Preview

What Does West Egg Symbolize In The Great Gatsby

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
726 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Does West Egg Symbolize In The Great Gatsby
Daniela Ramirez Ossa
Ms. Fogarty
English 101
March 7, 2013
Literary analysis
Theme and symbolism are general ideas in the two of the pieces of literature written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams.” In both pieces the American dream plays an important role in the character’s lives however the original American dream is replaced by a degraded dream greed and wealth.
In The Great Gatsby we encounter an extraordinary individual, Gatsby, whose immense wealth catches the eye of many speculators in New York, West Egg and East Egg. In the story the author makes sure to emphasize the decay of the original American dream. The American dream originally represented hope and equality, for everyone looking for a better life. However after the wars and the passing years people took a different stand on the American dream and gave it their own meaning. The most popular meaning of the American dream was to obtain immense riches and power at any cost and all thoughts of equality and hope had banished. We can see that in The Great Gatsby when Fitzgerald describes the differences between the people of rich individuals from West Egg, East Egg and the poverty and struggle of those living in the valley of ashes. In the story Gatsby symbolizes
…show more content…
In this story Dexter 's American dream is to be successful, rich and part of the upper class. He is precocious and makes sure to act and dress likes the wealthy. His dream however doe not consist of reaching for opportunities that will give him happiness, Dexter 's dream is to be wealthy and be surrounded by the wealthy, but he has set his goal in order to be with Judy. She was the center of his dream and the one who motivated him. His dream however was destroyed when Judy 's beauty and charm banished after her marriage with another man and now Dexter feels empty,” Now that the thing is gone.. I cannot cry, I cannot care. That thing will come back no

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the book The Great Gatsby it opens up in Long Island, New York City, in two different areas known as West Egg and East Egg during the summer of 1922. West Egg is where Nick recently moved to after living in Minnesota to go the Yale and fight in World War I. “I lived at West Egg, the—well, less fashionable of the two…” (Fitzgerald 4). Nick never seemed to care much about his situation of living. Even if East Egg is better he was still fine with living in West Egg. The entire story is told through the eyes of Nick with him being one of the protagonist in the book. Everyone loves coming to West Egg, but not Because of Nick, Because of Gatsby. Gatsby has the personality that everyone else could never obtain. “’Who brought you?’ he demanded.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sun, hope, and life rises in the east and sets in the west. Symbolism resides within the setting and title of locations in the Great Gatsby. To some the location and name of a place can be simply just that,but to me the East and West Egg and the Valley of Ashes hold so much symbolism just in the location and name of a place.…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is dead. This is one of the main themes, if not the main theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. In the novel Fitzgerald gives us a glimpse into the life of the high class during the 1920’s through the eyes of the narrator, a moralistic young man named Nick Carraway. It is through his dealings with high society that readers are shown how modern values have transformed the American Dream's pure ideals into a scheme for materialistic power and self-betterment, how the new world of high society lacks any sense of morals or consequence. In order to support this message, Fitzgerald presents the original aspects of the American Dream along with its modern face to show that the once impervious dream is now lost forever to the American people.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In many novels, two opposing places create the story. In the case of The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald, two opposing neighborhoods, East Egg and West Egg serve to contrast each other. East Egg being the “old rich” meaning families that come from money and West Egg being the “new rich” meaning families that are first generation wealthy. The contrast of the two areas contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole to show the difference in lifestyle within the upper class and specifically between Gatsby and the Buchanan family.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    People are not always as they seem. What some people believe is love, is actually…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The statement made by Marius Bewley's critical essay "Scott Fitzgerald: The Apprentice Fiction", "Fitzgerald's ultimate subject is the character of the American Dream in which, in their respective ways, his principle heroes are all trapped.", can be justified through Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby and his short story "Winter Dreams". In both pieces of literature, Fitzgerald explores and comments upon Americans and their pursuit of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green's pursuit of their "golden girls".…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gatsby Rich Quotes

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages

    F-Scott-Fitzgerald once said ¨I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich and it colored my entire life and works.¨ This quote says that being rich is the promise life and the key to happiness. To the people the ´´American Dream´´ means that if you are nothing or poor you can pull yourself up and work hard to become rich and famous. In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F-Scott-Fitzgerald suggests that the American Dream is something that could be achieved, but not easily and has died through the use of symbolism and the character Jay Gatsby. For example uses gatsby parties , the green light at the of daisy's dock, and his failure to daisy.…

