In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald showed how wealth can determine how people view one another based on the contrast of financial cultures between the West and East Eggs causing relational conflicts. The contrasts of social status did not allow for the West Egg dreamers to be fully accepted in society and caused conflict in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. Fitzgerald described how the East and West Eggs were different due to how the residents obtained their money. The West Egg consisted of the nouveau rich, and the East Egg consisted of aristocrats. Even though both the East and West Eggs were wealthy, they differed in the way the East Eggers inherited their fortune from previous generations, and the West Eggers worked for their wealth. Tom, who lived in the East Egg, “[came] East in a fashion that rather took [breaths] away” which was possible because “his family was enormously wealthy” (Fitzgerald, 6). Tom inherited his money, and it led to his established and high profile. Daisy married Tom because he was relevant in society, and he had generations of money. The East Eggers had a high social status the West could never have. …show more content…
The West Egg was "the less fashionable of the two", but was more honest and had harder work ethics (5). Morals were lacked in the East Egg, however, it still contained much respect in society. The social status differences caused conflict in the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy. Daisy loved Gatsby, however, she cherished her social status, and she was frightened with the possibility of Gatsby losing his money. She stayed with Tom because he could provide her the security in society she
Title One would think being wealthy would be an uncomplicated and satisfying life. In the book, The Great Gatsby, by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, proves that living the high-life is not all that blissful. Being wealthy can corrupt one’s life. An example of this is the main character in the book, Gatsby, who is one of the top wealthiest person in New York.
Our story, The Great Gatsby, starts out when Nick, a stock trader, moves to West Egg. West Egg is a part of Long Island where the "new" rich people live. "New" rich is a term used to describe people who have recently acquired their wealth, and have no connections in East Egg, where the people who have established their wealth live. Gatsby befriends Nick for a good reason, to meet his long lost love, Daisy, Nick’s cousin and resident of East Egg. Unfortunately for Gatsby, Daisy is married to Tom, a boisterous man who has taken in a mistress and everyone in the novel knows about it.
Many forms of literature portray conflicting or contrasting areas in which each place has a significant impact on the story. These opposing forces add to the overall theme, symbolism and meaning of the story. In the ‘Great Gatsby’, by F. Scott Fitzgerald these areas are the ‘East Egg’ and the ‘West Egg’. To illustrate the East Egg represents the former or classic establishment. It consists of wealthy families who have handed down money from generation to generation. However the West egg includes money or fortunes that recently have been acquired. The West Egg sets the standard of the American Dream theme; working hard to become successful. Notably, the Great Gatsby reveals characters that come from both areas and impact the story and other locations.
In the beginning of the novel, Nick establishes residence in one “of the two formations of land” which “extends itself due east of New York” (4). These land configurations resemble “a pair of enormous eggs” and are consequently referred to as East Egg and West Egg (4). Each society is characterized by the distinct origins of the wealth of their inhabitants. East Egg is based on familial wealth, and therefore values a prestigious family name. Despite being “fashionable” and glitzy, East Egg becomes notorious for harboring bullies as represented by Tom and Daisy Buchanan (5). Physically, Tom is “enormous” and powerful, which translates into his internal psyche (7). He is portrayed as cruel and unthinking throughout the novel, later causing murder by blaming Myrtle’s death on Gatsby, thereby compelling Wilson...
Conclude ideas that are related between the great Gatsby & modern society and say how things have changed over time
Tom and Daisy are "old money", rich and from old established families living on East Egg, which the millionaires inhabit. The East symbolizes fashionable life, sophistication, the "modern society" and the land where anything can happen. This is the world of brutality, corruption, carelessness, materialism and failure of emotion. By moving to the East, the Buchanans lose contact with the deeper values. They are superficial, aimless, irresponsible, empty and lonely. They have no desires, their talks are meaningless and their spiritual values are forgotten or dumped.
In the novel, The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel was written in the 1920's and during that time society had no civilized manners, they only cared about money. Because the society has no ethics they hurt others and do not realize how greedy they are. The author uses different characters throughout the novel to present his theme. Symbols can also be found in The Great Gatsby. An example would be West Egg which represents the recent rich and East Egg which represents the established upper classes. The West Egg and East Egg symbolize the different social status of society.
East Egg is home to the more prominent established wealth families. Tom's and Daisy's home is on the East Egg. Their house, a "red and white Georgian Colonial mansion overlooking the bay" with its "wine-colored rug[s]" is just as impressive as Gatsby's house but much more low-key (Fitzgerald 11)(13). East egg and Tom's home represents the established wealth and traditions. Their stable wealth, although lacking the vulgarity of new wealth, is symbolic of their empty future and now purposelessness lives together. The House also has a cold sense to it according to Nick. This sense symbolizes Tom's brutality, and as Perkins's says in his manuscript to Fitzgerald "I would know...Buchanan if I met him and would avoid him," because Tom is so cold and brute (Perkins 199).
