Examples Of West Egg In The Great Gatsby

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the ideals of wealth and dreams are exhibited through the lives and experiences of Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby. Specifically, Gatsby tends to waste his wealth rather than investing for the future. He uses the “green light” to serve as a constant reminder of his dreams and life goals he wishes to pursue. Nick Carraway’s friendship with Gatsby enables him to partake in the wealth and luxuries of Gatsby's lifestyle. The American Dream is brought to fruition through Gatsby’s lavish lifestyle and extravagant parties. Furthermore, the motifs of wealth and dreams are perpetually shaping and influencing the characters’ decisions, experiences and outcomes over the course of the story.

There are two types of people, those who are consumed by money and those that have a decaying amount. Both of those types of people crave more and more, both reside in either of the two contrasting peninsulas, East Egg and West Egg. The two headlands have numerous amounts of variance with each other in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the narrative is set during the 1920’s in New York City, as well as Long Island, and the two peninsulas dubbed “East Egg” and “West Egg.” There is a striking contrast between the two regions, however, not as many similarities. East Egg represents people who are vulgar and crude, who are also the social elite and old money, while West Egg represents good social values and new money. Nonetheless, both areas are equally dissatisfied with their life, always wanting more and more.

Since American literature’s emergence, the American dream has become a conceptual ideal for many people throughout history. Although the dream has its own distinct aspects throughout different time periods, it predominantly focuses on the foundations of wealth, success and a desire for something greater. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s fiction novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, is primarily known for the numerous lavish parties he throws each weekend at his ostentatious mansion in West Egg in an attempt to reunite with Daisy Buchanan, a woman he falls in love with prior to entering the war before the Roaring Twenties. However, he is seized with an impotent realization on the fact that his wealth cannot afford him the same privileges as others that are born into the upper echelon. Gatsby is completely blinded from his opulent possessions until he becomes oblivious of the fact that money cannot buy love or happiness. Throughout the story, the predilection for materialistic features causes many characters to lose sight of their aspirations, demonstrating how a dream can become easily corrupt by one’s focus on acquiring wealth and power.

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald uses West Egg and East Egg as a symbol for class systems to reveal the differences between the two social classes. The difference between the two social classes are vast. East Egg refers to whom came into wealth. West Egg refers to whom carried down wealth from traditional upper-class families. During the 20th century, East Egg residents were more prestigious. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you had (Fitzgerald 1).” Many wealthy people were born into wealth. Some wealthy are born poor but had to earn their way up. “And I hope she’ll be a fool - that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool(Fitzgerald 30).” Women who were housewives in the 1920s didn’t get as much respect as Men did (BBC 7). “An Oxford man!” He was incredulous. “Like hell he is! He wears a pink suit (Fitzgerald 110).”

People generally get to live their lives normally, as in, their normal. As humans, We all adapt to our own lives while it is completely different from one another’s. Just like in the novel, characters are living a different life compared to those across the body of water, when it comes to old money and new money, the characters mannerism and their social setting to live the American dream differ. A vast contrast can be easily identified between East Egg and West Egg in the novel. The Great Gatsby written by, F. Scott Fitzgerald as characters are living for the same dream in different life situations.

Money, wealth and prestige were constantly on the minds of people during the Roaring Twenties. Not everyone during this time was able to achieve the wealth and status that they aspired to, including Jay Gatsby. Many people of the upper class inherited their wealth, and oftentimes lived on the rich peninsula of East Egg. On the other hand, those who had to make their own way in the world lived on the less wealthy peninsula of West Egg. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses Jay Gatsby to portray the corrupt mindset of the 1920’s. Starting off as a poor boy, Gatsby aspires to become as wealthy as the aristocracy, and becomes obsessed with this aspiration; his American Dream. Through illicit means, Jay Gatsby makes his way up the social ladder, but stalls prior to reaching the peak. Gatsby, although known for his extravagant parties and expensive belongings, lives in West Egg, showing that he is not part of the aristocracy. Throughout The Great Gatsby, a classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby attempts to capture the American Dream, but his corrupt view of it only leads him to become materialistic, ending his life with few personal relationships, thus proving that during the Roaring Twenties people were more concerned with superfluous objects, as opposed to their own well being.

“East Egg represents the established aristocracy, West Egg the self-made rich” (Sparknotes). West egg has new money which refers to wealth that has been gained by working and East egg has old money which refers to money that has been inherited. Tom and Daisy were born into the American dream unlike Gatsby who has grown from a poor childhood to being a millionaire.

