In his short story “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald presents class as a personal and defined thing, illustrating how attempts to change class will lead to tragedy. Jane Austen, in her novel “Pride and Prejudice,” uses class as a critique of society. His depiction of class differs from Fitzgerald's because it presents the idea that class restrictions, although rigid, do not determine a person's character and therefore can be overcome. Both novels explore their views on class segregation through the circumstances of the periods they write about. Nick Carraway tells us early on that he's had enough of upper-class drama. By saying that he wants “the world to be in uniform,” the reader knows that class difference will be part of the novel’s plot. The first class that Fitzgerald criticizes is that of the rich, particularly those of "old money." In the 1920s, there were social classes that separated the population into different groups. At that time, the upper social classes had a lot of money, but if you earned your money instead of inheriting it, you were considered new money and therefore inferior. This is linked to the way the working classes are perceived in “Pride and Prejudice”. British society was stratified in the 18th century and those who earned their money by working were looked down upon. People like Lady Catherine feared that the family line would be tainted: “Heaven and earth, what are you thinking? Must the shadows of Pemberley be thus polluted? class is particularly illustrated through Daisy and Gatsby. Fitzgerald uses middle of paper ......proper thanks to Mr. Darcy's "real security" when he proposes to Elizabeth. Despite "his feeling of inferiority - of degradation", Mr. Darcy had "no doubt of a favorable response", which shows the ignorance of the upper class because he assumes that they will agree simply because he is of a higher class than she is. In conclusion, Fitzgerald presents class as a definitive thing and illustrates how attempts to change class will lead to tragedy. Although it does not glamorize it, it conveys the idea that social class cannot be changed. This contrasts with Pride and Prejudice, where Austen seems to respect the class system, not when it operates as a divisive power in society, but when it "acts as a force for morality." Both endings show that people will still be willing to fight and "beat boats against the tide" for a higher class life, despite the outcome..