F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Use of
Locations and Settings
In The Great Gatsby, the West represents new opportunity, undeveloped territory, and potential wealth. Though not much is said about the West, the reader can infer the West’s meaning in the story. Dan Cody gained all his wealth from mining precious metals in the West, and in the later falsified story of Gatsby’s past, Gatsby claims that he was born and raised in
In the novel, the Midwest was the home of many main characters including
In the novel, the East symbolizes a more sporadic and generally younger lifestyle. When the main characters move out East, their lives all change dramatically from their past ways in the
West Egg,
In The Great Gatsby, it represents the newer wealth of the East and the rising establishment of the younger generation. West Egg is inhabited by self-made men. Nick and Gatsby live in West Egg.
East Egg,
In the story, it represents established and inherited wealth, like that of Tom and Daisy. The people who live there are older and have a larger family history of wealth and fame.
In the novel, this place is a poorer part of the city where George and Myrtle Wilson live. It is a place of emptiness, poverty, and desolation. Towards the climax of the novel, this place truly earns its name, for it is where Myrtle Wilson is killed by Gatsby’s car.
