Why Is West Egg Important In The Great Gatsby

Ross Elder

Mr. Hicks

English III Hour 3

14 December 2015

The Unattainable Urge In the great American novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald presents to us the idea of wanting what you cannot have. Nick Carraway, the narrator and the main character in this novel, is a great example of this idea, but he is certainly not the only character in this novel that falls into this category. For example, Nick is surrounded by wealth, and he desires to be rich. On the other hand, Jay Gatsby has all the money one should need, but that does not satisfy him. He would rather have a wonderful life married to Daisy, Nick’s cousin, than being filthy rich. Nick and Gatsby try to attain their desires throughout the entire novel, but they never achieve

Throughout the novel, we see many examples of these characters chasing after what they want, but in the end none of them achieve. The geography of the novel plays a big role in the development of the characters and the setting. West Egg and East Egg are the dominant setting throughout the novel, and they are better known as Great Neck and Port Washington in today’s world. In this fictitious novel, West Egg and East Egg are similar to the Hampton’s. East Egg represents “old wealth.” Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, lives in East Egg. He inherited most of his money from his parents and never really had to work for anything. On the other hand, West Egg is a place of “new wealth.” Nick and Gatsby live over in West Egg. West Egg is full of drinking and partying, or the more rebellious type of people. We can see that Gatsby moved here on his own because if not, then he would probably be living in East Egg. Nick works on Wall Street and seems to be barely getting by. Nick earns everything and is never given anything. These two sides represent the overall wealth of

“The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God—a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that--.” (Fitzgerald- Chapter 6) Clearly we can see the want Nick has to be similar to Gatsby. He is referring to him as the savior of our world, which is so far fetched. Moreover, we see what money can do to alter one’s thoughts of another. If one describes someone they look up to as Jesus Christ, then that person is delusional. Nick is not the only one in the novel that is wanting something badly. Gatsby has the same problem. Gatsby wanted Daisy so bad that he moved across the lake from her in hopes of them getting back together. In the beginning of the novel, Nick sees Gatsby staring across the lake at the green light. Towards the end of the novel, Nick concludes with, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine morning—So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (Fitzgerald-Chapter 9) This quote really is telling us that Gatsby was trying to recreate his past with Daisy the whole time. Obviously, we all know that is beyond our ability. Gatsby is trying to do the impossible just so he can re-live the past. The green light