Aristocracy In The Great Gatsby

The Demise of the American Aristocracy
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920s’ elite New York spheres where East Eggers’ family riches represent the aristocracy, while West Eggers epitomize nouveau riche. Within this New York world the color white appears in the East Egg, whereas outside this bubble the absence and desire for white is prevalent. The narrative is told through the eyes of Nick, a West Egg transplant, who immerses himself into the social scene, interacting with both East and West Eggers. Nick’s cousin is Daisy, who is married to Tom and friends with Jordan, who provide the East Egg perspective. During his time on the West Egg, Nick befriends Gatsby, who came from humble beginnings but gains money then throws parties

When guests begin arriving at Tom and his mistress Myrtle’s apartment for dinner, Nick describes Catherine, Myrtle’s sister’s, hair as “solid, sticky,” complexion as “powdered milky white,” and re-drawn eyebrows at a “rakish angle” (30). By connecting powdered skin to imitate the ideal of white to negative words like “sticky” and disreputable or “rakish,” Fitzgerald makes a clear critique of non-East Eggers attempt to physically assimilate as damaging to their identity. Adding to this impression, when all the guests have arrived, Nick notices that Myrtle changed into a “cream-colored chiffon,” and consequently her personality “undergone a change” into “hauteur” (30). Through associating the cream dress, which is a less pure white, with a negative personality change of East Egg snobbiness, Fitzgerald comments that East Egg imitation destroys identity. Expanding on cream, after Gatsby’s party when Gatsby picks up Nick for lunch, Nick depicts Gatsby’s “rich cream color” car as “swollen” in “its monstrous length” (64). The car, an attempted status symbol to aid assimilation, harms Gatsby’s identity and reputation by associating him with a

Presenting East Eggers’ desirability, during Jordan and Nick’s date, Jordan recalls first seeing Gatsby and Daisy together, describing that in Louisville Daisy “dressed in white and had a little white roadster” and army officers “demanded the privilege of monopolizing her” (74). The army officers are eager to take advantage or “monopolize” Daisy’s privilege, which her white physical possessions embody, illustrating the desirability of the elite’s privilege. Transitioning to the West Egg, anticipating Daisy’s reunion with Gatsby, Nick goes to the West Egg village’s “whitewashed alleys” (84) to buy gifts and search for his maid. The association between the West Egg and whitewashed, which denotes covered up in white, alludes to West Egg imitation. Expanding on this imitation, soon after travelling to the village, Nick details that Gatsby came to his front door in a “white flannel suit, silver, shirt, and gold-colored tie” (84). Gatsby’s outfit consists of white, silver, and gold, which are all showy colors associated with the East Egg, highlighting how Gatsby attempts to assimilate into East Egg demeanor. Returning to East Egg desirability, Gatsby is insecure about Daisy’s