Scott Fitzgerald uses the settings of East and West eggs, The Valley of Ashes, and New York City to assist the actions of the main characters. .
The East Egg is more of the upscale region of the setting. People that live there have all the money, drive fancy cars and dress in expensive clothing. It symbolizes comfort, which means that it is always pleasant there. The East Egg also symbolizes prosperity. The people there, like Jay Gatsby, are successful. Daisy Buchanan is one of these people. She goes to Gatsby parties and wants to fit in with society. She appears to be a "gold digger." She uses men just for their money. As Nick is driving over to the Buchanan's to have dinner he describes his drive "Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water ." (10).
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The West Egg is home to the "new rich," the people who having made their fortunes recently, have neither the social connections nor the improvement to move among the East Egg set. West Egg is characterized by generous displays of wealth and dull poor taste. West Egg represents showiness, tastelessly, and the flashy manners of the new rich. Nick describes the West Egg as the " . The less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express of the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them."(9).
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Halfway between West Egg and New York City sprawls a deserted plain; a gray valley called The Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes is a symbol of absolute unhappiness and poverty. George Wilson owns a garage in the Valley of Ashes. He is a glum, poor man. His life matches perfectly with where he lives. He's life practically ends when he finds out that he's wife, Myrtle, is having an affair with Tom Buchanan. The Valley of Ashes is said to be " a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take form of houses and chimneys and rising smoke .
AND THE BAND PLAYS ON. Time tells us that success often comes with a price. Often money will create more problems than it can solve. The richness of a person's soul can be hidden in the folds of money. Such is the case of Jay Gatsby. ...