Old Money In The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald gives us an insight of the 1920’s, Jazz Age. The Jazz Age occurred just after the corruption of WW1. This gives this story great historical context. The Jazz Age was filled with Jazz music, dance and riches. Everyone had extra money to spend on the best fashion and extravagant houses. Cars were sold at low prices like the Ford Model T which only costed $260. Fitzgerald shows how young men had a passion for cars and alcoholic beverages with Tom Buchanan. Fitzgerald describes the Buchannan’s lavish lifestyle in the best way, settling in the fashionable East Egg.

The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change. It was a time of progress. Nouveau riche is widely explored in The Great Gatsby. …show more content…
East Egg and West Egg are areas of New York separated by a bay. Tom and Daisy Buchanan were considered ‘old money’ which meant they obtained their wealth from ancestors. ‘Old money’ was a term also used to describe the residents of the East Egg. ‘New money’ described Jay Gatsby very well since he lived in poverty for a lot of his life but became big and made his own money. Jay Gatsby lived in West Egg and would not be accepted in the East Egg because he was not born with the Buchannan’s upper social class. Fitzgerald shows this by introducing the green light that Gatsby would always reach out for. Gatsby had a dream of living a life with limitless possibilities like Mr. Buchanan. People in the East Egg were self-possessed and materialistic, while people in West Egg were more humane.
Long Island in New York is an island located just off the northeast coast of the United States and the setting of The Great Gatsby. Long Island was and still is home to the rich and famous. Fitzgerald mentions the Valley of Ashes which is a real place where there was daily deposits of ashes in Long Island. In this novel The Valley of Ashes is symbolistic representing poverty and hopelessness. The Valley is a symbol of death and self-centred individuals like Daisy and
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