The strongest point of the American Dream being unattainable and how it provides a false narrative is through old vs new money. Throughout the story Fitzgerald illustrates the social divide between East and West Egg, with both sides having a poor opinion on the other. The symbolism between East and West Egg is clear, with East Egg symbolizing the generations of wealth that preserve old traditions and frown upon new ones, and West Egg symbolizing change and the American Dream. Fitzgerald portrays this social divide through the protagonist and antagonist, Gatsby and Tom. The clashing of ideals between the two and how both characters chase Daisy depicts the differing ideologies between West and East Egg. Tom coming from a wealth family has no
The East and West Egg reflect Tom and Daisy’s presiding class dominance. Fitzgerald first introduces the places where the main characters Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy live by describing them as “a pair of enormous eggs, identical in contour and separated only by a courtesy bay” (5). Already Fitzgerald gives the idea that these eggs have very similar features but are somehow different through his word choice of “identical” and “separated”. Fitzgerald places Gatsby on the West Egg and Tom on the East egg. They are “identical” in wealth but “separated” by class.
Janessa Collingwood Mrs Forker English 11-0 1 March 2023 Symbols in The Great Gatsby Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald’s infamous novel The Great Gatsby he uses multiple symbols to symbolise the moral conflict in pursuit of the American Dream. The American Dream is a major theme in The Great Gatsby and the life of Jay Gatsby is a personification of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby lived in West Egg, in Long Island during the roaring twenties.
The novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, displays the ultimate impossibility of achieving the “American Dream.” The “American Dream” is the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. This novel clearly demonstrates the impossibility of achieving the American Dream through symbolism and characterization including the green light and the valley of ashes and Tom and Daisy Buchanan. The green light is an example of symbolism used to show the impossibility of achieving the American dream because the green light symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s American dream of getting Daisy to be his lover.
For most the American Dream is pursued by working hard, showing determination, and achieving your goals to live a lavish lifestyle. In “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby craves to be a part of the upper class society. Gatsby built his wealth through illegal matters, all to get back to who he believes is his true love Daisy. Daisy desires a life of luxury and privilege, to be taken care of by whomever she marries. Daisy’s American dream of being an upper-class wealthy woman is shown through the symbols of her being a golden girl, the palaces of East Egg, and the color white, all symbolizing her upper class status and the lifestyle many Americans with an American Dream pray to accomplish.
If the settings in this story were bland and boring, would there be as much growth and depth to the characters? Well, not only are the settings essential to describe the characters, but they are also necessary for critical events in the story. The settings in The Great Gatsby bring more depth to the story with foreshadowing and imagery. This essay will talk about how each area of in The great gatsby is vital to the plot and helps build to the end and add character that makes the book an American classic. East and West Egg are both very similar but simultaneously completely different, and even though they have a similar shape and size, the people who live on the eggs give the two areas their differences.
In the Incomparable Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the creator makes two particular areas, East Egg and West Egg, that address the distinctions between the old and new cash first class. The distinct traits and ways of life of the wealthy class can be seen in these two locations. While East Egg addresses the old cash privileged, West Egg is described by the nouveau riche, who made their fortune in industry and speculations. In this essay, we'll look at how the novel's characters and East and West Egg differ from one location to the next.
Tom comes from a wealthy family which has more prestige
The American Dream suggests that every American citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work. One of the major ways that Fitzgerald portrays this is by alluding to outside events or works of literature specifically from that time period. Another major relationship that develops in The Great Gatsby is between Tom and Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald alludes to things such as the World’s Fair and “The Love Nest” to display the eventual dismantling of Tom and Daisy’s relationship. Both of these separate plots consolidate under the idea of Gatsby trying to become the epitome of the American Dream, as seen through his strive for a “perfect life.”
Carraway and Gatsby live in West Egg, which is described as, “the less fashionable of the two,” (Fitzgerald 7). However, East Egg is described as a much more favorable place of even greater wealth. Moreover, it is evident that only people who have always been wealthy can afford to live in East Egg as Tom Buchanan’s family had always been rich before he was successful. Thus, this might show that there are differences in achieving the American dream, as those in the West Egg seem to be depicted as poor before becoming successful. This might be ironic, as people in West Egg have truly achieved their goals through struggle and work although they live a technically less comfortable life.
In The Great Gatsby, almost all of the characters are separated into West Egg and East Egg, symbolizing new money and old money, respectively. In spite of both sides being filled with the absurdly rich, many of the characters prefer East Egg and think of those residing in the West as inferior. When compared to the notorious Valley of Ashes, a land deemed inhabitable and depraved, West Egg is the epitome of luxury. The separation of different wealth and the poor seems to be an obvious jab at greed and classism, which is almost necessary when striving for the so-called ‘American dream’ Fitzgerald wrote about. Such a critique of capitalism overlaps with the concepts developed by Karl Marx and manifests themselves into the roles of the novel’s main
Breaking Social Boundaries The era of the 1920s was a pinnacle time in American History and the literature that was produced from this era showcases the social change happening. This was the time of social upheaval where the people were challenging social boundaries. The values that had been sought after in the period before this were becoming less and else prevalent in the new society. There are many viewpoints of this time period so the literature of this time was very diverse and many works showed the changing cultures.
The Great Gatsby is frequently split between East Egg, West Egg, and Valley Of Ashes. East Egg represents the old money, West Egg represents new money, and the Valley Of Ashes shows the social decline and failure of the American Dream. Though some characters of higher class display that the “American Dream” is attainable in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, it ultimately proves itself impossible for the mainstream public and other key characters, due to the lengths of which that the wealthy had to go through, just to end up in considerably worse situations than standard citizens. In contrast to the American Dream being unattainable, Fitzgerald shows that it is possible for anyone to access and achieve the American Dream, if they
The next major symbols in The Great Gatsby are the East and West Egg, and the differences between them. Nick and Gatsby live in West Egg. It is not as luxurious as East Egg, Nick describes it as, “the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not little sinister contrast between them” (14). West Egg seems as though it is for the families and people who are newly wealthy, Gatsby for example, or young, as Nick has moved into a small house, with the “consoling proximity of millionaires - all for eighty dollars a month” (14). When comparing West Egg to East Egg, the reader is able to see what each island symbolizes, which helps to create depth in the novel.
Archetypal Lens of The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby uses the settings of East Egg and West Egg to symbolize the different levels of social status. The superior East Egg consists of people who were born into money, while the people of the less fashionable West Egg worked for their money (Fitzgerald 5-6). The division of the upper class through the symbols of the East Egg and West Egg suggests an archetypal reading of the novel.
Tom and Gatsby symbolized the difference between the West Egg and the East Egg, Tom was often seen mocking Gatsby for his suspicious uprising and criticizing his methods of flaunting his wealth. Another crucial factor that stops people from reaching their dreams is their gender, as society holds each to its own standard, often putting one before