Recently, while watching a film about the evolution of dogs in biology class (called "Dogs and More Dogs"), one of the narrators said something very interesting and relevant to our discussions on class in American Studies. He said that purebred dogs were a sign of an upper class family because it proved that the family could afford them and care for them. It struck me that the narrator specifically said "purebred," as though mutts were not expensive and did not need as much care and attention.
A comparison can be drawn from the low class mutt and high class purebred dog, to the descriptions of white in The Great Gatsby. F. Scott Fitzgerald commonly uses the color white as a marker of upper class in his novel. I don't think it's a coincidence that white people are often associated with upper class, while African Americans are normally associated with lower class. This portrays an extreme amount of racism towards blacks, who, in this case, are more similar to the mutt dogs rather than the purebreds.
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