| "I see now that his has been a story of the West...
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| In the story, the theme of
the west shows up very often. It appears directly and in directly
throughout the story. It also compared to the East. Gatsby
and Nick live in the West Egg. Both characters were born in the
Western part of the United States and moved out East. Daisy and
Tom both lived similar lives to Gatsby and Nick, but they lived in the
East egg. The East egg was the higher class of the two, which is
symbolic to the West and East of the United States. The West is
where all the characters started their lives, but they came
to the East to better their lives. It seems that the West
indicates an older, less lively life, and the East indicates a new life
of fulfilling dreams. It's like the characters in the story were
running from West to East, and the West was everything bad, and the East
is where they wanted to be. Like in the case of Gatsby who wished
he could be in Tom's place with Daisy in the East Egg, but he is stuck
in the West Egg dreaming. Another example of the East being better
than the West, was on pg.17 of the book, in which Daisy, Tom, and Nick
are dining, and reference is made stating that dinner in the West was
very different from dinner in the East. They were dining in the
East and were enjoying dinner, but Nick says that in the West,
"dinner is hurried from phase to phase toward its close in a continually
disappointed anticipation." The story doesn't make large,
direct observations to the West, but their are subtle parts that add up
to a meaning to the West
Kyle Stone |