Reflections of the

Social Class; The

Interconnections
Image Automobile
Ownership as well as
Prosperity in the
By:1920s
Jeremy Prairie
Diagram
  Industrialization of new

P
inventions cause gaps
between the social
classes because those
who are more prosperous
were the only ones who
could afford higher
quality automobiles
during the 1920s.
  “When are you going

E
to sell me that car?”
Next week; I’ve got
my man working on it
now.” Works pretty
slow, don’t he?” p25
 • During the early

P
1920s, cars were a
status symbol for
the upper classes.
With the arrival of
the Model T,
however, cars also
became a status
symbol for the
middle classes.
I
 All car owners during the early
1920s were considered to be
wealthy people because they
could actually afford a vehicle.
This would only change until
the new Model-T came out
because it was very cheap and
many middle class people
could now afford a car. Also by
looking at the evidence from
the text you can see that
Wilson is very concerned about
the car and Tom could car less
about it because he is much
wealthier.
  The introduction

P of automobiles
promotes a
display of social
stature in
society, as well
as how much
money a person
makes.
  “On week-ends his

E Rolls-Royce became
an omnibus bearing
parties to and from
the city between nine
in the morning and
long past midnight…”
p39
 • “Automobiles
continued to be a
means of expressing

P
social status, and
accessories were
being designed to
personalize one’s
car and project a
certain image to
other people.”
  People who owned

I
a car back then
were considered to
have some height
of wealth and when
they drove their
car around a lower
class area people
knew they were in
the upper class.
  People who are in

P
the lower classes
value cars and
other vehicles
much more
because an
individual who
owns a car is
viewed as
wealthier person.
  “His beat down

E station wagon
scampered like a
brisk yellow bug to
meet all trains.”
p40
P
• “Ford's well-built yet
inexpensive Model T turned
out to be the perfect car for
the middle class. In 1928,
when half of all cars in the
world were Fords, the Model
T sold for a remarkably low
$290. Owning an
automobile gave working-
class Americans a sense of
prestige that permitted
them to emulate the
lifestyles of capitalist
elites.”
I
 Now that people in
the middle an even a
few in the lower class
could now afford a
car, they began to
value it much more
than a wealthy person
could. This is because
they could now use a
vehicle to help them
earn an honest living.
 Synthesis
 Automobiles created a very significant display of
the differences between the social stature classes
during the 1920s, the time where the book The
Great Gatsby took place. In the early ’20s most
people who owned a car were classified as rich
just by looking at them. This is because back then
cars were very expensive and many middle class
people could not afford them, until the Model-T
came out. In the time of the novel most middle
class individuals idolized people who owned
vehicles. Therefore automobiles demonstrate the
connections between vehicle ownership and
prosperity.