The Rags-To-Riches Myth

In my American Studies class we've been reading The Great Gatsby, so naturally we've been talking a lot about social status. Throughout the book, a "secret society" is often mentioned that only a select few are a part of. They represent the highest class a person can be and it consists of old-money. That's why Gatsby, as much as he tries, can never become a part of this secret society. He may be able to work hard and obtain as much money as them, but he will remain nouvelle-riche. The biggest difference between the nouvelle-riche and the old-money is that the nouvelle-riche couldn't dream to have the same sort of connections. 

With connections on my mind, I stumbled across a rather fitting post on Humans of New York. Before I get into that, Humans of New York is a blog where a man goes around New York photographing people and asking about their lives. He then posts a picture with a quote from them or a snippet from their conversation together. I come across these posts through Facebook, and now I am going to share one with you. 

I think this man encompasses Gatsby’s struggle of being stuck in the class you start in. In America, we like to believe in the “American Dream” narrative. That classic rags-to-riches story, where all you need is some hard work, perseverance, and a little bit of luck to succeed in life. As convenient as this story may be, I think that this may be an optimistic and naïve mindset. Instead, I think this man represents the American struggle of not being “taken seriously” when you come from a lower social class. We all want to think we can be anything we want to be, but in reality, does it all come down to whom you know instead of what you know?

Gatsby vs Gatsby vs Kane

           In my American Studies class we watched Citizen Kane instead of The Great Gatsby after we finished reading Gatsby. My teacher told us that he believed that Citizen Kane would be the movie that Fitzgerald would have made to represent his book. If I’m being honest, I had my doubts that Citizen Kane could be a better depiction of The Great Gatsby than the actual movie for the obvious reason that there is not Gatsby in Citizen Kane.

            That’s why I decided to watch The Great Gatsby and make up my mind for myself. I decided to watch the 2013 version of the movie and I have to say that I was a little disappointed since I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I can’t say the same about the movie.

            My first issue was how the white motif that often surrounded the upper class was portrayed in the film. In one of the first scenes we see Jordan in Daisy engulfed in these flowing white curtains that seemed to throw the white theme in your face. Even though subtlety was completely ignored in this scene, I found the lack of emphasis on certain parts of the book to be alarming.

            One scene that was completely eliminated was the whole elevator scene that implied Nick’s affair with Mr. McKee. In my opinion, that scene was crucial to understanding Nick as a character and why he acts the way he is, thus making it that much harder to connect with him. In addition to that, most of the characters were very exaggerated and I found them hard to relate to as well.

            All that being said, I’m not sure I necessarily believe that Citizen Kane is a better depiction of Gatsby than Gatsby. I think that the extravagant parties and Daisy’s murmur make Gatsby what it is, and without the character and the plot no movie can rival in representing a book than it’s actual adaptation. However, if you’re looking for a movie to show the struggle, emotions, and themes of a man trying to gain a place in high-society coming from nothing, Citizen Kane is the way to go.

Take It From Me

I officially turned in my junior theme today, which was a relief to say the least. Having gone through this process, I am going to write my tips for surviving the junior theme, or any other research paper for that matter.

1. Get as much research as you can.

There's no such thing as too much research when it comes to writing an inquiry paper. I found that the more I read, the more comfortable I felt when writing my paper. This was because it helped me to actually feel like I knew what I was talking about, and not just trying to fill space.

2. If you are given time in the library, use it.

If I'm being honest, I was not 100% focused every single day in the library. We would have days when we spent the full 80 minute block period in the library and after about an hour, I would start to get distracted. I didn't realize until after these days were over just how much of a gift they were. You have your teacher, librarians, and classmates to bounce ideas off of so by all means, take advantage of it.

3.  Choose your topic very carefully.

If you're spending a month on a singe question, or prompt if that's what your assignment is, you are most definitely going to want to be really interested whatever your topic is. I understand that sometimes this is going to be assigned, but if it's not, then you should find something you are passionate about because it will only make your paper stronger in the long-run.

4. Do not put off your annotated bibliography.

The annotated bibliography may not be the most exciting or glamorous part of writing your paper, but it can become time consuming. If you struggle citing sources like me, then you are going to want to have time to ask your librarians or other experts all of your questions. Not to mention for a large paper you are going to have a lot of sources and if you have to write a short paragraph for each then you are going to have to be realistic in how much time this will actually take.

5. Breathe.

Try not to stress out too much. Yes, this is a big paper. Yes, you should work your hardest. But no, it is not worth making yourself crazy. It's just a research paper so don't give it the power t o ruin your life.