1991. Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for
example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the
sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of
the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay
explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their
contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.
A contrast between two places is
significantly evident in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. The
characters in this novel are settled either in East or West egg which represent
two distinct forces. East Egg is established with individuals who are wealthy
from the roots, while the West Egg is known as "new money", a place
that attracts un-original wealthy people, people who desire to be like the East
Egg. Fitzgerald uses two distinct towns to represent opposing wealth, attitude,
and status which contribute to the flow of Jay Gatsby's ambition to become
wealthy and win his first love, Daisy Buchanan, back.
Fitzgerald represents the East
Egg and West Egg as two different classes of social status and wealth. This is
shown when despite Gatsby's lie to Daisy about his prosperous family, she gives
up waiting for him and chooses to marry
Tom, a wealthy man from East Egg because East Egg has been home to the elites
and upper class. As mentioned before, the East Egg is referred as the old
money. When Gatsby throws lavishing consistent parties at his mansion in hopes
to attract Daisy; people in the East Egg don't make their way to his party. It
takes Nick and Jordan to persuade Daisy and Tom to visit the West. It becomes
clear that not only does Fitzgerald incorporate status into locations but also
the time period. This is also supported when Tom and Daisy are absorbed to the
past traditions and aristocratic values of East and refuse to change unlike
Gatsby and Nick.
On the other hand, West Egg is
consisted with lower/middle class people who made their own fortune and money
without being born with it. The people from the West are new to this wealth and
they look up to the stable social standings of the East. This sparks Gatsby to
work and reinvent himself to get Daisy back; he settles in the West across the
bay from Daisy's home. While these two cities symbolize the difference in society,
Fitzgerald uses the West to represent the new present, opposing the old money. In comparison to Daisy and Tom who are fixed
in the past, Nick and Gatsby who live in the West are ready to change and
reform. They live in present time and work for the future.
Throughout The Great Gatsby,
readers are able to see the difference in wealth, status, and attitude between
the East and the West Egg. Fitzgerald creates Tension between the two
contrasting places to represent opposing
ideas to the plot. In doing so, the story not only gets interesting, but it
connects to past American history and literature. The way Fitzgerald portrayed
the West in comparison to the East showed the opportunities provided in both
places. It's obvious to see that Gatsby followed the American Dream towards the
West to seek fortune. The divided setting of the novel contributes to the
symbolic meaning and theme of Fitzgerald's story as a whole.
I took into account of Chris, Julia, and Alison's suggestions. Although I dislike the new structure of the essay, I tried to separate the East and West into two separate paragraphs for less confusion as asked by Alison and Julia. I agreed that missing a thesis creates an unclear point throughout the writing as a whole. I inserted a old-fashioned three point thesis for clarity. I still like my first draft better; maybe it's easier to comprehend for me because I wrote it myself ...
