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lydiardbell t1_je713vo wrote

Reply to comment by Different-Carpet-159 in non United States folks: what do you think of The Great Gatsby? by Different-Carpet-159

Historically, not as obsessed with status, certainly not as obsessed as Gatsby was. Those who have and flaunt it are (or, were) seen as a bit foolish. "Tall poppy syndrome" means that people will be cut down to size if they don't stay humble, although that's been changing since the 2010s.

Plus NZ didn't really have anything quite as extravagant as the Jazz Age was in the US.

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Different-Carpet-159 OP t1_je74ny7 wrote

True, you need a very wealthy society to even have that to aspire to. Remember that Gatsby's mansion was built by a beer tycoon, so he was really just replacing an older generation of wealth.

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