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A Critique of the Oppressed Proletariat in The Great Gatsby
James Gatz is a regular proletariat, part of the 99% oppressed by his bourgeoisie compatriots. Even when he becomes fabulously rich he is still oppressed by his supposed equals for disrupting the status quo, even though he has changed his identity to that of Jay Gatsby. Eventually he is betrayed by the bourgeoisie and thrown back to the proletariat, who are only too eager to tear Gatsby to shreds as he was framed for the killing of another member of the proletariat horde, Myrtle. The bourgeoisie are then free to continue their reign of terror upon the hapless proletariats. “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.” (Fitzgerald, Chapter 9*) The Great Gatsby is a classic tale of the bourgeoisie elite subjugating the hapless proletariat masses.
One must note that most members of the bourgeoisie elite in The Great Gatsby are non-working people who were born rich. Tom Buchanan is a millionaire who was born rich and Daisy married into Tom’s considerable wealth. Gatsby was born poor and had to resort to crime to amass his fortunes, much like Wolfsheim, a gangster who Gatsby is associated with. This portrays members of the proletariat who have no money and want to become wealthy as having to resort to crime to become rich and thus escape the bourgeoisie. It is no accident that those who wield the most social and economic power in a given environment, like Tom Buchanan, are the most harmful to others in their actions.
The various characters belonging to the proletariat class in The Great Gatsby are also constantly exploited by the bourgeoisie due to their lack of money. Myrtle Wilson is poor and wants to become wealthy, but does not have the connections that Gatsby is fortunate enough to have. As a result, it is very easy for Tom to exploit Myrtle, granting her a taste of the high life she wants in exchange for control over her. She suffers much abuse as a result “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” Tom also finds it easy to wield power over Mr. Wilson as well, using the promise of selling Mr. Wilson a car
