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Homes In The Great Gatsby

1294 Words6 Pages

In literature and in real life, a person’s home can reveal fundamental truths about them. In The Great Gatsby however, the homes of the characters go far beyond that. They are not only the main settings of the novel but reflect the characters’ status in society as well as their desires, goals, and personalities. Through descriptions of the houses in the novel, the author can reveal things about the characters without needing to over describe the characters themselves, as well as foreshadow events in the plot. The house vary like the characters, representing their different classes and social statuses. The houses of Nick, Tom and Daisy, Gatsby, and the Wilsons not only represent themselves, but Fitzgerald's overall themes of the novel. They …show more content…

“The only building in sight was a small block of yellow brick sitting on the edge of the waste land, a sort of compact Main Street ministering to it and contiguous to absolutely nothing” (28). The apartment is simple, because the Wilson’s are simple people, living apart from the drama of the two eggs. The closeness of the Wilson’s home to their business represents George’s dedication to his work, while Myrtle sees it a as constant burden from which to escape. They live in the valley of ashes, a place ruined by the pollution and excesses of the rich, just as the Wilson’s lives will be ruined by the rich. Their home lies under the watchful painted eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg. They are God-fearing people-and the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg represents the eyes of God. The eyes sit in judgment over the destruction the rich created in the valley of ashes where the Wilsons live, which has been rendered gray and lifeless by industrial pollution, and the destruction the upper class characters will do to the Wilsons themselves. Similarly, the drab grayness of the valley of ashes represents the gray morality they live in. The valley and ashes and their residents bear the burdens of the rich and reflect the social theme of decay and corruption in the 1920s that the pursuit of wealth and pleasure brings. A world away from their dreary apartment in the valley of ashes, is “a long white cake of apartment houses” where Tom and Myrtle have their affair (32). It is a reference to a wedding cake, and indeed the house and the affair represent romance, excitement, and sophistication Myrtle like a bride on her wedding day. Likewise, they play at being a married couple by getting a dog, hosting parties, and ordering around their

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