The World of The Great Gatsby

One of Gatsby's greatest errors is his failure to realize that the people with whom he surrounds himself practice this blend of honesty and dishonesty for the specific purpose of maintaining the status quo. Gatsby, on the other hand, has created his ladder of lies in an attempt to change the world he seeks to enter. Jordan Baker's statements serve as verbal markers in the book for the casual honesty the East Egg people practice. Within the first few hours of meeting Nick Carraway, the narrator, she reveals to him that Tom Buchanan is having an affair. What is so astonishing about her revelation is that she does it at Tom's table while he and Daisy are in the other room apparently arguing about the affair. She reveals the information so matter-of-factly, as though it were just so much coffee-table talk:

A subdued impassioned murmur was audible in the room beyond and Miss Baker leaned forward, unashamed, trying to hear. The murmur trembled on

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ody is roasting when in actuality, as Nick reveals in the next paragraph, the butler really only responded appropriately to a telephone call. Jay Gatsby was born James Gatz to poor parents in San Francisco. He spent only five months at Oxford as a sort of military exchange student, but it allows him an entree into the East Egg World by being able to say he was "at Oxford." However, James Gatz, regardless of how many times he changes his name, never lived on the East Egg. He lived on the West Egg, to which Jordan refers "contemptuously" (Fitzgerald 15). He has apparently earned his wealth by bootlegging. Thus, while when we meet him his external shell appears as close to an East Egg person as anyone possibly could, the internal shell does not really understand that world. By acquiring his wealth through bootlegging activities, Gatsby symbolizes the hollowing of the American Dream. The Dream began as a belief that hard work and sacrifice would eventually lead to material rewards. These rewards would be based on the honor and mettle of the man. The East Egg contingency, however, appears to be living largely off of inherited money. They are reaping the benefits without having to do any of the work. Thus, they represent on
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Approximate Word count = 2267
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)