lovely people. They fail to see their true nature or the people around them because they are
judgemental and shallow. Instead, despite how irrational it may be, they devote their lives to
maintaining their superiority complex. However, newly wealthy individuals are only sometimes
any better. Imagine the guests at Gatsby's parties (Hamdi, 210). They show up to his gatherings,
consume his alcohol, and consume his food without ever bothering to introduce themselves or
wait for an invitation. When Gatsby passes away, all the regular visitors to his home strangely
start spending more time elsewhere and leave him when he can no longer help them. Since they
were previously impoverished and most doors were barred, one would hope that the newly rich
would be more aware of the world around them. However, as Fitzgerald demonstrates, most of
their worries are centered on the present and are characterized by excessive partying and other
behaviors.

Fitzgerald targets the wealthy as his first and most apparent target. Placing all the wealthy
people in one category, however, would be a grave mistake for Fitzgerald (and his characters).
Many people with little resources feel that the wealthy are all connected by their wealth.

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Fitzgerald, however, makes clear that this is untrue. Fitzgerald contrasts two different affluent
personas in The Great Gatsby. The first category includes wealthy individuals born into it, such
as the Buchanans and Jordan Baker. They are "old money" because they have been wealthy for
decades. According to the book, those considered "old money" do not need to work and instead
spend their time engaging in whatever amusements they find interesting. They seldom ever, if
ever, discuss commercial agreements. The group of wealthy people represented by Daisy, Tom,
and Jordan—as well as the distinct social class they represent—imposes distinctions on other
wealthy individuals, such as Gatsby, based less on how much money one has than on where and
when that money was acquired (Hamdi, 213). They are arguably the most elitist characters in the
story. The fact that Gatsby and other characters in the early 1920s had just recently o