Why Is West Egg Important In The Great Gatsby

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Where were you born? It’s a question asked all the time, because, as suggested in a well-known Coors Light commercial, where you’re from shapes who you are and inspires you to do things. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, setting plays a pivotal role. Fitzgerald brilliantly uses setting to reflect the hierarchy and ethics of those inhabiting it. Using West Egg, East Egg, and the Valley of Ashes, Fitzgerald effectively demonstrates the significance of setting and how it portrays a difference in social classes.
In the opening lines of the novel, Fitzgerald offers a distinct contrast between West Egg and East Egg along with Gatsby and Nick’s cousin, Daisy’s, house. The descriptions of West Egg, “The less fashionable of the two” (Fitzgerald 9) and Gatsby's “mansion” (9), emphasize new money, fancy cars, and luxurious house parties. The houses of West Egg are built without restrictions, supporting the claim that these people create their own laws. Furthermore, it shows how Nicks “Bungalow” (8) could be sandwiched between two mansions. As evident from the name West Egg, the people living there resemble those from perhaps the Wild West, an area known to exist without rules and restrictions. …show more content…
Daisy’s house, as oppose to Gatsby’s, was one that resembled “a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion” (11) “glitter(ing) along the water” (10). Although the Eggs seem to be far better than Vegas, Fitzgerald characterizes them by writing that they were “not perfect ovals” (9), suggesting that in fact they have flaws. In addition to this, East Egg is said to have been geographically higher than West Egg, reflecting the way members of each Egg treat each other.. The people from East Egg view themselves to be superior to those in West

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