The Great Gatsby- East Egg vs. West Egg
East Egg versus West Egg
East Egg and West Egg are "identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay ... They are not perfect ovals ... but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual wonder to the gulls that fly overhead. To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size."(9) In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates different worlds, where many different people live amongst each other. The areas of East Egg and West Egg in Long Island find isolation not just geographically, “separated only by a courtesy bay” (9), but more significantly in the way the two societies contrast. Along with East and West Egg, Fitzgerald creates another symbol where a dark and lifeless community lives: the Valley of Ashes, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (22,4.) With vivid settings Fitzgerald creates for the audience, the audience is able to connect with the settings at a more personal level and receive more insight about the characters to establish a full understanding of them. East Egg is home to the fashionable group of social elite, also known as "old money" or people who have always had money. Tom and Daisy represent the 'old establishment', having lived with money their whole lives. Daisy is very materialistic and is consumed with being associated with her 'social class'. These people are shallow and lack any moral principles. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together." They are careless and selfish, which is exemplified through Jordan Baker. Jordan Baker is a professional golfer who thinks so highly of herself.
East Egg and West Egg are "identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay ... They are not perfect ovals ... but their physical resemblance must be a source of perpetual wonder to the gulls that fly overhead. To the wingless a more interesting phenomenon is their dissimilarity in every particular except shape and size."(9) In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald creates different worlds, where many different people live amongst each other. The areas of East Egg and West Egg in Long Island find isolation not just geographically, “separated only by a courtesy bay” (9), but more significantly in the way the two societies contrast. Along with East and West Egg, Fitzgerald creates another symbol where a dark and lifeless community lives: the Valley of Ashes, “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (22,4.) With vivid settings Fitzgerald creates for the audience, the audience is able to connect with the settings at a more personal level and receive more insight about the characters to establish a full understanding of them. East Egg is home to the fashionable group of social elite, also known as "old money" or people who have always had money. Tom and Daisy represent the 'old establishment', having lived with money their whole lives. Daisy is very materialistic and is consumed with being associated with her 'social class'. These people are shallow and lack any moral principles. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together." They are careless and selfish, which is exemplified through Jordan Baker. Jordan Baker is a professional golfer who thinks so highly of herself.