Locations as Metaphors in The Great Gatsby essays

Locations as Metaphors in The Great Gatsby essays F. Scott's Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby often uses locations as metaphors for the qualities of the characters and for the themes of the novel. This occurs with West Egg and East Egg, where the distance between the two sides represents Gatsby's distance from Daisy, his longing for his dream, and the fact that the dream may not be attainable. West Egg and East Egg also represent the differences in the characters of Gatsby and Daisy, especially communicating that Gatsby's attempts to reinvent himself can only take him so far. The valley of ashes is also important because it contributes to the theme of the novel by showing the result of wealth. The all-seeing eyes of the billboard looking over the valley of ashes also represents that the characters cannot escape judgement. These metaphors all contribute to the theme of how money is not the solution to life, but The first metaphor occurs with West Egg and East Egg, two egg-shaped islands lying opposite each other and separated by a bay. West Egg is the island where Gatsby lives and also the less fashionable of the two islands. While West Egg is less fashionable, it is also the more real of the two islands. This includes that it is the island where the narrator Nick lives in a small rented bungalow. West Egg still has its share of mansions but there is also a sense of reality to the place. In contrast, East Egg is all mansions, with the sense of elite making it the least real of the two islands. The first reason this location is relevant is because it represents Gatsby's physical separation from Daisy and his longing for her. Gatsby lives on West Egg and Daisy lives on East Egg. This makes Gatsby quite close to her, yet he remains separated by the body of water. His longing is captured by the way he gazes across the bay at the green light "that burns all night at the end of your dock" (Fitzgerald 94). Nick ...