The Great Gatsby

Racism in The Great Gatsby

            In his article, “The Diminishment of the Self-Made Man in the Tribal Twenties,” Jeffery Louis Decker traces the cause and rise in Nativism. The Tribal Twenties was a time when Nativism was very strong and the conceptions of whiteness became not a sign of skin color but of national identity. Also the Ku Klux Klan was reborn and began targeting the African Americans, Jewish and Catholics.

 Decker provides historical evidence to explain not only Gatsby’s general struggled to rise to equality with the upper class, such as Tom Buchanan, but also details of Nick’s narration, which seem insignificant at first glance. However, these details are key in linking Gatsby to the African America, Jewish and immigrants that were discriminated against during the Tribal Twenties.

            Decker uses the strong Nativism and discrimination in history to eliminate the theme of the “American Dream,” from the novel. The term “American Dream” was not coined until the 1930s and was not used in reference to The Great Gatsby. In this article, Decker strips Gatsby of his power and charm. He allows the reader to see Gatsby as being on the same level as the African Americans and immigrants as they were seen at the time. The Upper Class did not think Gatsby to be their equal and even those from a lower class, such as Nick, make references as to diminish Gatsby and associate him with African Americans, Jewish and immigrants.

Prospectus

            In my paper, I will discuss the Nativism, which created the Tribal Twenties. I will examine the references to racism in The Great Gatsby and how Gatsby is discriminated against. I will also provide references to specific lines in the novel that show how even those who are technically beneath Gatsby in social class view him. My main purpose is to step back from Gatsby’s “new money” being the reason he is discriminated against and take a closer look at his ethnicity and work with Meyer Wolfsheim as being the problem.