Setting in the Great Gatsby
The settings and backdrops in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, are essential elements to the formation of the characters, symbolic imagery and the overall plot development. Fitzgerald uses East and West Egg communities to portray two separate worlds and two classes of people that are technically the same their status, but fundamentally different in their ideals. The physical geography of the settings is representative of the distance between classes of the East and West Eggers. Every setting connotes a different tone and enhances the imagery of story line. From the wealthy class of the "eggs", the desolate "valley of ashes", to the chaos of Manhattan. The imagery provided by Fitzgerald becomes an important tool in establishing the characters and their story.The separation between the east and the west shows the division between the people who are from each side. Generally, the West Coast represents a more laissez-faire attitude and is seen as the "new" land or world. Many people have dreamt of "going west" in search of a new life or vast treasures in the "wild" lands. Fitzgerald associates these qualities of the West with the characters Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby, who live on the West Egg. On the other side o
The Wilson's financial and physical environment instructs their distance from characters like Tom Buchanan and Nick Carraway in every way, including their lack of education and class. 96-97" Tom and Daisy also live in a mansion which is Georgian Colonial, which establishes their status as "old money" characters. The dresser was garnished with a toilet set of pure dull gold. The weather also plays a part in the overall setting and tone of the story. In Tom's secret apartment that he shares with Myrtle, they host a party where Tom breaks Myrtle's nose. It is set as the stage for the confrontation of Gatsby with Tom. This desolate and wasted land is the "bridge" between the wealth of the Eggs and the chaotic city. In this way, Fitzgerald emphasizes major monetary differences through materialistic as well as solidifying the premise for ideological differences. Fitzgerald uses the weather and the seasons as a reflection of the story line and its current stage. The "valley of ashes" is highly symbolic in that it not only represents that physical obstacle, but also as a symbol of the mentality of the twenties and the result of the Eggs and the city. From the Eggs, the characters must pass through the "valley of ashes" in order to reach Manhattan. period bedrooms swathed in rose and lavender silk and vivid with new flowers. They resent anything that is unfamiliar to them such as the West Eggers with "new money" and no traditions. f the spectrum lie Tom Buchanan, Daisy, and Jordan Baker.
Common topics in this essay:
Tom Gatsby,
West Eggers,
East Eggers,
Nick Gatsby's,
Nick Carraway,
Myrtle George's,
West Egg,
East West,
Georgian Colonial,
George Wilson,
valley ashes,
east west,
west egg,
hot weather,
west eggers,
nick carraway,
eggers money,
seasons reflection,
story line,
social class,
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Acceptance Essays
