Critical essay SETTING plan
setting essay - intro
- "The Great Gatsby" by F.Scott Fitzgerald is a novel that explores the corruption of the American Dream - Narrated by Nick Carraway, an outsider to the society in Long Island, we are told the story of the love affair between Jay Gatsby and the meretricious Daisy Buchanan - in the opening chapter, through his use of setting in time and place, Fitzgerald introduces the reader to the corruption inherent in the "roaring twenties" period and the superficiality and 'carelessness' of the rich, leisure class - this is developed throughout the rest of the novel as the symbolic nature of each setting contributes to the readers understanding of the perversion of the American Dream
para 3 (valley of ashes)
- East and West Egg are situated on Long Island - The Valley of Ashes is described as an "industrial wasteland" as it evokes poverty and the difference between the upper and lower class - Fitzgerald describes this place to be full of "ash-grey men" and "pointless days" that effectively creates an unsettling tone - by creating these dark and gloomy images, enables the reader to envision the corruption of this place, where immoral events occur - the lower class of this region work tirelessly each day to earn enough money just to get by - this illustrates that the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how the working class are stuck in a rut of poverty and hopelessness - Myrtle Wilson is a prime example of someone who is trying to escape the wasteland, and she uses Tom Buchanan to do so - but this is in vain - Myrtle adores the idea of her and Tom together as he is able to buy her gifts and trips and other handouts that her husband can't - this relationship further explores the contrast between the rich and poor, yet ultimately ends in disaster and death in reality - The American Dream of moving between classes is dead
para 1 (West Egg, Gatsby's house)
- In West Egg, Gatsby lives among his possessions obtained by bootlegging in his 'new money' house as he desperately tries to imitate the 'old money' mansions - despite not being born wealthy, Gatsby does all that he can to be authentic, for example, by having a full library of real books, yet this will still never be achieved - in his house in West Egg, Gatsby holds overly ambitious parties, that the majority of New York attend, except the one person he really wants to see - Daisy - "in his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths" - Fitzgerald compares the people of West Egg to parasites to convey their shallow attributes, as they just use Gatsby for his money and luxuries - "blue" is a symbol of illusion and this idea of escaping reality and creating an idyllic world - this further introduces the theme that in this time and place people's wealth isn't being earned through hard work and people are frivolous consumers - while Gatsby's originally innocent dream of recapturing his past romance with Daisy becomes tainted by materialism
para 4 (T.J Eckleburg billboard)
- In addition, the Valley of Ashes is where the billboard of Dr T.J Eckleburg is situated - this billboard is first noticed when Tom and Nick are on their way to New York and stop off to visit Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress - the eyes of Dr Eckleburg are a symbol of a distant god that watches over and judges the characters and the American society as a moral wasteland - Eckleburg watches over Tom and Myrtle's affair - when Wilson finds out about his wife's affair he takes her to look at the billboard and says: "God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!" - this emphasises the religious aspect of the city and that everyone is always being watched over at all times - Eckleburg also witnesses Daisy Buchanan murdering Myrtle caused by Daisy's careless actions, as she sees herself as superior to Myrtle, so much so that she believes she can get away with murder - this emphasises the contrast in social class and the authority the upper class feel they should have, as well as the over all belief that materialism is God
setting essay conclusion
- In conclusion, setting has a great importance throughout this novel - Each setting within this novel has an important factor that contributes to the novel as a whole - East and West Egg represent the difference between old money and new money and ultimately the profound difference between Gatsby and Daisy - East and West Egg is also a clear representation of the character's personalities and is made clear for the benefit of the reader's understanding - The Valley of Ashes represents the corruption of the American Dream as the working class are unable to achieve this and therefore left as the victims of the upper classes carelessness - The Valley of Ashes is crucial as it represents the moral and social decay due to the abundance of wealth that the rich indulge in, with only regards to their own entertainment and pleasure - Fitzgerald uses a wide range of settings to add to the complexity of the novel and the characters that the reader is introduced to
para 2 (Gatsby's house decays)
- Throughout the novel, Gatsby's house slowly but surely starts to decay - at the beginning of the novel, Gatsby's house was full of people and happiness, but as Daisy leaves, the house becomes empty - the enormous house of Gatsby's becoming musty as the furniture in the house is covered in dust - "there was an inexplicable amount of dust everywhere" - the vastness of this change is emphasised and this highlights the emptiness of the space inside, but also the emptiness of Gatsby's life - the dust and mustiness reflects that Gatsby's life alongside his dream are over - since he has decided to take the blame for Daisy for the murder of Myrtle, he knows that all his hopes and ambitions have gone to dust, just like his house