James Gotwals April 5, 2024 Honors American Literature Mrs. Wegener Comparing the houses of Gatsby and Tom Buchanan During the 1920s, there were vast amounts of wealth which were dispersed between many of the characters in the book. The book The Great Gatsby focuses on Long Island and the split between characters in the East and West eggs, different wealthy communities which are close in wealth and location, but are socially considered different. Jay Gatsby lives in West Egg, which is a community of very rich people who make their own money, and the house he lives in shows how he portrays himself differently than how he actually feels. Tom Buchanan lives in East Egg, the community of very wealthy people who come from old money, and his house …show more content…
Scott Fitzgerald, the way in which houses are described symbolizes the characters who live in them. Jay Gatsby is a mysterious character who always throws lavish parties in his massive house, but yet he is not happy, and tries to act differently than he feels. An example of this is when his house is first described by Nick : “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard — it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby’s mansion” (Fitzgerald, 5). While this might just seem like Gatsby is a super rich man who buys whatever he wants, it is something deeper. Gatsby does not come from a super wealthy family, but yet he made himself and bought this house to match a very famous hotel in France because he wants to be accepted by the East Eggers. This shows while he is flaunting his money, he just wants to be as sociable as the old money west. Gatsby himself is not truthful with every person and will pretend to be something else, just like his house. This can be found when Nick describes how Gatsby talks to him: He smiled understandingly — much more