The Importance Of Houses In The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

For centuries houses have been a way to showcase an individual’s social class, lifestyle and personality. The 1920s, during which The Great Gatsby is set, was an era of excess wealth where social position held great importance. F. Scott Fitzgerald extraordinarily represents three distinct social classes, lifestyles and personalities during this time with his descriptions of the houses belonging to Nick, the Buchanans and Gatsby.
Nick Carraway’s West Egg house is “a small eyesore, and it had been overlooked” (1.14) much like the man who resides in it. Throughout the novel, Nick acts as more of an observer rather than a participant. He keeps most of his opinions to himself by reserving judgment of those around him. Mr. Carraway’s “weather-beaten cardboard bungalow” (1.7) is also located between two fine houses (one belonging to Gatsby) and is rather out of place in its beautiful location. Nick, new to the world of the fashionably wealthy does not exactly fit in with the crowd he is surrounded by and often feels misplaced. In the novel, Nick

Their elaborate mansion located in East Egg effectively showcases their social class, allowing onlookers to realize that they are a family of old money. The Buchanans leave their large French windows “ajar and gleaming” (1.26) leaving the happenings of the home open to the public. The openness of their house is much like the transparency of both Tom and Daisy. Tom puts minimal effort into concealing his affair with Myrtle Wilson from everyone, even going as far as accepting her call in the middle of a dinner party and introducing his lover to Nick. Similarly, Daisy is extremely careless with hiding her feelings for Gatsby in front of Tom. During the conversations where Tom, Daisy and Gatsby are all present, romantic tension between Gatsby and Daisy is prominent and Daisy is unable to control what she says around