Scott Fitzgerald, is filled with widely differentiated settings that are characteristic of the time the novel was set in. The settings in this novel are essential to revealing the characters and their behavior. Fitzgerald divides the world of the characters in the novel into three major settings: East Egg/West Egg, Valley of Ashes and New York City. Each of these settings, both reflects and determines the value of people who live and/or work there. Just like the settings, the people in this novel are widely differentiated along with their attitudes and characteristics.
East Egg is the home of the wealthy, prestigious, old money families. The people who live in East Egg feel no need to show off their money because the prestigious names they carry do that for them. Daisy and Tom Buchanan are the only people in this novel that live here and they are certainly proud to do so. Their home which is well beyond the stature of a middle class home is quite classy yet not nearly as flashy as their neighbors across the Manhasset Bay. Next is West Egg, the home of people wealthier than the East Egg members, but don't maintain nearly the amount of prestige, where Nick Carraway and Jat Gatsby live. Nick lives here because he is too poor to afford a home in East Egg; Gatsby lives there because his money is "new" and he doesn't have the credentials to be accepted into East Egg. In order to try to be an equal to the East Egg families, the West Egg families show off their money every chance they get. Jay Gatsby is a great example of this in that he drives an extravagant yellow Rolls Royce and throws lavish parties at his home in an attempt to get noticed by just the right people.
The dreadful Valley of Ashes is in major contrast to both Egg's in that this is where the poor people live, those that are victims of the wealthy people. This place is literally characterized by dust, for it's here where the city dumps their ashes.