West Eggers are the newly rich; the people who have worked hard and earned their money in a short period of time. Their wealth is epitomized on material possessions. Gatsby, like the West Eggers, lacks the traditions of the East Eggers. He is considered 'new money', in the sense that his wealth came to him more recently through his own success. Although Gatsby is now a part of this class, his faith and belief in the success of his dreams has allowed him to preserve some morality. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the novel, lives in West Egg and exhibits honesty in this place of superficiality. Clearly the West is able to preserve some ethics while the East is not able to grasp any. Although West Egg is the more moral, it is still a place of superficiality and materialism.

First, the status of the families is one way to show the contrast between the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and West Egg. The families of East Egg are wealthier than those of West Egg and the Valley of Ashes. East and West Egg symbolize wealth and high status. The Buchanan’s wealth and status are shown by the fact that they have an expensive house and car,

Nick describes West egg as “the less fashionable of the two”(4). West egg was home to the people with new money, like Gatsby. West egg symbolizes new money because it represents the way that people with new money lived their lives wild, spent their money carelessly and used their power to try and selfishly gain more status. Through this symbol, the author exposes the materialistic tendencies of people with new money. Another symbol that Fitzgerald utilizes is the symbol of Daisy’s pearls. When Daisy was about to marry Tom he gave her an expensive pearl necklace that was “valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars”(76). However the day of her wedding she got a letter from Gatsby, the man she loved before Tom, and threw the pearls out and wanted to call off the wedding. In the end Daisy married Tom Buchanan and wore the pearls on her wedding day. The symbol of the pearls shows that Daisy valued money over love because it represents the materialistic relationship that Tom and Daisy had. Through this symbol the author is able to show that ultimately Daisy chose money over love and exposed her materialistic

He also claims that “geography can also define or even develop character” (Foster). In the Great Gatsby, geography indicates the established differences between the “old” and “new” money as well as delivers messages such as commentary on the cost and quest for success, both economic and social.Throughout the novel, places and settings epitomize the various aspects of the corruption of the American dream during the 1920’s, such as East Egg (old aristocracy), West Egg (nouveau riche), and the Valley of Ashes (moral and social decay). These societal classes develop a social crisis of identity from the very beginning, as stated by Nick Carraway, “I lived at West Egg, the--well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them” (Fitzgerald). While those such as Gatsby and Nick have both worked to earn their wealth, they’ll never fit it with the “old money” stalwarts. They lack the intangible established history possessed by the East Egg nobility. For example, Tom Buchanan valued possessions frequently to distance old and new money to eschew the newfound success of West Egg. Fitzgerald highlights the reluctance of the established wealth to accept other people, while also showing the corruption of those in West Egg. Fitzgerald uses geography to depict the differences

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that has a large focus on the ideas of the American Dream and social class in the 1920s. In the novel, the people of West Egg and East Egg are people of the upper who have earned money either through inheritance or working hard and have had many opportunities to make their American Dream a reality. The people of the Valley of Ashes are people of lower class who have little to no money and have to work all their lives to make ends meet. Even though both social classes strive for the same thing, The American Dream, neither of them will ever truly achieve it. Fitzgerald uses a vast contrast in the settings of East Egg, West Egg, and

Additionally the interior yellow can symbolize gold and lavish objects. Moreover an egg is used as the division of the town East egg and West egg. This precious metal is a social status and signifies wealth. The division of these competing areas separates the newly rich from the historically wealthy families. The narrator Nick, comments that he lives in West Egg, being the,” well the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them” (Gatsby 5). By saying this, nick expresses the idea of his egg (West Egg) being less fashionable and desirable than the other more prominent side (East Egg). Even though some might not live in the more fashionable part of town you still can achieve the American Dream. Nick and the west side represent those that have actually worked hard and earned their new status. This part of town houses Nick and Gatsby, which do show that if you put in hard work you, can achieve the American dream.

The social group West Egg represents the corruption of the American Dream, during the 1920’s. Fitzgerld describes West Egg as a home for the newly rich. This is a place where people who have recently become fortunate live. It is a place that represents new money. New money portrays the image of the corruption of the American Dream by showing how the people strived for acquiring only material goods. It made attaining material goods their goal in life. In addition, people in the 1920’s connected the American Dream to making quick money. In The Great Gatsby many of the residents that lived in West Egg became fortunate through illegal methods, such as bootlegging alcohol or gambling. Fitzgerld shows this through the character Gatsby. Gatsby’s goal was to become wealthy so that he could win Daisy’s love. By selling stolen alcohol Gatsby was able to mange to rise up to the top of the upper class and live in West Egg. The want for money and power to achieve love shows the decay of the American Dream. The parties that were held at West Egg also represent the corruption of the American Dream. The parties that Gatsby threw were huge and glamorous. Everyone from West and East Egg would attend these parties. They had no care for who Gatsby was. Rather, they only cared that he was someone who was extremely

The concept of the American Dream has seized the separation of class in The Great Gatsby and in “Let America be America Again”. In The Great Gatsby, the author wrote, “I lived at West Egg, the -- well,