The Great Gatsby: The Relation
The geography and weather in The Great Gatsby contribute greatly to theme, character, and plot development. There is an important relationship between the geography and the character's social values. The themes and characters can be dictated by geographical locations because the themes are embedded into the environments surrounding the characters. This reinforces character traits and helps to develop the themes. The weather predicts the nature of the novel's critical events, driving the plot. All of these factors contribute to creating a physical picture of the social values and the emotions in this novel. One of the best examples of a geographic location representing a theme is the Valley of Ashes. This desolate valley located between West Egg and New York City represents the reality of the moral decay of society in the 1920's. A product of industrial dumping and a by-product of capitalism, the only poor characters of the novel live here. The ugliness of the valley is hidden behind the facades of West and East Egg. The billboard of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg located in the valley accentuates this idea. This billboard contains a faded pair of eyes looking through a faded pair of eyeglasses. To the characters in the novel, this is a re
The characters can be dictated by where they reside in this novel because all of the geographical locations are associated with an underlying theme as was explained in the last paragraph. West Egg represents the new wealth in the East and East Egg represents the old wealth in the East. West Egg is where all of the people from the West with newly acquired riches live, including Gatsby. West Egg is like Gatsby, full of showy extravagance, symbolizing the new rich appearing outside of the established aristocracy of the 1920s. There is a distinct difference between the new and old aristocracy and the people living in them. Therefore, their living place said quite a bit about them: "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," (10). East Egg represents the old aristocracy, where Tom and Daisy live. East Egg is like the Buchanans, wealthy, possessing high social status, and powerful, symbolizing the old upper class that continued to dominate the American social landscape. The Valley of Ashes is like George Wilson, deserted, desolate, and completely without hope. In this manner, the characters can be dictated by their abode. presentation of God, or perhaps the lack of God in their lives. It is very clear that Wilson who lives in the valley sees this billboard as God in his life: "God kn
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Approximate Word count = 957
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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