The Role of the Past in Gatsby, Rap, and Immigrants’ Lives

The Role of the Past in Gatsby, Rap, and Immigrants’ lives

It is human nature to dwell on the past. We all have moments when we cringe because of a mistake we made years ago, even if it has no effect on our lives today. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is obsessed with the past. Although he spends much of the novel attempting to relive the past, he simultaneously tries to escape his roots. His tendency to do so exists in hip hop culture today; most rappers wear expensive chains and reference their wealth in their lyrics. This trend can be partly attributed to the consumer society that we live in today, one in which it is normal for people to flaunt their wealth through purchases like cars and houses, and in rappers’ cases, chains and private jets. This societal norm is not unlike the culture of conspicuous consumption in the 1920s, during which many wealthy people like Gatsby tried to display their extravagant wealth whenever possible.  Another large factor that plays into this, however, is the desire to prove that African Americans have overcome the socioeconomic obstacles that they faced in the U.S. for much of the country’s existence. At the same time, many rappers' lyrics reflect the fact that this oppression still exists, and that opportunity for African Americans is not yet equal. The situations are not totally comparable, as Gatsby was only impoverished, not enslaved, but the similarities are still legitimate. Although Gatsby rejects his past, he also simultaneously embraces it, just like African American rappers do today. The same is true of my parents, who left Russia but still feel a strong connection to it.

        Gatsby’s biggest distinguishing characteristic is that he is never in the present. He spends the whole novel chasing the past that he and Daisy Buchanan shared and reminiscing about his memories with her. When Nick tells him that he “can’t repeat the past,” Gatsby replies “Can’t repeat the past?...Why of course you can!” (Fitzgerald 110). At the same time, however, Gatsby wants to escape his past. He tells Nick incredible stories about his history that Nick can easily see are a lie, and he continually tries to escape his humble beginnings. Gatsby lies to Nick early in the novel and tells him that he was born into a wealthy family, when in reality, he was born into a family of very modest means. As Nick finds out toward the end of the novel, Gatsby had been working toward escaping poverty and becoming wealthy ever since his experiences with Dan Cody. Despite Gatsby’s tendency to pine after the past and attempt to relive it, he clearly seeks to escape his own past and completely reinvent himself as a person. Even when he achieves his goal of becoming wealthy, however, it still seems like Gatsby pretends to be something he is not. When Tom and a friend of his insincerely invite Gatsby out to dinner and he accepts, they scoff at his lack of social grace. The East Eggers resent the West Eggers, who, despite being considerably wealthy, lack the nuanced manners and social awareness that sets the East Eggers, who had been born into immense wealth, apart. Gatsby is no exception, and despite him regularly hosting extravagant parties and flaunting his wealth, it is clear that he does not truly belong with America’s most elite class. Gatsby brags about the aspects of his life that help others view him as different from his origins, but ignores the aspects that tie him to the past he seeks to escape.

        This pattern of embracing and simultaneously rejecting the past is evident in the flashiness of modern hip hop culture as well. Many rappers today flaunt their wealth and success in both their lyrics and their lifestyles. In his song “All Gold Everything,” rapper Trinidad James says “Gold all in my chain, gold all in my ring/Gold all in my watch, don't believe me just watch/...In God I Trust, so I kept counting them Franklins [$100 bills]/...One gold watch, two gold chains/Six gold rings, it's nothing” (genius.com). Many hip hop artists express similar messages in their music as well as in their lifestyle and demeanor; rapper Soulja Boy, for example, purchased a $55 million private jet for his 21st birthday, despite having a net worth of almost $30 dollars less than the price tag of this hefty purchase (Washington Post). Soulja Boy’s case may be extreme, but nevertheless it is evident that he and other rappers go to great lengths to flaunt their wealth and success. One factor that plays into rappers’ showing off their money goes back to the idea of rejecting the past.

Hip hop culture and African American culture are intertwined. Rap has its roots in Africa; centuries before hip hop music was created, the Griots of West Africa were telling stories with a rhythm over drums and instrumentation (BBC). Additionally, early rap was heavily influenced by blues and jazz music, both of which stem from music that African slaves in America sang while working (“Hip Hop and Blues”). Moreover, almost all of rap’s biggest stars, such as Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Jay-Z, and J Cole, are African American. This connection between rap and African Americans helps explain why flaunting of wealth and success is such a mainstay in hip hop. Since the international slave trade began growing in size in the 17th and 18th centuries, Africans were imported into America to be used as slaves. Slavery of African Americans persisted until the Civil War and even after slavery’s abolishment, African Americans were not treated equally. Jim Crowe Laws and Supreme Court decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson made de jure segregation a daily reality for African Americans, and even after these institutions were abolished, de facto segregation persisted. In fact, it is statistically proven that African Americans still do not enjoy the same socioeconomic opportunities that white Americans do (Brinkley). Thus, the tendency of many rappers to flaunt their wealth and success stems from the centuries of American history during which African Americans were socially, economically, and politically oppressed, and is a result of wanting to prove that they have overcome the difficulty that their race has faced for much of America’s history. Although Gatsby’s early life struggles were not as severe as the difficulties faced by African Americans, his extravagant parties and lavish mansion serve a similar purpose as Trinidad James’s gold and Soulja Boy’s private jet; Gatsby flaunts his wealth to prove that he has overcome the poverty he was born into.

Although many African American rappers attempt to show that they have escaped the hardship that has persisted for their race during America’s existence, some rappers do the opposite and embrace their heritage through their lyrics. Kendrick Lamar, one of modern hip hop’s biggest stars, pays homage to an iconic slave in his hit song “King Kunta.” The slave in question, Kunta Kinte, was a rebellious slave on an 18th century plantation in Virginia. Kinte not only kept his own name and rejected the slave name his plantation owner tried to impose on him, but also refused to integrate into slave society. After attempting to escape his plantation four times, he was offered the choice between being castrated and having his right foot cut off. Kinte chose the latter, symbolically refusing to be emasculated by his masters. Because of Kinte’s audacity, Kendrick Lamar uses him as an icon for black power and as a symbol for black resistance against oppressive institutions.