The Working Class in Fitzgerald’s "Great Gatsby" The first half of the twentieth century saw dramatic changes in the social structure of the United States. In the nineteenth century, it was relatively unusual in many parts of the country to meet a Roman Catholic -- similarly odd to meet someone whose native tongue was not English. Anyone who fit these descriptions was likely to be unabashedly working class. Suddenly, however, the country saw an …showed first 75 words of 1551 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1551 total…is the direct result of a "let them eat cake" philosophy on the part of the characters at the top of the social scale. Fitzgerald's characters seem completely oblivious of the real lives of working people. We could argue that the same is true today, but there would seem to be more mobility between classes than there was in Fitzgerald's time, and more respect on the part of the general public for the working class.