In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the author uses the geography of the novel to represent the American Dream and its pitfalls. The novel portrays the differences between old money and new money through the geography of East and West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes. These different locations symbolize how the American Dream is achieved differently by different people, and how some are privileged in their quest to achieve it. In the novel, the geography of East and West Egg, where old and new money reside respectively, represents the divide between social classes in America. The East Egg is where people born into wealthy families live, while the West Egg is home to the nouveau riche. This geography emphasizes how some people are born into wealth, while others must work for it, and that the American Dream is not equally attainable for all. For example, Gatsby, who comes from a poor family, must engage in illegal activities to achieve his wealth, while Daisy, who comes from an old-money family, is born into her privilege. The novel shows how the American Dream is easier to achieve for those who are born into privilege, and harder for those who are not. …show more content…
The valley, which is a dumping ground for industrial waste, represents the decay of the American Dream, and how it fails to offer opportunities to everyone. The people living in this area are poor, and the waste produced by those who live in East and West Egg, along with the lack of opportunities available to them, has led them to live in poverty. The geography of the valley emphasizes how the American Dream is not equally attainable for everyone, and that it is only attainable for a privileged