    • 356 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is originally about attaining happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has changed into this want for wealth by whatever means, thinking that money will bring happiness. Fitzgerald does not use the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it is obvious that he shows the impossibility of happiness through the American Dream. Fitzgerald demonstrates through symbols the impracticality of achieving the American Dream.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great Gatsby Paper

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many books have a specific theme. A specific theme in the novel “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the American Dream. The American Dream is having material success, family, equality, and that you worked hard to earn success. The theme of The American Dream is shown in the main character in the book, Jay Gatsby.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald continuously reiterates his belief that what we view as “The American Dream” is dead, and has been corrupted by wealth, rather than standing for its original ideals of freedom and equality. Fitzgerald brings this nightmarish world of reality to life using imagery, diction, and symbolism in order to prove to his audience that what was once perceived as an attainable goal, is held just out of grasp by the people that did not have to fight to reach it.…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Originally, the American dream concerned the unearthing of happiness. By early 20th century, however this vision was distorted into the need for wealth at all means, misguided that happiness could be brought by money. Fitzgerald uses a range of literary devices in The Great Gatsby to depict the American dream. Fitzgerald avoids the terminology “American Dream” while it is apparent that he has shown through motifs and symbols the impracticality of attaining contentment through the American Dream. Fitzgerald uses symbols to show how Gatsby’s unrealistic views led him to fail to achieve the American dream due to his inability to move on from the past, his misunderstanding of social classes, and his unrealistic expectations of…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great Gatsby, written in the 1920s, is a book symbolizing the corruption of the American Dream. The American Dream was a dream of immigrants coming to the americas in pursuit of a better life. Immigrants thought that living in the land of the free would be a lot better than it turned out to be and most of them ended up working in conditions worse than from which they came. The 1920s was nicknamed the Gilded Age because from the outside, life looked glamorous and expensive, but that isn't the way it actually was. Beneath the gold exterior of the American Dream was a harsh way of living: people were extremely poor, they had physically demanding jobs with long work hours, and there was nothing they could do to change it. The glamorous life…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Francis Scott Fitzgerald's Novel the Great Gatsby he uses several different characters to show that the American dream is not attainable no matter how hard you work or how successful you are in life. The Novel includes characters who are rich and poor ones that came from money and ones that did not and no matter how rich they were they always wanted something else. The characters all want the one thing they don't have or can't have whether it be items you can purchase with money or not.…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    It has been said that “people are so busy dreaming the American Dream, fantasizing about what they could be or have a right to be, that they’re all asleep at the switch, [the American man has lost his focus]” <www.thinkexist.com>. What exists behind the vision of the American Dream is a paralleled unreality. Humans are dreamers, and desires often create beliefs in people’s minds that lead them to strongly believe in a successful outcome. Unfortunately, these driving desires take individuals from reality. They are then led place false hope in destructive factors. It is hard to see that dream does not actually exist, and the truth that it is not real. For that reason individuals pursuing the dream eventually destroy themselves. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, the spirited main character, Jay Gatsby is corrupted in his pursuit of the ‘American Dream’. The Great Gatsby is set to illustrate the roaring 20s, a period in which young men and women pursued a freer lifestyle. Fitzgerald attempts to exhibit the crisis that most of these individuals faced: they were chasing the ‘American Dream’. The ‘American Dream’ is a common aspiration shared between many young individuals who pursued a life of self-made wealth and true love. Corruption of the society by destructive factors, such as bootlegging and other felonious acts, resulted in an end to an intoxicating era, and eventually an end to the ‘American Dream’. Being deprived of ‘the good life’, impressionable Jay Gatsby is corrupted by men who persuade him, with their self-made image, to partake in illegal activities. Once a self made man, Gatsby transitions into high-class society, and his idea of respect is lost as he discovers the dark nature of the privileged society. Furthermore, Gatsby’s memories of an old love corrupt his mind when he sees that she embodies the unachievable ‘American Dream’.…

    • 2127 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within the bloods of every American flows the undeniable desire to pursuit a better life at limitless opportunities. This force leads many Americans to live up to their American Dream, but what else does the “American Dream” necessarily bring to the table? Throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald deflects the idea that the American Dream is the universal dream to succeed a fulfilled life as he portrays it’s causes of corruption and destruction by the pursuit of wealth and materialism, making it hard to see the reality objectively.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics