Juxtaposition In The Great Gatsby Essay

Fitzgerald provides us with the Juxtaposition between the West and East Egg. These represent different worlds of riches and social positions. The West Egg personifies new money and a classy way of living. While the East Egg embodies inherited wealth from past relatives and old money. These two locations are separated by a bay which holds important characters that are represented in the novel. Gatsby lives on the West Egg and his house is described as “a world’s fair, a place where the rules of conduct are more appropriate to an amusement park than a sedate residence of the established rich”(Lehan 91). Though his mansion may have an appealing appearance to it, like a carnival where everything is articulated so perfectly underneath, it still

This ties into the idea that wealth attracts wealth and a sense of entitlement. Gatsby and Daisy's economic upbringings act as a wall, making new money and old money complicate their relationship and their ability to be together. Fitzgerald exposes the hollowness and hopelessness of the American Dream through Daisy and Gatsby with the all-consuming wealth that doesn’t satisfy them. Furthermore, the most recurring symbol that is used in the novel is the green light. This is expressed by stating, “The green light, which carries meaning at every level of the story—as Gatsby’s go-ahead sign, as money, as the green breast of the new world” (Mangum 514). The green light portrays the dreams as unreachable and the result of pursuing fantasies. In the novel, Gatsby gestures towards the green light across the bay, reflecting his longing for Daisy (Kersh 1). The green light symbolizes hope and dreams. Gatsby reaches out to the light in hopes of happiness to reach back out towards him. Although Gatsby initially feels hope from looking at the green light, his obsession with it ultimately leads to disappointment and