The Great Gatsby-- Reflection of home on character

A detailed Summary of The Great Gatsby-- Reflection of home on character

The setting and location of one's house can convey a great deal about a person. In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald uses characters' houses as a way to describe characters themselves. In this novel Fitzgerald relates, through the characters' houses, their temperament, values, and place in society.

The fact that Nick Carraway lives in West Egg says a considerable amount about his character and personality. Nick compares East Egg and West Egg as such: "I lived at West Egg, the- well, less fashionable of the two, a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them." Those who live in East Egg, represented by Tom and Daisy, are the cheaters, liars and manipulators, using others for their own personal entertainment or advancement. We see this displayed throughout the novel and summed up perfectly in one sentence, "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made." Nick, living in West Egg, bears the opposite traits of those living in East Egg. He is non-judgemental and does not use others for h

When Nick enters the garage he realizes that the garage "must be a blind" and that "sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead." It could be said that the garage is Wilson, dank and dreary, and the apartments overhead are Myrtle. This is perfect considering Myrtle's alternate life that Wilson, to this point, knows nothing about. This alternate life unknown to Wilson also foreshadows his end. At this place in his life, it is clear to him that the only thing of value he has is his wife. After her death, he realizes he has nothing left to live for and, after killing Gatsby whom he believes to be the killer of Myrtle, he kills himself.

Direct similarities can be seen between the description of Nick's bungalow and Nick's character throughout the book. Nick describes his house as "squeezed between two huge places." Thus could be said for Nick himself. He is squeezed in the middle of both Gatsby and Daisy's affair and Tom and Myrtle's affair. Nick sees his house as an "eye-sore" that has been "over-looked." Throughout the novel, Nick's feelings as the go-between in both situations have been over-looked, no one stopping to ask how he feels, everyone proceeding with reckless abandonment to the unfortunate end. The reader sees this when Tom insists upon Nick meeting his mistress making the "supercilious assumption" that Ni

Some common words found in the essay are:
Immediately Wilson, George Wilson, West Egg, East Egg, Tom Myrtle's, Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy Tom's, Tom Daisy, Gatsby Buchanans, Tom Daisy-, west egg, east egg, temperament values society, values society, alternate life, temperament values, partial view, proximity millionaires, characters' houses, consoling proximity, view water, consoling proximity millionaires,

Approximate Word count = 903
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English