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Literary Elements in The Great Gatsby

            
            
            
            
             During the roaring twenties social class was an important aspect of society. Usually no lower class citizens would socialize with upper class citizens. In other word "by no means would anyone from a lower class be caught in an uptown setting" (Doughty). All different classes were for the most part separated by where people lived. There is a variety of characters in the novel The Great Gatsby that comes from different economic acquirements. F. Scott Fitzgerald uses these different economic backgrounds to create 'cities' to display these different characters and their backgrounds. Fitzgerald also incorporates color, weather, and seasons to better display these cities and the characters living within them. In this novel Fitzgerald fortunately uses location to differentiate social statuses among his characters while the weather and seasons of those locations help guide the characters and the direction of this novel.
             Each character from the novel helps support the differences of social class and the four main locations used by Fitzgerald; The East Egg, The West Egg, The Valley of Ashes, and New York City. In The Great Gatsby "geographical locations separate social classes" (Hoggart 204). Hoggart explains how different geographical areas have a contrasting economy, social statues, and standard of living. For example East Egg represents old wealth. The characters from East Egg acquire wealth from previous years but have no fulfillment in life. They are empty inside, shallow, and arrogant. A prime character that perfectly describes East Egg is Jordan Baker. She appears beautiful but is only interested in deceiving others in order to advance her way through life to get what she wants. Another pair that fits in East Egg well is the Buchanan's; they appear impeccable on the outside but are dysfunctional on the inside. The characters from East Egg are arrogant. "Tom Buchanan is wealth brutalized by selfishness and arrogance" (Cowley 71).


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