Americans, while occasionally willing to be serfs, have always been obstinate about being peasantry.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a contrast between the acceptance of servitude and the rejection of a lower social status.
F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote suggests that while Americans may tolerate being in positions of servitude or subservience at times, they are fundamentally resistant to the idea of being considered part of a lower social class or peasantry. It highlights a cultural pride and an intrinsic belief in individual dignity, which drives a desire for upward mobility and personal autonomy, contrasting servile roles with a rejection of class-based identities.
In practice
In a speech about social class, one might use this quote to emphasize the American spirit of resilience.
Don't be so anxious about it,' she laughed. 'I'm not used to being loved. I wouldn't know what to do; I never got the trick of it.' She looked down at him, shy and fatigued. 'So here we are. I told you years ago that I had the makings of Cinderella.' He took her hand; she drew it back instinctively and then replaced it in his. 'Beg your pardon. Not even used to being touched. But I'm not afraid of you, if you stay quiet and don't move suddenly.
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.
It was about then [1920] that I wrote a line which certain people will not let me forget: "She was a faded but still lovely woman of twenty-seven."
The words seemed to bite physically into Gatsby.
But you can love more than just one person, can't you?
A sudden gust of rain blew over them and then another - as if small liquid clouds were bouncing along the land. Lightning entered the sea far off and the air blew full of crackling thunder. The table cloths blew around the pillars. They blew and blew and blew. The flags twisted around the red chairs like live things, the banners were ragged, the corners of the table tore off through the burbling billowing ends of the cloths.
The hearing that is only in the ears is one thing. The hearing of the understanding is another. But the hearing of the spirit is not limited to any one faculty to the ear, or to the mind.
Never speak to an invalid from behind, nor from the door, nor from any distance from him, nor when he is doing anything. The official politeness of servants in these things is so grateful to invalids, that many prefer, without knowing why, having none but servants about them.
Those who confine God's love exclusively to the elect appear to me to take a narrow and contracted view of God's character and attributes....I have long come to the conclusion that men may be _x000D_ more systematic in their statements than the Bible, and may be led into grave error by idolatrous veneration of a system
The glory of God always comes at the sacrifice of self.
If you carry someone else's fears and live by someone else's values, you may find that you have lived their lives.
A God without dominion, providence, and final causes, is nothing else but fate and nature.
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