- List the four main settings in the novel. Provide a description for each setting and explain what each setting represents.
East Egg: East egg is the town of the rich, this is where Tom and Daisy live. East egg is known as old money the ones who have been brought into money, not having to work a day in their lives. “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable east egg glittered along the water.” Nick says this just showing what everyone thinks of East Egg, the place of fashionable, allegiant houses. Everyone around looks up to the people that life in East egg. West egg is the corruption of The American Dream, as these people have not worked hard for their money at all. It was just handed to them. People in East Egg think they are better than everyone else, but they may not be happy. I say this because Tom had to go out and find some excitement, while he had a wife. Both Tom and Daisy had no real friends as they thought they were better than everyone else, this just shows what the people in East egg are like.
West Egg: West egg is the opposite to East egg. In it just over the bay and is known for New money, people who have had to make their own money, it may not mean that they are poor because some of them can be quite rich, maybe as rich as some of the people over in East Egg but because they had to make their own money, they are not in the same social circle. West Egg is where Gatsby and Nick live. “I lived at West egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them.” This is how Nick explains West egg. He looks at it like everyone in East egg look down to the ones in West egg, showing that they are not as important as them. This is where The American Dream comes in as the people that life here follow The American Dream as have worked hard to be where they are.
The Valley of ashes: “This is the valley of ashes- a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of ash-grey men, who move dimly and crumbling through the powdery air.” This is how The Valley Of Ashes is described by nick, it shows that it is made of ashes. This is where the people of the working class work, the lowest of the lowest. The people in the valley of ashes are people that striver The American Dream but never seem to reach it, they put their lives into work and work everyday as hard as they can to make the money for their families. The people here may not be rich but most of them have what life’s really about, love and family. Wilson and Myrtle live their. Wilson also believes in god and the eyes that watch over him, he knows that one day things will work out for him as he has god watching over him, and this may have happened if it wasn’t for Tom. This is where Tom came to get out of his life which is weird because someone from the very highest class class would not come to the lowest of the lowest. The people that live in the valley of ashes maybe also have health problems as they are working in the ash.
New York City: This is where everyone came to get out of their own life. Here a lot of illegal things would happen, it was where Gatsby made his money illegally. New York is also where everyone came to have fun. Tom and Myrtle came here to where they found themselves inside an apartment to have their fun. Where they pretended t be a happy couple, this scene was an illusion to them being a real couple that loved each other but in the real life this could never happen as they were from different social circles. New York City was for the dreamers.