In “The Great Gatsby”, the towering mansion that holds the lavish parties
Many places in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald have great significance, for many reasons and without these places the plot would be entirely different and the whole feeling of the the story would be changed. The book is an American masterpiece and many say Fitzgerald’s best piece. His house was a piece of many significant events many, but all wouldn’t be possible if Nick’s house wasn't strategically placed right next door to Gatsby’s home, his house being there gives us this story, without it there is no story. Nicks’s house located in “new money” West Egg, it is a little shack right next to Gatsby’s castle of a home (Fitzgerald 11). Nick, being the narrator, has to remain close to Gatsby and the rest of the main characters or there is no story to be told because there is no one to tell it.
Nick living in the West Egg describes it as “the less fashionable” Egg compared to the East Egg (Fitzgerald 5). Though right after Nick almost takes it back calling it the most “superficial tag to express the bizarre [...] contrast between them” (5). To help confuse this contradiction Nick describes the houses or “mansions” that surround him. The neighbor to the right had a “tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (5).
In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee uses negative connotation and vivid symbolism to persuade that being judged by an outward appearance or backstory can affect a person negatively and make the judgers feel superior. Lee uses an outstanding amount of characters to persuade this but some distinctive characters that she uses is Aunt Alexandra and the Cunningham’s. Lee also uses the Ewells and Tom Robinson to persuade her meaning. In chapter twenty-three Scout asks Aunt Alexandra if she can play with Walter Cunningham but Aunt Alexandra declines the request and does not give Scout permission to play with Walter. She explains why plus starts to judge Walter.
Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water, and the history of the summer really begins on the evening I drove over there to have dinner with the Tom Buchanan’s. Daisy was my second cousin once removed, and I’d known Tom in college. ”(The Great Gatsby page 5). This explains the difference between the East and West Egg. People who lived in East Egg were valued more over the West Egg.
Wanting to gain status, Gatsby shows his wealth by throwing extravagant parties and purchasing expensive items to display. To announce himself as a man of wealth to the New York upper class, he purchases a “factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (5), his mansion in West Egg. It is here that he chooses to throw parties every weekend, where everyone shows up, though rarely people are actually invited. It is here that he is able to show off the true extent of his wealth to other rich folk. For example, in his library, he has a collection of “absolutely real” books, rather than “durable cardboard” (45), expected by Owl Eye, and attendant of one of Gatsby’s parties.
The Great Gatsby Essay F. Scott Fitzgerald was a famous author who wrote the book, The Great Gatsby. His purpose in writing this book was to show the differences between old and new money. Old money meaning people being born into wealthy lifestyles and new money meaning people who were not born with money but gained a lot of wealth. These were separated by two areas called west egg and east egg. This book gives sort of an exclusive look into the luxury and glamour that people think is the life of a person with a high amount of wealth.
Throughout the novel, Gatsby displays his riches through his mansion, expensive car, and many other things. Nick even describes how extravagant Gatsby’s house is, saying, “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard—it was a factual imitation of some Hôtel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool, and more than forty acres of lawn and garden” (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 5). As Nick describes, Gatsby’s house is very large and modern, which shows his affluence. Before he became rich and privileged, Gatsby was James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy who dreamed of becoming wealthy. This dream led Gatsby to do crazy things in order to make money, but it worked out for him in the end.
For instance, Gatsby throws the most lavish parties and throws money around like candy. In East Egg, most of the people live in mansions and have special house features such as “a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of ivy, and a marble swimming pool…” (5). Gatsby also mentioned how he “collect[ed] jewels, chiefly rubies, hunt[ed] big game, painting a little, things only for myself only” (66) which shows that throughout his life he was after material objects. Fitzgerald talks about how Dan Cody was “James Gatz’s destiny” (100) which means that Gatsby has been chasing wealth since he very young. Materialism is ridiculed from beginning to end which shows the novel as satirical.
The Great Gatsby is set in New York City and on Long Island, in two areas known as "East Egg" and "West Egg", in real life, Port Washington and Great Neck peninsulas on Long Island. In the early 1920’s World War I had just come to an end. A new generation came to New York from small towns in search of excitement, chance, and a “new” way of living. Fitzgerald accurately portrays elements, such as greed, celebration and “new money” of the 1920’s in The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald accurately portrays the 1920s in The Great Gatsby through greed by using the characters Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson.
In the great Gatsby it is seen as the “east egg” and the west egg”. The east egg represent people who have old money also known as the ancestral wealth which is run in the family. The west egg represent people who had recently climbed up the socioeconomic status. This could be clearly seen in the great Gatsby as fitzgerald portrayed in the disguise of clothes. Jay Gatsby is seen wearing multi colored dresses at different occasions which made him look different than other people like tom who has old money.
Nick Carraway and Gatsby live in “West Egg, the -- well, the less fashionable of the two” (Fitzgerald 5). West Egg is the area where the self-made men and women,
Jay Gatsby, the title character of the novel “The Great Gatsby” is a man that can not seem to live without the love of his life. Trying to win Daisy over consumes Gatsby’s life as he tries to become the person he thinks she would approve of. What most readers do not realize is that Jay Gatsby’s character mirrors many personality traits and concerns that the author of novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, had. In fact, Gatsby and Fitzgerald are similar in that they both had a girl they wanted to win over, took a strong stance on alcohol, and ironically both had similar funerals, also, both people also symbolize the American dream.
In The Great Gatsby, social status is a significant element in the book as it separates the haves from the have nots. However more importantly, social status portrays the personalities of people belonging to different classes. In the end, you are stuck in the class you are born into, and attempting to change classes only leads to tragedy and heartbreak. In The Great Gatsby, there are three main social classes portrayed. These are old money, new money, and no money.
The two settings used the most throughout the book is West Egg and the Valley of Ashes. West Egg is the area where all the new money people live, including Gatsby. At Gatsby's house, wild lavish parties are very common. However, everyone who attends those parties don't even know Gatsby, they just come because they want to have fun and not worry about anything. Meanwhile, there's the Valley of Ashes, an area outside of the city which is a gray and dull place where ashes and other waste is dumped.
