Throughout the novel, West Egg represents the corrupt version of the american dream. West Egg is a rich community that sits on the ocean across the bay from East Egg. At first glance East Egg seems like a town of wealth. The people that live in West Egg have earned their money so it is classed as ‘New Money’ but under the people with the new money have generally done something illegal to achieve this. This is reason why West Egg is classed as the Corrupt American Dream. In the novel Nick says “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.” He says the less fashionable of the two which indicates that the contrast between these two cities is great. In East Egg, the people are seen as the wealthy and the elite. In West Egg, they are looked down upon, only because their money is new money and not old money passed down from generation to generation. This specifically lets the reader know that West is not as fashionable as East Egg but is still a wealthy community

Join the conversation! 1 Comment

  1. Reilly, your explanation is just restating some of the things you have already outlined.

    Look at the language Fitzgerald is using in the quote you have selected: “least fashionable”, “superficial”, “bizarre” and “sinister”.

    These words should form the foundation of your explanation- what is suggested about West Egg through the use of this language. When you combine it with what we know about bootlegging in this village, what does it help to reinforce/suggest?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts By Reilly

Category

Writing