A series on The Great Gatsby‘s commentary
regarding American Culture
“Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry.” This quote from Nick Caraway in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby expresses his view that Americans are content with being a poor laborer as long as they aren’t viewed as such by their peers. Fitzgerald points out the common theme in American society of over-prioritizing perceptions of wealth, no matter the cost.
This uniquely American phenomena that Fitzgerald referenced in the 1920’s is still relevant in modern American society. A prime example of this is the American health care system. In America, a severe illness or an accident can be financially crippling, despite most Americans having some form of health insurance. This is surprising because American citizens spend about $12,900 a year on healthcare, while German citizens are the next highest at about $6100 per year.. Despite spending so much on healthcare, lifesaving care is often unaffordable, available at a high premium, or denied all together.
So why is this? The main problem lies with the ‘for-profit’ health insurance industry that is prevalent in America. Health insurance companies act as middle men between patients and their hospitals or healthcare professionals, that essentially broker your care plan. An insurance agency collects a fee from consumers ranging from $200-$600 monthly for insurance plans. If a beneficiary of these health plans requires medical assistance, the insurance company will work with the hospital in order to determine what coverage you qualify for. This can lead to insurance companies having sole authority on what care, no matter how necessary it is, a patient can receive.
Insurance companies having direct say in patient care is one of many problems with the healthcare system. Another issue is the price inflation by ‘for-profit’ hospitals. A common practice among hospitals is to increase prices, knowing that insurances will front that cost onto their customers through out of pocket expenses. Hospitals and insurance companies alike benefit economically from higher prices, resulting in a legalized racketeering practice.
How does this relate to American Culture?
The answer lies in how Americans deal with this issue. When faced with the same challenges, other countries opted to have socialist programs in order to ensure all of their citizens can receive medical help. However, many Americans are opposed to this, due to societal stigmas surrounding needing government and the lingering biases against socialism from the cold war. These stigmas are rooted in the to get rich This brings us back to the idea that American society at large would rather uphold archaic, predatory business practices than be perceived as needing economical assistance .This ties into the American theme of being content with being a serf as long as they aren’t perceived as such by society. Many Americans are indifferent to their quality of life as long as other people don’t think of them as poor.
still working
