The “Great” Gatsby
During the 1920s the world was fighting for money and growth in social status. This novel which takes place four years after the war is a result of the crisis that occurred from the war. Two sides of the world during the 1920s are presented throughout the novel; one being East Egg which represents old money and West Egg which is the representation of new money. West Egg is set around Gatsby because he is growing into a new person and has new money, money that was made after the war. By Gatsby’s house being in West Egg it shows he has money but is lacking real sophistication. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the wealthier side of the world and people that are living the American Dream. Whether or not these characters have this money for the right
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Gatsby knows that without telling people that his money is inherited he will never be able to achieve the perfect picture that he wants. This shows that Gatsby only wants wealth to have a better picture and compete with others, such as Tom Buchanan. “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes” (Fitzgerald, This quote shows that Gastby wants the money to impress people far out of his reach. Daisy is married and the only way Gatsby can get to her is by competing with Tom over Daisy’s reactions to Gatsby's new form of wealth. His main goal is to be better than people, like Tom. He knows this is the way to get the perfect lifestyle that Tom and Daisy have together. Gatsby wants everything he does not have and he is competing for an unrealistic lifestyle just to be like others, this makes him far from “Great”. Gatsby’s title, “Great” contains irony because he does not want to achieve his goals for himself. In other words, Gatsby wants this “Great” lifestyle to get what he thinks is