Doesn't it always seem as though rich and famous people are larger-
than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a
fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two wealthy communities, East
Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a Romantic, larger-
than-life, figure by setting him apart from the common person.
Fitzgerald sets Gatsby in a fantasy world that, based on
illusion, is of his own making. Gatsby's possessions start to this
illusion. He lives in an extremely lavish mansion. "It is 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." It models an extravagant
castle with a European style. Indoors it has "Marie Antoinette music-
rooms and restoration salons." There is even a "Merton College Library,
paneled with imported carved English oak and thousands of volumes of
books." There is even a private beach on his property. He also has his
own personal hydroplane. Gatsby also drives a highly imaginative,
"circus wagon", car that "everybody had seen. It is a rich cream color
with nickel and has a three-noted horn." It has a "monstrous length
with triumphant hat-boxes, supper-boxes, tool-boxes, and terraced with a
labyrinth of windshields and a green leather conservatory."
Other than Gatsby's possessions, he develops his personal self.
His physical self appearance sets him apart form the other characters.
His smile is the type "that comes across four or five times in life. One
of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it." He
has a collection of tailored shirts from England. They are described as
"shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fin
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