OUR ARTICLE AND THE GREAT GATSBY Bricenia,By Liz, Kristen, and Cailtin

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION This term was created in the 20's by a Norwegian-American to describe the wealthy people who would spend lots of money to display and show off their riches to the rest of the world. They usually spend more money than is needed to suffice their personal needs. They spend because they want to, not because they need to. In our article, Conspicuous Consumption, the wealthy live lives of lavish. We found it very interesting that the rich compete with the poor because they are afraid that the poor will take their money away (talk about paranoia). But. They also compete within themselves to see who has more money, possesions and even who can spend the most.

INTRODUCTION Wealthy people tend to see themselves as the most powerful group over all the rest. They have the most money, and spend the most money as well. In our article, coming to connect 3 central ideas with the people talked about, we made the following connections:

POWER The rich contain a lot of wealth and enjoy showing it off. "On week-ends his Rolls Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And in Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before"

GENDER For men back in this time era, they had a lot to offer because they had jobs. However, for women the only job that they required was motherhood. Men wouldn't treat women with much respect as they do today. Even with love and relationships, women are shown as weak under the control that men had on them. "All right... I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool"

THE AMERICAN DREAM When coming to America, people have this view of a wonderful place of opportunities and perfect lives. But, people don't always change to be able to fit in. Others, are not able to live up to the "standards" that our nation has set to be able to be called an American. Everyone should be proud to be an American other than on the Fourth of July. "That's my Middle West...the street lamps and the sleigh bells in the frosty dark...I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life."

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