Chapters 1-4 The Great Gatsby + Socioeconomic Lens Terms

Levity

Noun: lightness of mind, character, or behavior; lack of appropriate seriousness

Libel

Noun: A published false statement that is damaging to a persons reputation

Peremptory

Adj: Insisting on immediate attention or obedience, especially imperious

Occultist

Noun: Esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices not within science or religion

Shiftless

Adj: Characterized by laziness, indolence, lack of ambition

Haughty

Adj: Arrogantly superior or disdainful

Propriety

Adj: Relating to an owner or ownership

Obstinate

Adj: Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or chosen course of action, despite persuasion

Prodigality

Adj: An instance of spending without care

Vacuous

Adj: Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence

Jauntiness

Adj: The quality of seeming happy and confident

Garish

Adj: Obtrusively bright and showy

Classism

Noun: Discriminating against someone based on their economic means

Capitalism

Noun: A system of economics and politics that emphasizes private ownership of goods and services over public control

Socioeconomic Status

Noun: Status based on income and social factors (education, occupation) to determine a person’s or family’s position in society in relation to others.

Privilege

Noun: An advantage, benefit, immunity, or right that is given only to certain people based on their group membership

Elitism

Noun: The belief that certain members of a group or society deserve higher position or status based on their perceived superiority in intelligence, social status, or wealth

Upward Mobility

Noun: The idea that within a *hierarchy*, individuals can move from a lower status to a higher status and their position is flexible and can be overcome.

Nouveau Riche

Noun: French for 'new rich'), usually derogatory, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation rather than by familial inheritance.

Bourgeoisie

Noun: the upper middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes.

Consumerism

Noun: An ideology that offers the illusion that one is “as good as” others if he/she can purchase the same (luxury) items they can. 

Manifest Destiny

Noun: A belief or doctrine from the 19th century that the U.S. was inevitably going to expand and that expansion is justified; a belief that a group or individual deserves something because it is guaranteed by God or fate.

Industrialization

Noun: a country’s improved and increased use of and dependence on machine and factory production; specifically in the U.S., an increase in the use of factories, mass production, and assembly lines from approx. 1865-1920