The Great Gatsby - Landscape's Relation to Theme.

Amanda Rosen

October 19, 2003

English 11

The Great Gatsby Essay:

Landscape’s Relation to Theme

One of the major topics explored in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is sociology of wealth or the lack of it. The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920’s in New York on Long Island, more specifically in West Egg, East Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and New York City. The Great Gatsby shows how newly minted millionaires, the old aristocracies of the country’s richest families, and the hard working poor lives are completely shaped and effected by money.

Jay Gatsby (James Gatz), the character in which the story was inspired, lives in West Egg. Gatsby and the other people who live in West Egg are the “new money”. With this title comes gaudiness, the lack of social graces, and for Gatsby in particular, unconditional love and loyalty. Gatsby’s life style is very gaudy, flashy, and composed of many superficial aspects. Gatsby’s life style is very extravagant for just one person. He lives alone in a gothic style mansion and throws lavish parties every Saturday night. At these parties, people are swimming in his pool, jet skiing on the lake, or simply being stupid and dunk. His Rolls-Royce is used to bring people to and from New York City to his house. Generally speaking there is nothing wrong with all of these things, but it is a little strange that the people who attend these parties don’t know the host, just go because there’s a party to be at, and it looks good socially. Gatsby also lacks many social graces. This is particularly shown in Chapter 7, when Gatsby remains outside of Daisy’s (his love interest) window until the next morning just to make sure that Tom (Daisy’s husband) does not harm her out of anger since she knows about his affair. Gatsby attempts to show his love and loyalty for Daisy but goes about in the wrong ways. Although, Gatsby does show character and true loyalty in a sense by taking the blame for Myrtle’s death for Daisy, it leads to his own death. It seems that even if Gatsby hadn’t taken the blame, Daisy would have very likely blamed someone else.

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The Buchanan’s (Tom and Daisy) live in East Egg which represents the old aristocracy. They may appear to have grace, wealth, and elegance but they lack heart and are self absorbed. The difference between Gatsby and the Buchanan’s is, Gatsby seems to goes over the top with most things and the Buchanan’s are somewhat more practical but only when compared to Gatsby. Gatsby lives alone in a mansion while Tom and Daisy live in a large home but there are three of them living in the house. Gatsby buys things because he can but Tom and Daisy buy things because they need or want them. Tom and Daisy hide behind their money and run away from reality. They tend to remove themselves from a tragedy both physically and psychologically by cutting themselves off from all of the unpleasant things that have happen, instead of trying to deal with them. At the end of the novel, they move away to a new house rather than attend Gatsby’s funeral. Daisy knows that Tom is having an affair and instead of saying or doing anything she ignores it, because she doesn’t want to deal with or accept the reality of it, because it would mess up her “perfect life”.

The Valley of Ashes represents social decay, hopelessness, and the poor working class. George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, doesn’t have a lot of money. He lives among the ashes and has to work all the time to support himself as well as Myrtle. It seems as though he does nothing but work and live a simple, sad life. Within the Valley there is a huge billboard with a picture of two eyes looking down, George seems to see them as God’s eyes because they are witnesses to everything that occurs in the Valley including the death of his wife. George’s hopelessness is seen by the way he loves and idolizes Myrtle. He is devastated by her death because the only “witness” is the eyes on the billboard. In the end, George kills the man he thinks killed Myrtle, and kills himself because he does not want to live without his wife or what he has done. Unlike the wealthy who live in East Egg and West Egg, George has morals, values, and less money but that has made him a better person.

The Great Gatsby shows the hardships of the rich and poor living together in the 1920’s in America, as well as a strong point of the richer people being much more superficial and the less wealthy having more character, morals and better values. Everything is like the end of the world for these characters. There is love, death, past and present lovers, deceptions and lies, all in the attempt to show the sociology of wealth or the lack of it.