As depicted by Scott F. Fitzgerald, the 1920s is an era of a great downfall both socially and morally. As the rich get richer, the poor remain to fend for themselves, with no help of any kind coming their way. Throughout Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the two “breeds” of wealthier folk consistently butt heads in an ongoing battle of varying lifestyles. The West Eggers, best represented by Jay Gatsby, are the newly rich, with little to no sense of class or taste. Their polar opposites, the East Eggers, are signified by Tom and Daisy Buchanan; these people have inherited their riches from the country’s wealthiest old families and treat their money with dignity and social grace. Money, a mere object in the hands of the newly wealthy, is unconscientiously squandered by Gatsby in an effort to bring his only source of happiness, Daisy, into his life once again. Over the course of his countless wild parties, he dissipates thousands upon thousands of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to attract Daisy’s attention. For Gatsby, the only way he could capture this happiness is to achieve his personal “American Dream” and end up with Daisy in his arms. Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy is somewhat detrimental to himself and the ones around him; his actions destroy relationships and ultimately get two people killed.
Daisy and Tom Buchanan represent this in the novel, though there are numerous others that show this as well, some who even went to Gatsby’s Parties. Tom is more arrogant, obviously displaying he had never worked a day in his life, owning lower class citizens like they were slaves, and trying to push Gatsby out of the circle of the upper class. There is also this one sidedness where East Egg citizens were allowed to attend parties on West Egg but West Egg attending East Egg parties was indecent and a forbidden type of “Spectroscopic Gayety” (Fitzgerald, 49). The East Egg is seen as a place you can leave and return to, but never check-in to. The East Egg wished to keep their world to themselves and not allow anyone else to be a part of what they wanted.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s obsessive pursuit of goals suggest that Fitzgerald believe that obsessiveness and constant desires often lead to a wrong psychological impact, destructive of one’s traditions, morals, and would have an unplanned end of the lesson or life.
Each place takes on a different meaning of wealth and success. Fitzgerald also used the different locations to divide up the social classes. The community of the West Egg represents “new money”. It is a place where the newly rich inhabit. A society of rich entrepreneurs who have made their money from participating in illegal activity after World War I. The West Egg society is portrayed in the book as being gaudy and showoffs; a community with no class or dignity. Fitzgerald includes Gatsby’s pink suit, Rolls Royce, and white mansion to depict Gatsby as being flashy and trying to copy the people from the East Egg. The East Egg is right across the bay from the West Egg, where the people who were born rich reside. The West Egg represents “old money”. The West Egg social elites are thought to have style, dignity, and class. As for Tom and Daisy, who live in West Egg, have none of those traits. They are both having affairs, Daisy killed a woman, and Tom is a racist abuser. This is an example that having the American dream will not make life easy or make a person any happier. Fitzgerald includes a place where the poor and hard-working citizens of New York live. The place where working yourself to the bone will get you nowhere in life and anyone who is wealthy enough ends up moving far away. It is a community of dirt poor people whose labor in the factories
Throughout “The Great Gatsby,” F. Scott Fitzgerald characterizes the citizens of East Egg as careless in some form. This relates to the prominent class issue seen all through “Gatsby.” It seems as though Daisy and Tom almost look down upon others. At one point in the book, Nick says “in a moment she looked at me with an absolute smirk on her lovely face as if she had asserted her membership in a rather distinguished secret society to which she and Tom belonged.” It is because of their belief of superiority that they deem themselves better than other and allows them to live so carelessly.
The East and West Egg are two opposite parts of Long Island. The East Egg is where people of old money reside, like Daisy and Tom, who have inherited the riches of the aristocracy. However, the West Egg is the home of the nouveau riche or new money. It is where Gatsby and Nick reside, who have accumulated great wealth on their own. Fitzgerald contrasts these two places and the characters from each Egg to highlight the cultural clash in the 1920’s between old and new money and the contrasting theme of corruption and morality.
The West Egg, where Gatsby and Nick lived, was seen as “the less fashionable” (Fitzgerald) of the two eggs. Even though the West Egg still contained multimillion dollar mansions since the residents were regarded as “new money” they did not have the same respectability as those who lived in the East Egg which was seen as the “old money.” Both are in the same class but came to the money in different ways, “new money” is new to the wealth and recently obtained it, while “old money” were those who had it in their families for a long time. This leads them to handling their money and relationships differently. The newly rich are portrayed as being “vulgar, gaudy, ostentatious, and lacking in social graces and taste.” (Avery) Gatsby tries to impress others with his money, which lacks class. He drives a fancy car, a Rolls-Royce, has a monstrous mansion by himself, and throws parties non-stop to impress people, and to try to lour Daisy back to him. The old money, people of East Egg, handle their wealth with more maturity, but they then become so used to easing people with the value of their money that they lack consideration for others feelings. Daisy and Tom describe this selfishness. Neither are ever satisfied, and cheat on one another as a result, and they lack consideration for anyone else, they just leave messes for others to clean up. Although new money is less